The apprenticeship route gets explained badly, usually as a fallback for people who did not get points. That description was out of date years ago.
Two things make it genuinely different. You are employed and paid for the whole thing, including the parts spent in a college or training centre. And the qualification at the end is a real award on the national framework, which for many programmes now goes up to honours degree level and beyond.
It does not go through the CAO
This is the part that trips people up. There is no list, no points, no offer round, no 1 February deadline.
You apply to an employer. The apprenticeship begins when somebody hires you, and it is the employer's decision. That means the process looks like getting a job, because it is getting a job: a CV, an application, an interview, sometimes an aptitude test.
It also means the timing is not tied to the academic year. Vacancies appear when employers have them.
What it looks like
You alternate between working for your employer and periods of formal training, and you are paid throughout. The split and the length vary by programme, with most running somewhere between two and four years.
At the end you hold a qualification and several years of experience, and no student debt. That combination is why the route has stopped being a consolation prize.
The range is much wider than the traditional trades now. Craft apprenticeships still exist and still matter, and alongside them are programmes in areas like finance, software, engineering, biopharma, hospitality, logistics and insurance.
How to actually get one
Start at apprenticeship.ie. It lists the programmes that exist and carries current vacancies. Read the programme description before the vacancy list, because the programmes vary enormously in what they lead to.
Apply to employers directly as well. Plenty of apprenticeship hiring happens through ordinary recruitment rather than through a central list. If there is a company you want to work for, ask them whether they take apprentices.
Treat it as a job application. The people reading it are hiring a colleague for several years. Show up on time, know what the company does, and be able to say why this trade or this field.
Talk to somebody doing it. Ten minutes with a current apprentice is worth more than any prospectus, and most are happy to tell you what the first year is really like.
Who it does not suit
If the thing you want requires a specific degree from a specific institution, the apprenticeship route may not get you there, and you should look at the other ways in instead. Be honest with yourself about that rather than picking the route that feels easiest this week.