Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:13 pm on 14 June 2016.
Yes, I’m very happy to agree with the Member for Merthyr Tydfil that that scheme is very good. I’m familiar with it. I visited the college myself in the previous Assembly to have a look at some of the good schemes there. What is clear as well is that we have a number of employers who are very persuaded of the need for good-quality professional training, both for apprenticeships and for work-based learning in general. But we do have an uphill struggle, and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ last report—because, unfortunately, it’s now been abolished by the current Government—. The UKCES’ very useful last report showed us that, where employers do train in Wales, they are training more in Wales and they have higher quality training. But we aren’t making very many inroads into the number of employers that train—the large number of them who don’t train. So, we will be redoubling our efforts to reach out to the employers through the regional skills partnerships and the chambers of commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses and a number of other partners to bring as many of those employers into this fold as possible.