The next item, therefore, is a statement by the Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning on the progress report on the employability plan, and I call on the Minister to make a statement—Eluned Morgan.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. In March this year, we published a cross-Government employability plan that set out our vision for making Wales a full-employment, high-tech, high-wage economy. That plan presented an ambitious strategy to create a highly trained and inclusive workforce, one that can respond effectively to national and regional skills needs, and adapt well to the future of work.

At the centre of this ambition, we committed to helping everyone achieve their full potential through meaningful employment, regardless of their ability, background, gender or ethnicity. The plan also made it clear to employers that they have a responsibility to nurture, train and sustain their employees to ensure that the future of the Welsh workforce is a stable and forceful one. Aligned closely with that economic action plan, we have ensured that, together, we are driving inclusive growth, that we're improving productivity and that we start to prepare to futureproof our economy against those future challenges.

We set out a wide-ranging programme of actions and commitments in that employability plan, as well as stretching 10-year targets, in order to achieve that vision for Wales. Six months on—and it's only been six months—I'm pleased to announce the publication of our first progress report on the delivery of our employability plan. The report sets out highlights over the past six months, showcasing our key achievements so far, as well as giving a flavour of work ongoing and future developments to come.

One of the things we've done is to launch a new £10 million skills development fund that will boost regional skills provision and target skills gaps. We've invited bids from across Wales, and those who were successful will begin delivery this month for this academic year.

We're also making progress on delivering a radical review of the current funding formula for further education, and we'll look to implement changes in the 2019-20 academic year in order to make the system more efficient and, again, more flexible for regional skills needs.

Our apprenticeships programme continues to go from strength to strength, now providing high-level opportunities in new sectors, including clinical therapies and healthcare sciences. By the end of this year, we plan to deliver a new apprenticeship pilot within the forestry sector that will help tackle the future skills and recruitment needs for a revitalised timber industry.

We've got a £2 million initiative to trial an individualised placement support approach, and that has already started. That will support 450 individuals experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues, helping them to access both mental health and employability support in a joined-up way. So, that's working with the UK Government’s work and health unit and Jobcentre Plus, and what that trial does is to offer a groundbreaking opportunity to integrate healthcare and employability services.

At the centre of our new individualised approach to employability support, we're making excellent progress in developing more streamlined access to advice and support and we're doing this through the employment advice gateway, which will be launched from February next year. That'll be delivered by Careers Wales. Our new employability support programme, Working Wales, will be accessed via that gateway and, again, will be ready for launching next year. The procurement of contractors for the delivery of Working Wales is well under way, and the award of contracts are expected in November. We continue to develop proposals with Careers Wales around the shape and delivery of the gateway.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

As the report illustrates, we are laying the foundations for a more holistic, cross-Government approach to employability. We recognise the need to better connect different public services, including transport, health, housing, childcare and employability support, and ensure that these services work together to enable more people to enter and retain employment. We are already seeing the benefits of co-location in the work of the Valleys taskforce and our Communities for Work programme. We are doing that through the development of community hubs, and we will continue to develop this approach through the new gateway.

We have also made good progress in working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Community Transport Association to explore how we might enhance transport options to improve employability in local areas. We are now developing plans for a pilot in the Valleys that will help to reduce barriers to work arising from a lack of flexible or affordable transport options.

One of the key commitments that we made in our employability plan was to set a new national target to increase the number of disabled people in employment. Improving employment opportunities for disabled people is a priority, and it's very important for this Government. We are determined to drive the step change needed in workplaces and in society to break down the barriers and challenges faced by nearly 75,000 disabled people in Wales who are not in employment but who would like to work.

I am pleased with the progress that we've made so far working in close partnership with disabled people and their representatives, who have been advising the Welsh Government on the best approach to take. I have also been very pleased with the co-operation of employers I have met with in our efforts to break down the existing barriers to work faced by disabled people and those with work-limiting health conditions.

We aim to publish a target by the end of the year that will look to reduce the employment gap in relation to disabled people, together with further details on how we plan to achieve this ambition.

Through my meetings with anchor companies and business networks I will continue to challenge employers to do more and to explore how we can work together to help all individuals with protected characteristics to enter employment that is sustainable and fulfilling.

This autumn, we will also be publishing a new version of our framework for action on independent living. That will set out a wide range of Government actions under way to tackle some of the key barriers identified by disabled people in the areas of transport, housing and employment.

So, the report illustrates that we've accomplished a lot in the six months since our plan was published, setting in motion a far-reaching new approach to improving employability across Wales.

As part of the Welsh Government’s national strategy 'Prosperity for All', effective cross-Government working remains at the heart of delivering the employability plan. We are putting in place channels of communication and joint working across Welsh Government and our delivery partners in order to ensure that we continue to work in a co-ordinated and efficient way, united by common goals. I’m indebted also to the work of my fellow Ministers and their willingness to work together to ensure positive progress is made on issues that are relevant to several different portfolios.

This is the first of a series of annual reports on the implementation of the employability plan, and I look forward to continuing this work to create an economy founded on high-quality skills and that allows people to prosper along with the economy of Wales. Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister for her statement today. It is clear that if we are to ensure workforce supply needs and business needs are met there has to be better collaboration between industry and education. Local colleges, training providers and universities need to understand and respond to the requirements of businesses by providing training programmes tailored to meet existing skill demands in Wales. Research for the south-east Wales regional skills partnership reveals that while some colleges are making great progress in building a relationship with employers, others are offering training without understanding the needs of local businesses. So what is the Minister doing to address this problem and to ensure greater collaboration and communication between businesses and education is maintained and achieved here in Wales?

The construction industry is a case in point. In July, the Federation of Master Builders Cymru found that construction SMEs reported slower growth in activity in the second quarter of this year. One of the reasons given for this was the shortage of skilled labour. Two thirds of businesses reported difficulties in hiring bricklayers and 60 per cent in hiring carpenters and joiners, while SME builders reported a rising workload. What is the Minister doing to address the shortage of skills in the construction industry, please? What is she doing to change the poor perception of the construction industry as a clear option amongst young people? Young people need a clear and compelling technical pathway through post-16 education, with equal esteem and equal reward as other, more traditional routes. How does the Minister intend to promote apprenticeships to young people as a viable career option, and what financial support will she offer to older workers, as well as young people, to improve training and skills?

Finally, Presiding Officer, I would like to mention the subject of digital skills. Digital skills are having a huge impact as new technologies are adopted, but change is taking place at a rapid pace. What consideration has been given to colleges partnering up with industry to gain access to the latest technology and equipment to ensure that training is up to date and goes with the times? This is vital if we are to meet the demand for workers with digital skills, particularly in specialist areas such as cyber security. Minister, I appreciate the new £10 million skills development fund, but I would like to ask you how much you are spending in the south-east Valleys on BMEs, LGBTs and people over the age of 50, and how it's going to be allocated in certain areas where people have been unemployed for generations. I look forward to the Minister replying on this area. Thank you.

Diolch yn fawr, Mohammad. Yes, I think this development that we've put on the table, £10 million, really has made the further education system sit up and take notice and understand that we are dead serious about the need for them to respond to the skills needs of the local economy. What has happened as a consequence of that is that, actually, people are getting much more engaged with the regional skills partnership, because they understand that, if they want to access that money, they can only access it if they're responding to what those RSPs are saying. The issue we have now is to make sure that we are getting the right labour market intelligence into those regional skills partnerships—so, getting the right people around the table. And, whilst we can have big companies, I think it's really important that we also focus on SMEs and making sure that we hear what they've got to tell us about their skills needs. Now, we can do that partly, perhaps, through sector skills; we can read the labour market intelligence and make sure that's being built in. So, we have gone a long way and, of course, it will be relevant in the review that we're doing in relation to further education, because we need to be training people for jobs that exist, or will exist, rather than providing people with training for jobs that simply don't exist. So, that is an interesting shift that I think—. I'm really pleased to say that further education colleges are responding very positively.

I think the other issue that you touched upon is apprenticeships. Now, I think we've got a very proud record on apprenticeships in Wales. We're on target to meet our 100,000 apprenticeships, and, of course, what you have to remember is that these are all-age apprenticeships, so only about 25 per cent of them are for people under the age of 25.

In-work poverty is probably one of the biggest challenges we face in Wales today, and so the issue is how do you get people to take on better roles within their jobs and therefore earn more money. And the answer is training. Now, we can go some way to helping to provide that training, but part of what we have to do is to make sure that employers also take up their responsibility, and that's something that we've made very clear, and I make very clear, every time I meet the employers that I meet with. 

It depends on if you listen to someone like Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum—or Mark Carney over the past few days—to decide at which pole you are in terms of pessimism or optimism in terms of the potential of automation to destroy jobs. But everyone would accept, of course, in terms of the need for skills, that this is the greatest revolution we have seen for generations. Does the Minister feel that we have a regime that is prepared for this challenge? Because, if we think in traditional terms, in terms of education and skills the trend has been to focus on young people—although lifelong learning is part of your portfolio—and then, in terms of adults, to focus on the unemployed. But, in the context of automation, the greatest need will be to train people who are halfway through their careers, and already in work, to retrain for the positions that will emerge.

Now, the system we had for that in the past, we would have called 'adult education’. Wales, at one point, was in the vanguard with adult education, but look at where we are now. Coleg Harlech is in decline as a symbol of a lack of investment—not only in Wales; the same pattern has existed in England too—in terms of evening classes and so on and so forth, where people would go of their own accord to climb the ladder, either in the same sector, or to retrain in preparation for another sector. If we look at the figures, we see Working Wales, the procurement process—some £600 million invested in that. How much is put into community learning? I know that you’re currently consulting, or have just concluded a consultation. It’s just a few million going to that sector, but, again, that is the sector that is the most appropriate place for doing the work of preparing everyone for the challenge that we are facing. So, will we see a change in the balance?

And just finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, just a few further points in terms of the Welsh language. We have discussed this previously: 0.3 per cent, or whatever the figure is now in terms of apprenticeships, provided entirely through the medium of Welsh. That is entirely unacceptable. Can we be given a clear pledge that the provision in terms of apprenticeships will reflect the linguistic reality of Wales, never mind the million Welsh speakers that we are seeking to create for the future?

And finally, in terms of employers, could the Minister look at a programme in Singapore that has generated a great deal of interest globally, namely SkillsFuture? It uses employers in the process of predicting the future. It’s going to companies in certain sectors who are providing employability advice and saying, 'Can you tell us what skills you as a company, as a business, believe that you will require for the future?’ Then they use that information in their skills portal in order to provide more direct information to those people who want to train for the future.

Thank you very much. I don’t think that it matters whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist; it’s going to happen, and so we have to prepare for automation and how that’s going to have an impact on us as individuals and as a society. There’s no point in us pretending that we can do anything about that; it has started and there will be progress, and it will move very quickly, I think. So, it is important that we do prepare for that.

One of the things that we’ve scoped out at present is the possibility of creating individual learning accounts, where people would have the right to have credit to go and study where they’re in work, but we’ll only give them an opportunity to study where we know we have a deficit in the workplace. So, of course, digital skills will be part of that. So, we’re aware, of course, that there’s always an issue of funding and where we’re going to obtain it for that kind of scheme, but in terms of the thinking and what we’d like to do, then that’s the direction that we’d like to move in.

Of course, adult learning, of all the things that have had an impact as an outcome of austerity, is an area that has been dealt a huge blow. We heard yesterday in England that they’ve done some analysis, and they’ve also suffered. So, we’ve had to focus our work there on vital skills in order to ensure that we can have something out of this area, but you will be aware that we are waiting to hear now what the outcomes are of that review that we’re carrying out. To me, what’s important is that we don’t take all of the responsibility as a Government. We all have a responsibility, and there’s a responsibility on employers as well to ensure that they also help to develop the skills of their workforce. So, it’s not right for this to just only fall on our shoulders.

In terms of Welsh language apprenticeships, we’re keeping a detailed eye on that, and one of the issues here is that employers have to be part of that. So, it’s not something where we can say, ‘Do this’; they create the apprenticeshipes and the people who take the apprenticeships decide whether they want to do it through the medium of Welsh. So, it’s very difficult to say, ‘You have to do this’. Of course, we want to see an increase, and the percentage of those who do a part of their course through the medium of Welsh is higher than the figure that you mentioned.

In terms of the SkillsFuture scheme in Singapore, you will be aware that the chair of our panel on the review of digital innovation is an expert on this area in Singapore, so I do hope that something will emerge from that. We’ll see whether we have more details from him. 

Thank you for your statement, Minister. I note the content of your statement, but I must say it's rather lacking in detail. So, consequently, I've got quite a number of questions for you. For instance, you claim that you're making progress delivering a radical review of the funding formula for further education—I think that's a good idea, brilliant—but, you've not said anything about what that progress is. So, can you please provide some detail on the actual progress that you've made, where you've gone with it, what are the outcomes, what changes have you made, what changes are you considering?

I note also that you've announced the launch of a £10 million fund to boost regional skills provision and target skills gaps. Boosting skills and identifying skills gaps is a necessary and essential thing for Government to do, so, again, good thinking on this one. But, what's your assessment of the skills gaps in the various regions, and how did you come to these conclusions? How are you assessing the skills needs in the regions? What method are you using? What's your assessment of the needs of future business investors in terms of future skills in the different regions?

Turning to the apprenticeship programme, how many apprenticeships have being created in return for the money spent so far? What's your assessment of the long-term prospects for apprentices going through the scheme and how will you actually measure the outcomes of the scheme? With regard to the individualised placement support, can you tell us when you'll be able to report back on the results of the trial? Again, how will you measure success? You state that we've already seen the benefits of co-location. It's all very well saying that we've already seen the benefits, but can you tell us, please, what those benefits are that you've seen so far? I also note that you're endeavouring to increase the number of disabled people going into employment. I really, really do applaud your intentions on this. Anything that can be done to get disabled people into employment to be independent is really, really to be applauded, but can you give us some information about how many disabled people are likely to be helped under this scheme? How many are likely to be helped into employment?

You're stating that your employability plan makes clear to employers their responsibilities to nurture, train and sustain their employees and ensure the future of the Welsh workforce, but I have a question for you, Minister. Can you please explain to us what makes you think that you're qualified to be lecturing employers about training their staff? Are you just looking for a way to offload the responsibility for assessing training needs and providing the education to cater for those needs onto employers? Training and coaching employees also costs money, not just in paying for the training but in the cost of the time taken out during the training. Is this a cost that you're expecting employers to shoulder, or will it be the state?

My one overriding question is this, and I think that you've probably gathered this from my foregoing comments: how are you going to assess the results of the employability plan? What sort of performance will you consider to be a success? How will you monitor not just the uptake but the long-term outcomes of the plan? Thank you.

Thank you. First of all, we have had quite an extensive discussion with further education colleges in relation to the funding formula. They have now responded to that consultation. I'm expecting to hear the results of that in the next few weeks, because we know that it'll take—we need to give further education colleges probably a year to prepare for any funding changes that may come their way. So that, I'm very confident, is in hand.

In terms of the response on regional skills, you'll be aware that there are three regional skills partnerships. They are specific to the region, so they are responding to what happens in their area. We are hoping—we are expecting and we encourage local businesses to feed into that and to tell us what their skills needs are. There is a panel—there are lots of people on that regional skills partnership board, and they then produce a report that is given to colleges so that they can respond. How many apprenticeships? Well, we produced about 24,000 apprenticeships in 2016, and about 16,000 in the first half of this year. So, I think we are ahead of target, actually, in terms of our 100,000 apprenticeships.

How many disabled people are we going to help? Well, it's a very interesting question, because this, again, is not something that we can do by ourselves. The discussions I've had with employers—I had a very interesting meeting last week with the human resources group the CIPD. Just listening to them—we created a workshop to find out what it is that they can do to help. What's clear is that, actually, we do probably need to think about switching the emphasis so that we're giving more support to businesses and to industry so that we can help them to adapt. They want to help us, and one of the things we've done now is we've created a new portal on Business Wales so that all of the information is in one place. So, Access to Work, for example, is a programme that the Department for Work and Pensions produces. We need to make sure that all of that information, and things we do in Welsh Government, is in one place.

Do we expect employers to train staff? Yes, we do. It's their staff—it's in their interest to employ them. I think part of the problem we've had in Wales—we've had a lot of European funding in this area and we are going to have to start weaning them off an assumption that the Welsh Government will be constantly training some of their employees. So, we need to get a better relationship and a better understanding that it's in their interests to invest in their employees. The 10-year goals are pretty clear; I think they've been set out. The important thing here is that we keep the pressure on, so that's why I'm determined that we're going to have an annual report to make sure that we are going to hit these targets. 

The Minister has mentioned the launch of Project SEARCH, which helps young people with additional learning needs and disabilities into work by providing them with supported internships with the aim of getting them secure paid employment at the end of the placement. The initiative is to be welcomed, but I wanted to ask the Minister specifically about page 15 of the plan, which includes a commitment to reduce the number of disabled people out of work. The plan says:  

'Working with partners, we will establish appropriate ten year targets to focus our efforts. Where adaptation to mainstream provision is appropriate, we will encourage organisations funded by Welsh Government to provide tailored traineeship opportunities for those disabled people who need it.'

Figures provided to me by the National Autistic Society show that the number of autistic people in full-time employment is lower than the average disabled cohort. For example, 32 per cent of autistic adults are in some kind of employment compared to 40 per cent across all disabilities UK-wide. So, would the Minister provide the Chamber with an update on progress with regard to that specific commitment? 

I think, probably of all the issues in this employability plan, this is one of the issues that, I think, as a Government, we really need to focus on. Project SEARCH is a great project; I went to visit it last week in Bridgend. So, this is a project with the local health board; they've worked with the local college, with people with learning disabilities, and they have provided them with a whole year's work experience, effectively, with a view that they will in the end get into jobs. I think that's precisely what we need to be looking at. The figures that I heard, actually, while I was there, were even more dramatic than the ones you've set out. So, the number of autistic people that they suggested, in the UK, who were without work was about 18 per cent. So, we've got a lot of work to do in this area and I think we need to be thinking very creatively in terms of how we can use our Welsh Government funding to maybe think about reserving jobs for people with certain learning disabilities. That's something that I will be looking into in the next few months, because this is a really, really challenging area for us, but I'm really pleased that you've brought that up as an issue.  

Minister, I was very interested, actually, in the comments that started off from Adam Price with regard to Coleg Harlech, because Members will remember the actual role that played in the actual training of workers and trade union representatives and so on in exactly these sorts of issues that we're discussing now. Of course, there has been demise of many of these other similar courses that were in colleges and, in fact, in many ways a sidelining of the Workers' Educational Association, which actually carried out many of these functions as well.

I welcome very much what you've said. The only point that seems to be the glaring omission is there's barely a mention of the Wales TUC or mention of the trade unions. It seems to me that they are fundamental in this. So, when we talk about training, apprenticeships, equality, lifelong learning, job progression, the economic contract, low pay, better jobs closer to home and issues like that, those are all issues that the trade unions have been specifically involved in and have a great deal of experience in, but quite frankly it seems to me that they are being sidelined in some way, because there was nothing specific about what their role is. I wondered if you could help by outlining precisely how you see the role of the trade unions within this. What exactly is their position within it, what functions are they being given, where are they within this social partnership? My concern is that the social partnership is becoming rather imbalanced towards one side and not recognising that if you don't have the workers and the trade union organisations on board, you've already got one ball and chain around one of your legs, and the ability to actually deliver is significantly undermined.

Well, you'll see that there is a reference to trade unions on page 19, and I think—

Absolutely. That's my point.

Yes. So, I think what's important is that we do understand the really important role that the trade unions could play in the workplace, and through funding things like the Wales Union Learning Fund programme, what we found is that, actually, a lot of people who may not have the confidence to go about looking for support from their employers are willing to do that through the trade union route, and it's given a real opportunity for people within work to develop. And we've given that money specifically to the trade unions.

Now, I think you're right: we need to broaden our approach to trade unions in relation to the broader programme. So, what is it that they can do to help us, for example, to convince people within their organisations that, actually, they can be helping us to drive the number of people who are disabled in the workplace? So, I think we need to kind of mainstream them and work with them to work on the employers, because I do think that that's the area, when we've spoken to them—people seem to be open to helping us out, but somebody needs to push from within the organisation. So, I'm hoping that that's a role that the trade unions might be willing to take on.

In relation to the impact of automation and digital, which has been discussed already this afternoon, I too am looking forward to the report of the Brown review in the new year, and I think the Welsh Government deserves congratulations for assembling such an impressive panel of experts, and that does look promising. But it's been clear for about a year now that the regional skills partnerships themselves aren't fully alert to the threat that automation presents. Only one of the skills partnerships identified automation as a long-term issue for them. So, given that the Welsh Government has known that they are lacking in this area, can you update us on what's being done to get them to refresh their analysis and what steps they're going to put in place themselves to remedy this?

In terms of targets, which I know the Minister is very keen on getting into the employability plan, we've discussed previously that, of the five targets, they're not SMART targets, and two of the five are about creating new sets of targets. So, can you just update us on the progress in achieving the targets? In the progress report, you set a target on disabled people, which is welcome, but on the second target you set—the number of employers engaged in the Healthy Working Wales programme—a target of 40 per cent of them, there is no target for when that is going to be achieved by that I could easily see. So, I wonder whether you could update us on making that target smarter? Thank you.

Yes, I'm also looking forward to receiving the results of the Brown report. I have written to the regional skills partnerships to ask them specifically: will you consider digital in your next reports? And I'm expecting them to report in their next annual commitment, so that should be published very, very shortly, and I'm expecting to see a change and a response in that. So, that is something that we very much push them on.

In terms of where we are at on targets, well, our unemployment figures, you'll be aware, dropped last week to 3.8 per cent, which is actually below the UK rate, and we've got 42,000 more people in work than this time last year, but we've got to be careful—these are volatile figures. But I think we can be happy that it's going in the right direction. It's the same thing for economic inactivity, but that's a mountain to climb, and we are hoping that our Healthy Working Wales programme will help us. What we've done now is to really break down those figures to work out what exactly—how many people do we need and in which areas to get into work in relation to economic inactivity? It's going to be difficult, but we are confident now that we have the right programme to see if we can make a dent in those figures.

On Healthy Working Wales, we have set up now a target, which is 40 per cent. I think that's something—. I think we are at about 36 per cent now, and obviously the easy fruit has been picked already so this is going to be much more difficult, so that will be a target by 2020 as well.

Thank you very much, Minister.