The first-ever apprenticeship degree has been launched at Dublin's Griffith College to tackle the crippling shortage of pub staff.
This three-year course is a work-based learning programme in which apprentices will be able to work, earn, and learn to become fully-qualified bar managers.
The Bar Manager Apprenticeship Degree hopes to reverse the pub sector's post-Covid struggle as nine out of ten hospitality businesses have problems recruiting staff, according to a Fáilte Ireland survey released in February.
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A number of employers linked the shortage to a lack of training.
The programme has been launched by the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) and Griffith College, with the support of Solas, the state agency for further education.
Emma Hanley, 23, said she was attracted by being able to work and learn at the same time.
The first year Vintners’ Federation of Ireland Bar Manager Apprentice added: "I have always enjoyed working in a bar and the apprenticeship has given me a real insight into my chosen career."
Mary Liz Trant, Interim Director of the National Apprenticeship Office, said: "Change is accelerating in the apprenticeship system, with the National Apprenticeship Office driving transformation across 65 diverse and innovative apprenticeship programmes.
“This apprenticeship is a key example of an in-demand skills-based course that forms part of this transformational agenda. "
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