Supporting the Aviation Sector

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 11:11 am on 1 July 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 11:11, 1 July 2020

Llywydd, I thank Jack Sargeant for that and for his long-standing commitment to Airbus and to its workforce. When I last visited there on 30 January, it was with Jack, and we were there to celebrate apprenticeship week. We met a fantastic group of very talented, very bright, very committed young people, looking to a successful future in an industry in which, at that point, had a very successful future in front of it.

What we have to do, working together with the UK Government, is to find a way of helping this industry to bridge between the difficulties it faces today and the successful future that is still there for it, provided we can help it through the difficult couple of years ahead. And there are many actions that can be taken—things we will do to continue to support apprenticeships, to develop skills of the workforce, to invest in research and development, and then there is the part the UK Government has to play.

Our colleague Ken Skates spoke yesterday with Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He was talking to the Secretary of State at BEIS on Friday. This week of course I will talk to any Minister in the UK Government to press the case for the sort of sector-specific help that is now needed, as the French Government has done, as the German Government has done, to demonstrate that the world-leading aviation sector that we have in Wales and in the United Kingdom goes on being supported by Governments here at all levels.