Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 16 May 2017.
Well, can I remind him that it is a key commitment of this Government that we will fund a 100,000 apprenticeship for people of all ages over the course of this Assembly term, something that we think is hugely important? He’s right to point out that manufacturing is of greater importance to the Welsh economy than it is for the UK as a whole. Some 10.8 per cent of the Welsh workforce are in manufacturing compared to 7.6 per cent for the UK. I do not accept what he says about dithering: we brought Aston Martin into Wales; we brought Qatar Airways into Wales. At the moment, the advanced materials and manufacturing sector team is currently working with 88 companies, wishing to locate or expand in Wales. So, far from dithering, we’ve been hugely active and the investment figures speak for themselves.