Despite an additional 70 apprenticeships being offered in Ireland, their uptake is still slow, with some claiming that societal attitudes are to blame.

In the construction sector alone, there are vacancies of over 50,000 people.

Guidance counsellor Brian Mooney told The Pat Kenny Show that apprenticeships have historically been regarded as only being for those who didn't suceed academically in the Leaving Cert.

"There was always kind of a negative connotation, and schools obviously were also aware that parents were looking at the league tables published in newspapers about the percentage of kids who got into college from schools," he said.

"As if not getting into college was seen as somehow of a failure - and I'm sure that that attitude hasn't disippated.

"And yet if you look at it, if you go to university and do nursing or if you do medicine, or dentistry, or architecture, you're actually doing an apprenticeship - it's just a word, it's a concept.

"I think it's the idea that parents want their children in the university system, and it may not be to do with the job that they're getting afterwards."

You can listen back to the full interview here:

Main image: Apprentice and trainer in a metalworking company. Image: ndustryview / Alamy Stock Photo. 26 February 2015