There’s no doubt, of course, that the next few years are going to be challenging. But I think the real challenge is to ensure that we emerge stronger at the other end than we are at present in terms of our economy here in Wales. As the shadow Minister with responsibility for education and skills and so on, it is clear that we must make full use of the potential we have in Wales to build a stronger economy on those firm foundations in terms of creativity, innovation, enterprise and so on, as Adam mentioned, and to use this opportunity that we have now to create an improved regime.

In a recent discussion on apprenticeships here in Wales, the point was made, of course, that employers are obviously crucial to any successful apprenticeship scheme, and we must ensure that employers are an integral part and ready partners to step forward to play their part in this. But the one thing employers don’t like, of course, is inconsistency, is programmes that appear then disappear, and then things change and after a year or two the goalposts are moved. They need consistency and they need continuity.

The programmes that we have in Wales, of course, are very reliant on European funding in terms of apprenticeships and workplace training. The tendency is that they are two or three year schemes, because of the fact that those conditions come from Europe. Is there an opportunity here now, for example, to create programmes that are longer term and to think differently, rather than us having to change so often, and that we create that more consistent landscape that is more in keeping with the involvement of the business sector, which will mean that we manage to develop more of those skills and more of the expertise that we need?

But one doesn’t get the feeling from Welsh Government that that strategy is in place and that it is robust and muscular—certainly in these first few months after the referendum. I’ve referred in the past to the fact that the Minister for skills stated—fairly enough, if truth be told—that she was going to continue with many of the programmes that are reliant on European funding, because the pledges have been made that the funding will be provided from elsewhere, although, of course, some of those individuals didn’t perhaps have the right to make those pledges. But the attitude is quite positive in that regard: we will continue, because, if we don’t, what will we do? We’ll be in stasis. But, on exactly the same day, another Minister, responsible for agriculture, announced that she was postponing some of these programmes because of the uncertainty. Well, there you have two departments taking entirely different views on the same problem there. Certainly that, to me, highlighted the fact that there was no specific strategy and no meaningful approach by the Welsh Government to the situation that we find ourselves in.

Of course, international students make a very important contribution to our HE institutions in Wales. We know that the expenditure of international students supported over 7,000 or almost 7,500 jobs in Wales in 2015, and that the impact isn’t only in those areas where there are universities but in other areas of Wales as well. One job is created for every three students from outwith the EU, and one job is created for every five students coming to Wales from within the EU. There’s £203 million in payments from international students to Welsh universities. The personal expenditure of international students is over £300 million. There is a risk, of course, in light of the referendum, that we will lose that important relationship we have, and that image we have of being a nation that opens our arms to international students to bring their skills and expertise to us.

And of course it’s not only the direct economic consequences of that, but it would also cost. Think of all these people then going back having made trade and international connections for Wales. It would cost you a fortune to try and create that in some alternative way. And the comments of Theresa May and Amber Rudd on the possibility of restricting the number of student visas in order to meet pledges on immigration, to me, are of huge concern, and certainly create further uncertainty, which will be damaging to that sector.

The importance of research and development is, of course, another prominent issue. It is central to any real economic strategy, and the return on investment there can be very substantial indeed. And we have seen those figures. In 2014, it was estimated that totals of £716 million had been spent on research and development in Wales, and that represents 2.4 per cent of the total UK research spend. There’s been an old argument on the need to increase that and ensure that we get our fair share. Well, there’s an opportunity here, with that shifting landscape, for us to actually make up for the underinvestment that has happened in the past.

Interestingly, too, the private sector contributes some 55 per cent to that total, higher education some 40 per cent, and the Government 5 per cent. So, there may be scope to increase that. But, certainly, the economic topography is changing, and we must ensure that it works to our benefit, despite any challenges.