Job Losses in Barclays in Cardiff

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:41 pm on 20 June 2018.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 3:41, 20 June 2018

Like everyone else, I find Barclays's decision quite baffling, and I do have some sympathy with you; quite how you can anticipate such a random decision is very difficult to consider. I think what you say about the resilience of the sector is key, because jobs continue to be generated, and perhaps against expectation with automation the service is becoming more skilled—highly skilled in many places with complex calls and use of social media platforms. I commend the work of the trade unions in emphasising how important these skilled and better-paid jobs are.

So, my specific question, then, given that you've referred to the vacancies and the fact that—. Incidentally, we want lots of smaller providers to establish greater resilience so that when we do get a rather random decision, it's one amongst many employers, thankfully. Anyway, there are lots of skilled people now, unfortunately, who are going to have their work disrupted for at least a while until they find other employment. So, are you working with the Welsh Contact Centre Forum to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of the opportunities that currently exist in the sector? Because I would imagine many of them really do have the potential to shift quite quickly into those jobs and it's very, very important that we provide that sort of practical assistance.