It’s a start! An apprenticeship for non-profit administrators

The Wheel, the country’s main association for non-profit organisations, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding confirming Technological University Dublin as the official education partner in an application to the National Apprenticeship Office for a Level 6 (National Framework of Qualifications – NQI) apprenticeship. The working title of the apprenticeship is Nonprofit Administrator.

There is still a long way to go; approval for the apprenticeship programme has yet to be granted, but the ball is rolling.

The apprenticeship will introduce participants to topics that all organisations in the community and voluntary sector recognise and need, including: governance, the community and voluntary sector landscape, fundraising, event and volunteer management and more.

The course will be designed with community and voluntary sector approaches in mind – for example, trauma-informed practice, social value and person-centred care.

Mairead O’Connor, senior sector skills policy manager with The Wheel, said that her colleague Sharon Hughes had come up with the idea after conversations with a number of organisations.

“Sharon was talking to CEOs and other people working in the sector over the course of a year or two. She knew about the apprenticeship model and how it was used in other sectors,” said Mairead.

“She had a kind of a light bulb moment, if you like, and saw that it would address a lot of the issues she was hearing about from employers in the sector. We brought it to our members, put it in front of them at a meeting in January of 2025. We kind of got the green light at that meeting, and we went from there with it,” she said.

Benefits

One of the benefits of an apprenticeship is that apprentices continue to earn throughout their training, offering an accessibility advantage over more academic programmes.

“It will be delivered by our educational partner the Technological University Dublin and their partners around the country. The idea is that it would provide a unique pathway into the sector for people. It’s an earn and learn model. You don’t have to go off and spend a number of years in education, you are working and learning at the same time,” said Mairead.

Progression

The apprenticeship programme would potentially give opportunities for progression to people who already have a foothold in the sector.

“Talking to employers, that’s something they are very keen on. There are people already working in the sector, a lot of whom might have valuable lived experience. They may come in as service users initially and they join the workforce in the sector. They mightn’t have had the opportunity to go into education, there might have been barriers,” said Mairead.

“This is a way for them to upskill without having to take time off work and to create pathways for them as well. The idea is this would be a starting off point on a learning journey; it’s a level six but we would hope that down the line there would be level sevens and level eights and that people could continue their (educational) journey,” she said.

The apprenticeship will also be a gateway for people to enter the sector for the first time.

It’s no secret that the community sector has experienced labour shortages since the pandemic. Many of the organisations that are backing the development of apprenticeships see it as a means that could help them address such issues in years to come.

“We know that over the last few years we have heard a lot from our members about recruitment and retention being a really big issue. It’s definitely an issue. And if you can give opportunities for people who are already in the sector, already working in your organisation, upskill them and give them opportunities for progression, that’s the ideal scenario. That’s how you keep people really, through learning opportunities and the apprenticeship is ideal for that,” said Mairead.

Possible 2027 start

At the moment she says it isn’t possible to say how many apprenticeships could be offered, but the picture should become clearer in 2026. If everything goes well the first apprentices could be in training in 18 months or so. As Mairead said, “What we’re hoping is to get through the initial application this year, probably the earliest intake would be September 2027, all going well. We are working towards that and we do hope to do an awful lot of the heavy lifting this year.”

16 employers to date sign up

As of March 2026 there were 16 members of the consortium who intend as employers to offer the apprenticeship when all is ready to go. They are:

• Novas
• Community Enterprise Association of Ireland
• Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service
• North Dublin Inner City Home Care and Home Help Services
• Longford Women’s Link
• Carmichael
• Exchange House
• P.A.C.E. (Prevention, Accommodation, Community, Enterprise)
• Irish Traveller Movement
• Business in the Community
• Threshold
• Airfield Estate
• St. John of God Community Services
• Foróige, the national youth development organisation
• WALK
• DePaul