Digital connectivity is critical in our modern-day lives. Digital skills are becoming increasingly essential for getting access to a range of products and services. Those people equipped with the knowledge and tools to engage with the digital technologies tend to earn higher wages, reflecting their greater productivity. However, in Wales, a lack of digital infrastructure and poor digital skills mean that communities across the country face high levels of digital exclusion.

Wales has the highest average of people who do not use the internet in Britain. Welsh Government targets to provide high-speed broadband to homes and businesses have been missed. Deadlines have been extended with damaging consequences for jobs and the economy. The relentless pace of emerging digital technologies has already transformed the way we communicate and work. Businesses require a workforce with high-level specialist skills.

The Tinder Foundation reported that, already, almost 90 per cent of new jobs require digital skills. They found that 72 per cent of employers said they’re unwilling to interview candidates who do not have basic IT skills. A study in 2014 concluded that 35 per cent of jobs could become automated over the next 20 years. Jobs in office and administrative support, transportation, sales and services, construction and manufacturing are the ones most likely to be computerised or automated. This is the challenge facing Wales—a challenge that Welsh Government is failing to meet. In Wales today [Interruption.]—Yes, go on.