, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
We understand the important role of Jobs Growth Wales+. It's a conversation I had with the Minister yesterday, when we were discussing the NEETs agenda, and we know that that programme is under pressure. But we are committed to extending Jobs Growth Wales+…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, I'll answer the last one first. No-one has said that we are not going to provide money for FE to take account of the increased pressures. That decision hasn't been made. So, I think the point about Medr and the breach of legal duty is not appropriate at…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, this is a live discussion, and I think colleagues around the Cabinet table are fully aware of the pressures on FE and also are fully cognisant of the pressures around the NEET agenda as well. So, it's a collective responsibility. But if I can just add…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Yes, and we want that level playing field, of course we do. And we want as many young people to go on to the courses they choose to go on to, because if we don't provide them with those opportunities—and I understand there are waiting lists in some…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
I'm not aware that it affects other sectors in the same way. As I said earlier on, I think it's a success story around FE, but that brings about its own challenges. So, as I remarked earlier on, we are keeping a very close eye on developments in all the…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Good morning.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, apprenticeships are vitally important and it is something that I passionately feel that we need to support. It is a different pathway into jobs. With the apprenticeship schemes we have, currently, Welsh Government is putting £150 million into supporting…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Yes.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
I'm very much aware of the importance of third sector bodies and community groups, and it relates back to the discussion we had around youth work as well, because youth support is so important as a gateway for those young people to have the best support and…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
So, we're talking about the NEET agenda here, and it's very distressing when you look at the numbers of NEETs in Wales. There are different sets of figures, but the more accurate ones seem to suggest that about 47,000 young people in Wales are NEETs, about 14…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Everything is in the budget at the moment, but you will know from your own experience that being in Government means that you have to make tough choices. So, I'm not saying that we've decided on anything yet, but that is just in the round of discussions.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
In principle, I'm absolutely supportive of the whole idea of having a national body that will co-ordinate the whole sector, and raise the profile as well, and make sure that the importance of youth work goes into all levels of local authority work, and…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Good morning.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
I won't allow that to happen.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
And I think that I, like many around this table, have seen too many action plans in the past that are tokenistic in relation to the Welsh language.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
That's a hugely important question. We have organisations, such as the Urdd, such as the mentrau iaith, such as young farmers clubs, in some areas, who hold their activities through the medium of Welsh. I would expect to see those five-year strategies from…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, if I may say, I'm very pleased to take on the responsibility for youth work for all sorts of reasons. I have some experience of being in that sector years ago. And I know how important youth work is, not only in relation to the Welsh language, but in…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
So, these are considerations in budget discussions at the moment, and we are well aware of the pressures around Welsh medium, but the wider pressures as well in the FE sector.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, clearly, just on the Welsh language aspect, there is some very good practice in north Wales already, as there is in other parts of Wales as well. So, what we need to do is roll out that good practice, right? And one of the difficulties is around…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
I'm sorry, I thought you were talking about the wider pressures around—. So, just on the Welsh language.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, we recognise that the further education sector is under pressure. We've seen increased numbers of young people wanting to go into FE. The enrolments are up, and there are waiting lists as well. So, that's a good-news story in many ways, that so many…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Well, that's what I would like to see happening, and that is the message that I've conveyed very clearly to Medr and ColegauCymru, that there's that continuity from Welsh-medium education, and we must also bear in mind that we have a number of Welsh learners…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Perhaps what I should have also said is that ColegauCymru have established a taskforce in addition to look at how to develop Welsh-medium provision, under the chairing of the chief executive of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, and I have arranged a meeting with him…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Thank you very much for that question. As many of you will know, developing Welsh-medium education is something that's very close to my heart. This Government also wants to see a substantial increase in Welsh-medium provision across all sectors, from early…
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government General Scrutiny Session
Yes, perhaps it would be better—good morning, all—if they introduced themselves.
