Taking on an apprentice in Ireland: employer approval, registration and the code of practice
What Citizens Information, the SOLAS Apprenticeship Code of Practice and the Apprenticeship Rules 1997 say an Irish employer does to be approved and to register an apprentice.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.
None of the three sources is written for tree work, and the list of craft classes in the 1997 rules, as made, names the classes of apprentice it covers, and tree work and arboriculture are not among them. The page therefore describes the general employer rules for statutory apprenticeships in Ireland as stated on October 9, 2026, and does not say whether a tree work apprenticeship exists. For other countries see apprenticeships by country and taking on an apprentice in England.
Approval comes first
Citizens Information says all employers must be approved by SOLAS, the further education and training authority, before they can hire an apprentice, and that employer and apprentice sign a formal contract in which the employer agrees to pay the apprentice for the length of the apprenticeship. The SOLAS Apprenticeship Code of Practice says an employer applies to SOLAS to be approved to train apprentices. For a craft apprenticeship the application goes through the apprenticeship online site or the employer's local Education and Training Board. The code says approval may lapse after more than 18 months with no active registered apprentices, and that the employer tells the Authorised Officer if its tax number, address, phone number or email changes.
Registering each apprentice
The code says that within two weeks of an apprentice starting, the employer must notify SOLAS through the local Authorised Officer and apply to register the person as an apprentice. It says a person is not an apprentice until SOLAS has registered them, and that for any period before registration the employer pays at least the national minimum wage. The code gives the date SOLAS approves the registration as the start date of a statutory apprenticeship.
Citizens Information gives the entry rule for apprentices: at least 16 years of age and a minimum of grade D in 5 Junior Cycle subjects or the equivalent. It lists two other routes, an approved preparatory course followed by an assessment interview, or age over 18 with at least 3 years of relevant work experience and an assessment interview. The 1997 rules as made set the minimum age at 16 and list entry routes of their own, so the code's reference to the programme's published entry requirements is the one that applies to a given programme.
What the employer commits to
| Duty | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Pay | Citizens Information: for apprenticeships developed before 2016 the employer pays a recommended apprenticeship wage and the Education and Training Board pays an allowance during off-the-job training. For those developed from 2016 the employer pays for the whole apprenticeship at a rate agreed between the two. |
| Release for training | The code: the employer releases the apprentice for induction and off-the-job elements, and must not reduce wages or add hours because of them. |
| On-the-job training | The code: the employer gives the full range of work the programme requires and the tools and equipment needed. The 1997 rules require an employer to show it has the capacity to provide the on-the-job training and the release for off-the-job training. |
| Mentor | The code: for a craft apprenticeship the employer employs a person qualified in the craft who a SOLAS Authorised Officer has approved as mentor, assessor or verifier. Contracted mentors are allowed if approved. |
| Leave | The code and Citizens Information: statutory leave keeps building up during off-the-job phases and is taken during on-the-job phases at times agreed with the employer. |
| Premium | The 1997 rules: an employer may not take any premium, fine or fee for employing an apprentice, though public funds are allowed. |
| Dismissal | The 1997 rules: an apprentice is dismissed only in line with the Unfair Dismissals Acts and the other employment Acts the rule names. Where redundancy ends an apprenticeship, the employer gives written notice to the authority and takes reasonable steps to transfer the contract to another employer. |
Supports for the employer
Citizens Information lists an apprenticeship employers grant of EUR 2,000 per year for each registered apprentice for certain employers, a gender-based bursary, and financial and training supports for small and micro employers of one or more apprentices through the One More Job scheme. It adds that an apprentice generally does not pay fees, but pays a pro-rata registration fee when off-the-job training takes place in a college.
A date on the code
The code's scope section says it applies from October 13, 2026 to each employer approved by SOLAS and each registered apprentice, and that it may be updated after consultation with the National Apprenticeship Alliance. The 1997 rules as made came into effect on May 1, 1997, and the code itself says employers of craft apprentices must follow them.