Degree Apprenticeships

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 25 October 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:15, 25 October 2022

I thank Jack Sargeant for that and congratulate him, of course, on the way that he himself came through that apprenticeship system and did so so successfully. What you can quite certainly say to the business forum is that, in Wales, they have a Government that fully understands the responsibility that we have to invest in the skills that will allow businesses in that part of Wales to continue to thrive. Unemployment, Llywydd, in Wales is at its very lowest in the north-east of Wales. I met companies in the Deeside area when I was in north Wales only a couple of weeks ago. They know it's a competitive market to attract, particularly, young people to take up the job opportunities that are there for them, and they were very appreciative of the work that the Welsh Government does and particularly those on-the-ground providers—Coleg Cambria and others—the things that they do to align the programmes that they provide with the needs of that great green industrial future that we want to create here in Wales. And I'd be really grateful to Jack Sargeant if, on our behalf, on behalf of the Welsh Government, he can reinforce, with that business forum, our determination to go on working alongside them and the education system to make sure that we turn out young people who have the skills that they will need to create successful futures for themselves, and to contribute to those great employers that we have in the north-east of Wales.

Minister

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