Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 11 October 2016.
Well—[Interruption.]—the reality of the situation is that, if I recall, the—I think the Minister has intervened there, but I will answer the question. If I remember, the policies that she was pursuing in May would have meant that students would have been incentivised to stay in Wales, in the sense that their fees would have been paid if they’d studied in Wales but not elsewhere. That’s not a position that I would share. [Interruption.] From my perspective, what I want to do is to make sure that we attract students into Wales, not just those who are from Wales, but outside Wales as well, and make sure that there are skilled jobs there for them.
For me, it’s not a question of whether they leave, it’s a question of enabling them to return. Because I see no reason why young people wouldn’t want to leave, gain experience elsewhere, and come back and bring that experience back with them, in the same way as I know that there are people who will come to Cardiff in their 20s and then go back to rural Wales when they’re older. I think they take their experience back with them. For us, it’s all about ensuring that the jobs are there. It’s why unemployment is at 4.1 per cent—lower than Scotland, lower than England, lower than Northern Ireland—and it’s why we are seeing Wales as a good place to invest, to bring skilled jobs, on behalf of so many international companies.