The Department of Education hopes to create at least 500 extra training places for apprentices by introducing courses at institutes of technology (ITs) this summer.
Under the scheme, members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland would be paid £12,000 to work on training modules when the ITs are closed during the holidays.
The department says the aim is to increase the capacity for apprenticeship training at ITs to more than 7,200 places this year.
A spokesman for the Department was responding to criticism in a draft report for the National Apprenticeship Advisory Committee (NAAC) of FAS, published in The Irish Times on Monday. This said inflexibility by lecturers and ITs was hindering apprenticeship training.
The report said up to 1,500 apprentices could be trained, but it was still awaiting a response from the Teachers' Union of Ireland.
The deputy general secretary of the TUI, Mr Peter McMenamin, said he was not aware of any report critical of the union.
