Kasai

Part of 3. Topical Question 1 – in the Senedd at 3:06 pm on 26 February 2020.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 3:06, 26 February 2020

Can I thank Mohammad Asghar for his questions and say, first and foremost, it would be our hope that we'd be able to secure alternative employment for the workers affected within the Merthyr area? I don't see why people should have to move out of their community in order to maintain employment if they wish to remain where they live. And so we'll be doing all that we can to identify job opportunities within the Merthyr area. We will be deploying support services, including ReAct and Careers Wales advisers, at the earliest opportunity to carry out an audit of the skills in existence within the business and to match those skills to job opportunities within the area. There will be, for example, vouchers available for skills training if anybody requires upskilling in order to take on a new job opportunity. 

I think it's worth recognising, though, Dirprwy Lywydd, that the people who work at the site are incredibly loyal and incredibly well skilled, and this was something that the First Minister stated to the company when he visited the business headquarters in Japan in September 2019, when he reiterated Welsh Government's commitment to fully support them. That support, still available, comes in the context of huge problems for the business because they were so reliant on Honda in Swindon. As I said in response to Dawn Bowden, we have exhausted many opportunities that we had hoped would provide alternative sources of work for Kasai, including Aston Martin Lagonda and Ineos Automotive, and other automotive companies in Wales and across the border as well. But we stand ready to continue in that search for alternative work to keep those loyal and skilled people within the workplace.