4. Will the Minister make a statement on further education? OAQ(5)0002(EDU)[W]

Further education makes a significant contribution to skills development in Wales, increasing employability, careers pathways and public services. Further education colleges also help to increase economic prosperity as well as individual well-being and community life.

I thank the Minister for his answer. As he knows, a lot of discussions have happened in terms of how FE colleges can be a part of the twenty-first century schools programme. Does the Minister agree that that programme should include FE colleges? Indeed, in the Labour manifesto there was a commitment that the £2 million of investment would include FE colleges. Of course, investing means a lot more than buildings. Would the Minister share with us in the Assembly his vision for capital investment and also, perhaps, part of the specific strategy for FE in Wales?

I’d be happy to do that. Clearly, we do have an FE strategy that is part of the long-term strategy for post-16 education, and that includes skills and FE itself. We will continue to make capital investment, as the Member has suggested, but we are also looking at how we safeguard funding for further education in this year. The Member will be aware that the FE budget has suffered over the past few years, but Members will also be aware that the current budget does show a 2 per cent increase in the funding of FE for this financial year.

Could I draw the attention of the Minister to Bridgend College, which was ranked last year top amongst our further education institutions in Wales on student health and well-being, help and support, information and advice, and responsiveness? But as well as excellent student satisfaction and excellent academic routes, it also helps deliver quality apprenticeships in collaboration with local and regional employers. So, could the Minister therefore update us on what the current state of play is with the apprenticeship levy as relating to Wales? It seems that we might be losing out on that. But also, post the Brexit vote, what is the state of play in terms of the funds from the European social fund, which went into apprenticeships and supporting apprenticeships? How do we make good the shortfall that may now emerge over the next few years and make sure that we can keep that investment in quality apprenticeships in all our FE colleges throughout Wales?

The responsibility for apprenticeships and those areas are in the portfolio of the Minister for Skills and Science, and she is in her place in the Chamber and will have heard that question and, I’m sure, will respond in due course. But can I say this: it’s important that we ensure that the quality of education delivered by further education is monitored, understood and celebrated in the way that the Member has done? We will be carrying out a review over the coming three years to ensure that we do have the leadership and responsiveness to employers, as well as the financial robustness necessary within individual institutions, and I will report to the Chamber on progress with that.

But, overall, we know that, as the First Minister informed the Chamber yesterday, £650 million is going to be lost annually as a consequence of leaving the European Union. I don’t think there are many people in this Chamber who believe for a moment that the British Prime Minister will make a promise to ensure that every penny of that will be delivered to Wales. We know that we can’t trust the Tories when it comes to things like that. So, we know that we are facing some significant difficulties in terms of the coming years, and it will be a matter of how the overall agreements are made in terms of the Welsh Government, the UK Government and the European Union as we face the coming years that will have an impact on our ability to fund these projects in the future.

I appreciate, Minister, that apprenticeships fall within the remit of another Minister’s portfolio, but I’m sure you may be aware of the Pembrokeshire apprenticeship scheme, which aims to increase the number of young people training in the energy sector across Pembrokeshire and is supported by organisations such as the Milford Haven Port Authority, who are sponsoring employers. Now, this, of course, is a great example of local businesses and education providers working together to develop apprenticeships that are important to the local economy. So, can you tell us: what is the Welsh Government doing to encourage and support more businesses to engage with FE institutions, like Pembrokeshire College, so that Wales’s FE colleges are at the forefront of delivering programmes that actually reflect local skills markets?

I very much agree with the point made by the Member in his question. I think the relationship between employers and colleges and institutions of further education is absolutely crucial in delivering an apprenticeship programme, which meets the needs of the local population and the local economy. One of the expectations that I have is that all further education institutions are responsive to local employers. We know that most are, and we also know that, where we have a number of very large, significant employers—. The Member’s referred to the port authority of Milford Haven; you could equally refer to the refineries in the same sort of area. We know that, where there are those very large employers, that responsiveness is already there. I do sometimes have concerns, where you have an economy that is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, that not all those needs are fully understood across the whole face of the country, and that’s one area where I will be focusing over the coming years.