2. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 11:38 am on 10 June 2020.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 11:38, 10 June 2020

First Minister, can I welcome the fact that, at the last review of the COVID regulations, the Welsh Government were able to ensure that apprentices can return to college in order to complete their practical studies, and therefore complete their qualifications? That's great news for those young people, and we hope, of course, that it will benefit the economy, too. However, I do fear the scale of problems that could face young people in the months ahead. In my own constituency, the youth unemployment claimant count is currently running at about 11 per cent. So, do you agree that, in seeking to address this in the longer term, we should scale up on existing successes like the Aspire programme at Merthyr college, and perhaps look to see if this apprenticeship model could be applied in more sectors and beyond STEM students, benefitting young people and local employers in a wider variety of settings?