Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales – in the Senedd at 11:35 am on 15 July 2020.
Well, we're doing all we can to ensure that apprentices continue through their frameworks, even in these incredibly difficult times, and, if I can use one example, I'd point to Airbus, where we've been able to ensure that the apprenticeship scheme continues as planned, although, of course, start dates have been staggered due to reduced class sizes. But, we're also looking at a funding package to extend the training of year 3.
Now, in terms of redundant apprentices, providers should use their best endeavours to ensure that they find alternative employment for apprentices who are made redundant. We'll be monitoring, as you can imagine, and analysing data regarding apprenticeship redundancies, and we will consider any interventions and support that are required. The Member will be aware that I announced an additional £40 million from the economic resilience fund to help support people in terms of training, employability, and, of course, we'll be looking to that fund to support redundant apprentices in finding new opportunities to complete their training. I can assure the Member that we remain on target to create 100,000 all-age, high-quality apprenticeships during this Assembly term, and that is a pledge that we are proud to be able to commit to.