Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion. Over the last 15 months or so, the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee has been somewhat obsessed with apprenticeships. In addition to the report we're debating today, we've also reported on the introduction of the UK Government's apprenticeship levy, and just last month we scrutinised the Minister again, assessing the impact of that levy one year on. We have dedicated so much of the committee's time to apprenticeships because we think they are important. Apprenticeships matter: they offer a great way for people to earn as they learn and for employers to invest in the skills their businesses need. Whilst we've badged this piece of work an 'inquiry into apprenticeships', the terms of reference were fairly wide-ranging and allowed us to look at issues including careers advice and aspects of vocational training in general. I'm sure today's debate will be equally wide-ranging.

In my contribution today, I do want to focus on the key appeal that the committee has issued. In our evidence, we heard from providers, apprentices and young people who hadn't gone down that route, and we heard a number of times that economic barriers—the cost of travel, the cost of buying a suit for an interview, et cetera—can prevent young people from taking up opportunities, and our response to this was to question the Government on what they can do, and we made two recommendations in that regard. Our recommendation 6 was that the Welsh Government should create a competitive hardship fund for apprentices on the lowest pay levels, or create other concessions, such as concessionary bus or rail cards, as exist for other students.

Our recommendation 7 was that the Welsh Government should establish a universal grant to cover living costs for all apprentices, as is due to be available for Welsh university students from 2018-19. At the heart of this debate, I think, at the heart of this question, is fairness. And I think there's probably widespread agreement across this Chamber that we consider academic and vocational learning equal—that there is parity between the two routes. But what we haven't yet achieved is parity of support for students going down both routes. So, I think there is a strong and compelling moral case for the Welsh Government to apply similar levels of support to apprentices as would be available to their peers in full-time higher education.

In adverts to promote its new package of measures for university students, the Welsh Government has declared it to be the most generous student support package in the UK and level of support that young people heading off to university can expect. I'll say it again: the most generous support package in the UK. So, today, I want to use this opportunity in this debate to call for Wales's apprentices to have an equally generous support package.