The Economic Impact of COVID-19

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 24 November 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:05, 24 November 2020

Well, Llywydd, I agree with the point that David Melding is making. We have very difficult experience in Wales of generations of young people without a future mapped out in front of them, and we absolutely do not want to go back to that in this crisis. I agree with what the Member said—that there will be young people who will choose to use this period to invest further in developing their own skills and education, so that, when an upturn comes, they are better equipped to take advantage of it, and we will want to help them to make sure that that happens.

I know that the Member will have seen the announcement on 11 November, where we provided further detail of the help that businesses can have—and further education colleges, of course, as a result—to promote apprenticeships here in Wales. Businesses are now able to claim £3,000 for each new apprentice under the age of 25 when employed for at least 30 hours, and I know that David Melding will particularly welcome the fact that there is an additional £1,500 for any business who is able to take on a new disabled young person as an apprentice. On 18 November, we announced the business start-up barriers fund, a sum of £1.2 million, particularly aimed at those young people who left college and university in 2019 and 2020 who may have ideas of their own about businesses they would wish to try and get off the ground, but need that extra help and support from Government in order to be able to do so, and that business start-up barrier fund will particularly be aimed at the sort of young people to whom David Melding has drawn attention this afternoon.