<p>Support for Manufacturing</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 13 July 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 2:04, 13 July 2016

I think the time is right, given the vote that’s taken place, for the development of a new economic strategy that takes account of the fact that we’ll be leaving Europe, but also ensures that manufacturing grows and prospers in the future. The Member is right in her analysis that manufacturing is a shrinking sector across the UK. But, here in Wales, it still accounts for 11.3 per cent of all workforce jobs in the country, compared to 7.8 per cent in the UK as a whole. So, it’s a crucially important area of work, a crucially important part of the Welsh economy. We also know that jobs in manufacturing—and this is very significant—in Wales rose 6.3 per cent last year. That sort of progress is something that we should be proud of and that we should be seeking to build upon. Some 165,000 people now, in Wales, are employed in manufacturing as a whole, and that is something that we will be building on by attracting companies such as Aston Martin and TVR to our country.