Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:02 pm on 21 June 2016.
Diolch, Lywydd. I thank the Secretary for her statement. It’s such an important sector for us in Wales, so it’s great to hear of the rapid growth in the sector. For those of us who enjoy food, the renaissance of local food production in Wales is a thing of great joy even if it leads to rapid growth of a slightly less welcome kind perhaps. [Laughter.]
You’ve spoken about skills quite extensively, but I just have one particular point to develop on that. Obviously, filling the skills gap was a major priority in the action plan, and that has two components: attracting skilled employees, which you’ve talked about, but also developing the skills of existing employees in the workforce. Since many businesses in this sector are small and, indeed, are microbusinesses and micro-employers, they’ll face particular challenges in providing training and professional development to their workforce. So, will the Welsh Government be taking particular steps, bearing in mind the profile of employers in the sector, to support small and micro-employers in training and developing their workforce skills?