Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless has called on two State agencies to “seriously consider” if they need to make a report to An Garda Síochána about alleged cheating within electrical apprenticeship exams.
On Tuesday, The Irish Times revealed that a protected disclosure alleging cheating within the electrical craft apprenticeship programme had prompted concerns of alleged criminal activity and risks to public safety.
There were allegations that exam papers had been available for sale to apprentice electricians for €50 the night before a test. Other “compromised” exam papers were alleged to have been shared with apprentices ahead of assessments.
Ahead of a Cabinet meeting where he will share a memo on the issue with Ministers, Mr Lawless said he had become aware shortly after being appointed to his department earlier this year that there were “a number of issues within the apprenticeship system” including “concerns about the integrity of the assessment process.”
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“You wouldn’t want a surgeon operating on you who wasn’t properly trained, you wouldn’t want an electrician wiring your house or indeed your factory that wasn’t properly trained either. This is very serious, so I requested the CEOs of both Solas and QQI to meet with me immediately,” Mr Lawless said.
[ Exam papers ‘sold for €50’ to electrical apprenticesOpens in new window ]
Mr Lawless said that he had commissioned a wider review of the 78 apprenticeships in the system. “I really wanted to make sure that it wasn’t rampant and widespread,” Mr Lawless said.
“So far the findings tell me that it’s not – that it’s localised primarily around the electrical apprenticeship. But I hope that a signal goes out that if there is any other misbehaviour or impropriety that that has to desist immediately. And that’s why I’ve asked for criminal sanctions to be investigated.”
Mr Lawless confirmed that he had sought legal advice and shared that with QQI and Solas.
“I’ve asked them to seriously consider what referrals to gardaí may be appropriate,” he said.
Mr Lawless also confirmed he had commissioned a City and Guilds inquiry from Glasgow to investigate if there were any risks to public safety.
“So an independent reviewer came in, looked at this, and one of the areas I asked them to consider was whether there was any public risk,” he said. “Are there any workplaces or premises wired up that are not being done by trained personnel? And they have done a full audit and they reported back that that is not a risk, that risk has been mitigated.
“The exams tended to be predictable, they tended to be the same year on year, month on month. And really the integrity and the robustness of the system wasn’t where it needed to be. We needed to know that our skill trainees are being tested and that they have the right knowledge when they go into the workforce. That wasn’t happening.”
QQI told The Irish Times that Solas had “primary responsibility” for the quality assurance of apprenticeship programmes. QQI confirmed it had in March commenced an independent review of Solas assessments of the electrical apprenticeship programme. The report, finalised in October, recommended that Solas improve “the governance of the craft electrical apprenticeship programme”.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Solas confirmed it was aware of the protected disclosure “which gave rise to concerns about the quality assurance of assessment for a craft apprenticeship assessment for the electrical trade”.
It said it was “taking these matters very seriously” and had taken action, “including the immediate withdrawal of any potentially compromised papers, issuing replacements to avert any threat to exam integrity”, it said.
Solas also “any allegations of the availability of exams/assessments for purchase have been and will be vigorously investigated and pursued by Solas in order to safeguard the integrity of the system”.
