Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 3 July 2019.
Andrew, you're absolutely right: we will need to ensure that our education providers at a variety of levels will be able to upskill our workforce. Many of those currently in work will be seeking opportunities to retrain or to gain for the first time skills that they will need to keep pace with the local economy. I'm sure that you will have seen the recently published 'Digital 2030' report. That's a new strategic framework for digital learning in the post-16 sector in Wales, which has been developed in collaboration with the FE sector. The framework highlights the importance of ensuring that learners are equipped with digital skills and experiences of using digital technology.
In terms of the opportunity, then, to access those training opportunities, you will be aware, via a change to the funding methodology to our FE colleges, many of our FE colleges are beginning to get more into part-time provision for older learners. We've seen a significant increase in the number of part-time students applying to study via the Open University and, in September of this year, the Government will launch an individual learning account pilot in north Wales and part of south Wales, which will empower individual learners who are currently in work but in low-paid jobs with the opportunity to use that individual learning account to get back into education, either to allow them to progress up the career ladder or, indeed, to switch careers completely.