Extract from Welsh Parliament: Questions to the First Minister Mark
Drakeford MS (First Minister of Wales): Llywydd, I want to give the
Member an absolute assurance that, beyond the health service and
the coronavirus crisis, jobs are the very top of the agenda here in
the Welsh Government, because we are entering a period in which the
economic impact of coronavirus is going to be felt in many families
and communities across Wales. As we allow the economy itself to
recover, we will act as a...Request free
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Extract from Welsh
Parliament: Questions to the First Minister
(First Minister of Wales): Llywydd, I want to give
the Member an absolute assurance that, beyond the health service
and the coronavirus crisis, jobs are the very top of the agenda
here in the Welsh Government, because we are entering a period in
which the economic impact of coronavirus is going to be felt in
many families and communities across Wales. As we allow the economy
itself to recover, we will act as a Welsh Government, as we have
through our economic resilience fund, to make sure that there are
opportunities there, particularly for our young people, working
alongside the Kickstart programme of the UK
Government, to create traineeships and apprenticeships to support
employers who are prepared to take on young people as part of their
businesses. That will be as true in Islwyn as it will be in any
other part of Wales.
Extract from Statement by
the Counsel General and Minister for European Transition: COVID-19
Reconstruction—Challenges and Priorities
(Counsel General and Minister for European
Transition):...Recognising that we are entering an extremely
challenging time for the jobs market, which is likely to be
particularly difficult for young people, we will focus on keeping
people in jobs and creating new jobs. We will do everything we can
to reduce unemployment and give everyone the best chance to find
and keep decent work with long-term prospects, adding value to the
UK Government’s Kickstart programme. We will work with
trade unions, employers, schools and colleges to provide
opportunities for people to develop their skills and to acquire new
ones. We will do all that we can to prevent our young people losing
out educationally or economically through the effects of
coronavirus and an economic downturn that is not of their making.
We will support all of our young people to stay in education and to
catch up at school and in college. In addition, we'll make sure
that particularly disadvantaged groups, including members of black,
Asian and minority ethnic communities, receive the additional help
that they need...
...He () raises a very, very important point about young
people and their employment prospects. I hope he will acknowledge
that the document goes to some lengths to emphasise how significant
that is as a priority for the Welsh Government, and that is
reflected in the range of commitments in the document in terms of
supporting young people to enhance their skills training, support
them in work, and indeed to support them in apprenticeships. So,
there's a range of specific interventions in relation to young
people in employment, to add value, I suppose, to some of the
interventions that are happening at a UK-wide level, in particular
the Kickstart scheme, and to
supplement some of that in a way that adds further value to young
people, to make sure that they don't carry this burden with them
throughout their working lives, which otherwise they might....
Delyth Jewell MS:...I understand the rationale of trying to
add to the UK Government's Kickstart initiative, but can the
Minister confirm that he intends to do this in a way that tackles
the weaknesses of that initiative? For example, will he put an
emphasis on providing training opportunities, supporting small
businesses and providing long-term career opportunities for
workers, rather than providing short-term solutions that will not
lead to career development? Can the Minister also explain the
figures contained within the report? It notes that £2.4 billion
will be in the economic resilience fund, but only £40 million for
the provision of jobs. So, can he confirm what will be used in
order to keep people in work and also how the rest will be
invested?
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