Julie James: ...over the next five years. Apprenticeships in Wales are delivered on a flexible basis with people starting throughout the year, but by far the largest recruitment drive takes place in line with the school year. Therefore, changes will need to take place with immediate effect, so that an all-age approach can be applied to our apprenticeship contracts for delivery during the school year,...
Julie James: ...to an all-age apprenticeship scheme. We recognise that age is not the only reason that you should go on to an apprenticeship scheme. However, we are still targeting 16 to 19-year-olds coming out of school to get into those schemes and we have targets for people wanting to change jobs and people returning to work. The reason for this is that we want to look very carefully at employers who...
Julie James: .... That also means—because we know the underprovision is mostly in the higher skilled areas—that we want to encourage apprenticeships not just at the entry level, level 2, or that we want school leavers to go into those, but we want an all-age apprenticeship system that encourages people at level 3, A-level equivalent, and level 4, foundation degree and upwards, to go into the...
Julie James: ...wealth of evidence available to us on what works. Our new programme is anticipated to begin delivery from April 2018. Between now and then we will conduct a series of pilot activities with further education colleges and our existing network of work-based learning providers to test the capacity and willingness of the sectors to innovate and respond flexibly to the needs of individuals and...
Julie James: ...system of contract arrangements in place to provide work-based learning via a system of main contracts and then subcontracts; and actually, it’s quite a complex picture. Sometimes the further education colleges are subcontractors to the main contractor and vice versa. What I am able to confirm to the Member is that we do prioritise very much the needs of qualification-based learning...
Julie James: Thank you very much for those questions. I’d just like to say that I’m working very closely with my colleagues, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, in ensuring that the transition stages between all areas of education are as seamless as possible and that we pick up individual learner needs at those times so that we correctly...
Julie James: ...and we’re working very hard to get them. We have a digital competence framework that I hope all Members are familiar with, and which we have just recently launched. Indeed, I visited a pioneer school in my colleague Mike Hedges’s constituency on Monday morning to look at the digital competence framework in action, and it was very impressive indeed. I’m sure that Members will all...
Julie James: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion. Wales is at the forefront of ensuring greater coherence and recognising the contribution that the whole education workforce makes to learners in Wales. I’m sure Members will agree that the registration of the wider educational workforce is good news as it provides the reassurances that the workforce is deemed suitable for registration....
Julie James: ...I think it underlines perfectly the enabling digital technologies in all areas of life that are essential to grow our economy. With that in mind, of course, we have developed digital competency in schools and we’re developing digital frameworks for industry right across Wales. I can assure the Member and everybody else in the Chamber that we totally get that it’s not just about...
Julie James: ...clear from the debate that, actually, we broadly agree the principles, which are that lifelong learning is extremely important to people from all backgrounds and all ages, and access to part-time education at all levels—. Angela has spoken very movingly, for example, of some of the examples in her constituency. Darren referenced the Inspire! awards—it gives me the chance to say that I...
Julie James: ...theme of employability runs throughout all four developing cross-cutting strategies. Put simply, employability is not just about jobs and skills; it is about getting every aspect of Government—education, health, housing, communities, transport, rurality, childcare, regional development—working together to support people into sustainable employment. In April, Cabinet endorsed my...
Julie James: ...in terms of getting businesses ready for growth and opportunity, and that will be very much part of what we’re helping them to look at. In terms of Careers Wales, if the Member has a specific school that’s having a problem with work experience issues, I’d be very grateful if he’d write to me about it. There’s a great deal of misinformation around about what health and safety...
Julie James: ...on their journey through. So, no matter where you start on that pathway, and people obviously will start in very different places—so, if you’re young, you will start at the end of compulsory schooling; if you’re older and retraining or you’ve been out of work for some time, you’ll start at different places, but, actually, the programmes make a coherent pathway. So, if, for...
Julie James: ...agreed definition of ‘fair work’, including the progression elements of that, and then make sure that we leverage that with everybody that we support. So, my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Education, has only today announced that the quid pro quo for the tuition fee offer is that universities become fair-wage employers. That's very much part of the same piece, really—that...
Julie James: ...produce for that ecosystem. The other flip side of that is to make sure that the businesses with growth potential get the support that they need and that we can make sure that careers advisers in schools—and, actually, for adults as well out in the community—understand the skills necessary to fit the needs of those employers with a growth potential. So, that’s very much part of the...
Julie James: ...until next week. I've also postponed the Stage 3 debate on the abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill until 28 November. Questions tabled for answer last week by the education, health and social services secretaries will be taken tomorrow, and questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport and the Counsel General will move to next week. Finally,...
Julie James: ...discretionary relief where possible, our council tax reduction scheme helps, our Families First and Flying Start programmes are very helpful, the pupil development grant, of course, supports our schools in assisting children from families who are particularly hard hit, and we are very proud indeed of our campaign to stop hunger during the school holidays, which we supported last year, and...
Julie James: ...working with young women to make their voices heard on FGM. This project received a UK national midwifery award and is now being used to train professionals across Wales, as well as being taught in schools through the Spectrum programme. Carl was also very keen to ensure that FGM be a key strand in what eventually became the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence...
Julie James: ...we have to focus on informing children to make sure they understand that FGM is a crime and a violation of human rights. As many Members have said, in September this year, the Cabinet Secretary for Education published the Government's new action plan, 'Education in Wales: Our national mission'. The action plan sets out how the school system will move forward over the period 2017-21,...
Julie James: Thank you for that question. I actually saw the programme, which was very interesting indeed, and I've had the chance to speak to a number of groups myself about it. The Cabinet Secretary for Education is in the Chamber, listening to your remarks as well. I will take the opportunity, of course, to say that our very ambitious additional learning needs Bill will, if passed this afternoon,...
