6. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's approach to target setting in relation to the economy? OAQ53078

We're developing a clear and consistent measuring framework across Government with the well-being indicators. We'll use those to track our economic progress over the longer term, and we are working with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other partners to learn from best practice around the world.

Can I thank the First Minister for that, and can I also add my best wishes to him for the future? Taking forestry as an example, we have long-term targets set but neither annual targets nor area targets announced. Would it not aid both scrutiny and performance if such targets were set and made public, so that we could actually see the steps on the journey, not just where we're trying to end up?

I think if we look at the economic statistics—certainly the ones published today—we will see that things have improved greatly over the past year and beyond. Of course, the economic action plan has made good progress since its implementation. We have the new operating model. Since May, we've completed more than 70 economic contracts with businesses, and they are businesses of different sizes. They're not all large businesses, they're in different sectors and in different parts of Wales, and, of course, we're receiving a flow of investment propositions from businesses that align to them.

In terms of targets, well, what we aim to do, of course, is to improve the economy of Wales across Wales. We can see that in the statistics—the statistics tell us the story. They are targets that we would want to improve on in years to come, and we've seen tremendous improvement over the past decade.

Wales has significant structural economic challenges, and I think you've been right over the years to highlight those obstacles to growth. In a spirit of mutual recognition of Wales's challenges, in wanting Wales's economic fortunes to flourish, what do you feel are the main lessons that you have learnt from managing the economy of Wales over the past nine years? What do you feel are the areas of economic policy that would benefit most from greater co-operation between the major political parties in Wales?

This is now beginning to sound like a job interview, given that question. For me, there are two things that are vital, and these are issues that have been raised with me many, many times. The first is that it's hugely important to project Wales's image across the world—to go out and sell Wales. No-one else will do it, and it's massively important that we have trade missions. Some of those trade missions will be led by Ministers, or by a First Minister. They open doors that otherwise wouldn't be opened, and that has led to us being able to, for example, get to a position where Qatar Airways are flying from Cardiff. The international work is important, and our international offices are hugely important to make sure that people know that Wales is there and what we have to offer.

But skills is the second point. One of the questions that I was often asked when I used to talk to businesses in other countries—and, indeed, businesses in Wales—was, 'Where are we going to get the skills? Have we got the skills pipeline that we need in order to prosper in Wales?' Increasingly, we were able to do that. We were able to say—because we looked at particular sectors where we already had successful businesses, we could say, 'There is a skills pipeline—it's there, and, in fact, you can work together to create that skills pipeline with a business that's similar to yours.'

That's been a big change. Wales was seen as a low-cost, low-wage and low-skill economy at one time. We can't afford to be in that position again, and nor would anybody want us to be in that position again in this Chamber. What we can do is have an ever-greater focus on skills, because, by doing that, that's the way that you bring highly skilled jobs into Wales. It's also the way that you encourage entrepreneurs to come forward, because they can work with other people to build businesses in Wales and to realise their dreams. Because we know that, historically, in Wales we've not done well with entrepreneurs feeling that they can take a business forward. Many people have had good ideas and they haven't taken them forward. I think we're past that stage now, particularly with young people, but it is skills, skills, skills.