The next item is a statement by the Minister for Economy—young person's guarantee. I call on the Minister for Economy, Vaughan Gething.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. People and businesses across Wales have faced one of the most difficult years in peacetime. As the economy Minister for Wales, my priority is to ensure that in the recovery we provide the right support to both individuals and businesses to help all of us to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous Wales.

Within that, we need to give young people hope for the future and to ensure that they are not left behind. It is more important than ever that we support young people to gain the skills and experiences that they will need to succeed, whether that’s in employment, education or starting their own business.

Our programme for government commits to delivering a young person’s guarantee. This will be an ambitious programme that is intended to provide everyone under 25 across Wales with an offer of support into work, education, training or self-employment. With this guarantee, I want to ensure that there is no lost generation here in Wales.

The young person's guarantee is a key part of our efforts to help young people enter and navigate their way into and through the world of work. I'm committed to giving young people the support that they need to start and change their story, supporting their journey as they leave school, as they move into or leave college or university, and supporting those that are facing unemployment or even redundancy.

I want to recognise and thank the many businesses, training and education providers who already do a fantastic job in supporting our young people into and through the world of work. This includes their work with us and others to deliver programmes such as Jobs Growth Wales, traineeships, apprenticeships, Business Wales, Big Ideas Wales, ReAct, Kickstart, Restart and the Work and Health Programme. We already have many of the much-needed components in place to provide us with the basis for a successful young person's guarantee. However, a commitment to all of our 16 to 24-year-olds will require a renewed focus on co-ordination of opportunity, both locally and nationally.

So, today, I want to share and set out the initial steps I intend to take to ensure that we do develop a successful young person's guarantee. And it is important to note that these are just the first steps that we will be taking. I will, of course, keep Members up to date as this programme evolves.

Firstly, I'm launching a call to action across the Welsh public sector, the third sector, the private sector, education and training sectors, and with partners in the Department for Work and Pensions. It is essential that we all work together to ensure that we all play our part in supporting young people across Wales, in ensuring that we deliver the best possible offer for our young people.

We want young people’s voices to be at the heart of the development of our guarantee. That's why, over the summer, I will hold a national conversation with young people and commence a consultation with young people and stakeholders.

Thirdly, I have asked Working Wales to become the gateway into our young person's guarantee, to build on their already strong and successful model of delivering careers guidance and signposting support. From 30 September this year, they will have a team in place to start to track and monitor our offer as it develops and supports young people.

I recognise the changing landscape of employment opportunities. We need to inspire and support more of our young entrepreneurs. That is why part of our offer is to support young people with an ambition to start their own business. We'll provide these young people with access to the right support to help them to overcome barriers to start up and increase the sustainability of new ventures. Business Wales, with tailored help through Big Ideas Wales, will provide young people with this support.

And Working Wales will begin a new job-matching pilot. This pilot will assist young people supported by Working Wales with securing employment and help employers to fill their vacancies. Now, this pilot has already started on an initial basis in north Wales and Cardiff, and I'd encourage all employers with vacancies in these areas to get in touch with Working Wales.

We know that our young people hold the key to Wales's future success. It's their talents, skills and creativity that are essential to ensure our country’s growth and competitiveness. As a nation, we still face huge challenges now and when the pandemic is finally over. I'm proud to lead the work on the young person's guarantee, and I hope the parties across the Chamber will support this Government’s aim to ensure that there really is no lost generation here in Wales. Thank you.

The Conservative spokesperson, Paul Davies. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and can I thank the Minister for his statement this afternoon? I broadly welcome the Welsh Government's intention to provide everyone under 25 in Wales with the offer of work, education, training or self-employment, and I welcome the Minister's comment about ensuring that no generation is lost post pandemic and agree that it's vital that young people have the skills and experience they need for the jobs of today and, indeed, for the future. 

Now, in order to start to address the scale of this challenge, it's important that the Welsh Government engages with stakeholders and skills providers right across Wales, and I'm pleased to see a call to action across all sectors, though perhaps the Minister can tell us a bit more about this call to action and what sort of engagement will be taking place over the coming months to ensure that all sectors are working together to deliver the best possible offer for our young people. 

Today's statement makes it clear that there needs to be a culture of collaboration with skills providers and employers in developing the young person's guarantee, and that's why the Government has to commit to a comprehensive consultation with those who could make this scheme a success. 

Now, today's statement also confirms that Working Wales will become the gateway into this guarantee, and I welcome their role as a central co-ordinating organisation for the guarantee. I'm pleased to see the job-matching pilot under way in north Wales and Cardiff, and I look forward to hearing more about the outcomes of those pilots, as it's vital that Working Wales connects with businesses to ensure that there's a genuine buy-in into the scheme. Therefore, I hope the Minister will tell us a bit more about how the young person's guarantee will be made attractive to businesses in all parts of Wales and how the Welsh Government intends to encourage more employers to take part in the programme in the future. 

Now, we know that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a disproportionate economic effect on young people across Wales, and a recent report by Public Health Wales showed that there are serious concerns for young people in terms of job prospects and the potential to be paying more tax in the future to cover for the financial support schemes introduced by the Government during the pandemic. Indeed, latest statistics show that around 11,000 16 to 18-year-olds and 36,000 19 to 24-year-olds are not in employment, education or training in Wales. So, whilst the aim to offer all young people training or employment is laudable, in reality it may be quite difficult to achieve, and therefore it's crucial that the young person's guarantee is sufficiently funded to address the scale of the challenge. 

Today's statement doesn't give us an indication of the level of resources that the Welsh Government is allocating to the guarantee, but it's vital that that information is forthcoming so that we can scrutinise that expenditure. So, perhaps the Minister can tell us exactly how much funding will be allocated to ensure that this scheme is a success. 

Dirprwy Lywydd, key to ensuring the scheme's success is regular monitoring and reviewing of the effectiveness of the guarantee, so I hope the Minister will commit today on how he intends to monitor the progress of the scheme in the future and how regularly he intends to publish data and information about the outcomes and take-up of the scheme by young people and by businesses across Wales. Now, we've seen a young person's guarantee in action in Scotland and there's good work that I'm sure can be learnt from that, particularly in relation to how the Scottish Government is engaging with the business community and how they're ensuring that young people's views are heard in developing the guarantee, and perhaps the Minister could tell us what lessons he's learnt from the Scottish model and how that's informed the development of the young person's guarantee here in Wales.

Of course, one difference between the Scottish and Welsh model is the Welsh Government's inclusion of self-employment in the young person's guarantee. Data from Companies House shows that over 19,000 new Welsh firms were created in 2020 as an increasing number of individuals decided to set up their own businesses, and it's crucial that the Welsh Government looks at ways of boosting and supporting entrepreneurship across Wales. Now, today's statement talks about the role of Business Wales and the Big Ideas Wales scheme in order to provide support, though I'd be grateful if the Minister could tell us a bit more about his plans to support young entrepreneurs and increase the sustainability of new ventures.

It's important that the reach of the young person's guarantee is felt right across Wales, and I know from representing a constituency that often feels neglected by the Welsh Government that not all Government schemes are taken up across the country. Today's statement talks about a national conversation with young people, and so perhaps the Minister could tell us a little bit more about the consultation and how he's going to ensure that the views of young people in all parts of Wales are heard, and maybe he can confirm whether information will be collected at a local authority level so that, if areas are not engaging, further measures then can be taken.

In closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, can I thank the Minister for the statement and say again that I hope the young person's guarantee is a success? We share the same ambition here, and that's to deliver for our young people and ensure they have access to employment and training opportunities as we move out of the pandemic. But there has to be a co-ordinated collaboration between the Welsh Government, education and skills providers and the business community to make the young person's guarantee a success, and the guarantee has to be inclusive and responsive to the needs of young people living in all parts of Wales today. Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd.

Thank you for the series of questions. I'm sure the Member will understand that, given the number of questions he's asked, I won't be able to deal with them all in one sitting, otherwise no other speaker will have an opportunity to contribute, and I will try the patience of the Chair.

On your broader points about—[Interruption.] On your broader points about stakeholders and stakeholders' engagement, actually, this is one of the things that I think is a real opportunity in the summer, so making an early statement is partly about setting it on the record for those stakeholders to engage more formally with us. We've actually already seen a number of businesses who are very enthusiastic about the potential for the guarantee already getting in touch prior to me making an offer, and I think that's really encouraging, actually. We've already had ColegauCymru—the further education sector see that they definitely have a role; they want to engage on what they can do to build on what they already provide—and a range of stakeholders from local government to the National Union of Students and, of course, to young people themselves.

But part of the reason I mentioned the Department of Work and Pensions is that they already have a role in providing some opportunities for people to enter the world of work, and what I want to ensure is that we have an approach that doesn't provide a contradictory approach, where we're doing things that cut across things they're doing and vice versa as well. And actually, the Department of Work and Pensions are looking to get more into the space of employability again, so I want to make sure we have a complementary approach. So, officials get on very well and we need to make sure that the right answers are provided to help people into the world of work.

And on your point about the job-matching pilot, yes, I'm looking for that pilot to help us about national roll-out, because this is a genuine national offer. Working Wales have a genuine national footprint; they'll be able to help us across the whole country with other partners too. But, actually, we need to understand the pilot and then see if we need to improve it further to roll out in every part of the country, including of course in west Wales; other parts of Wales need not fear that they will be left out.

And I think there's something here about building on what we're going to do to help people to enter the world of work and what we can already do. So, we already have a programme with young apprentices, where employers already get additional support for taking on younger apprentices. We already have our ReAct plus programme; we actually provide a wage subsidy in the first year for people taken on as well. So, we have a number of levers and opportunities that we already use, and it's how we build on those successfully to make sure that we don't simply tolerate the numbers of young people outside the world of education and training. It's why we'll need to work alongside people who are working before people are ready to either re-enter the world of education, training or work as well.

On your broad points about the budget, there's resource that's already been put into this area within each department in any event. As we go through the summer and have a more fully formed offer that I'll be able to outline more in the autumn, including your point on how we monitor success, I'll be able to say more about how we're committing different parts of budgets, not just within my department, but in other parts of the Welsh Government too, to make this a success, and so that people are able to see transparently how we'll monitor that success as well.

My officials have regular conversations with Governments across the UK, including the Scottish Government, and I'm sure that the SNP will be delighted to have a Welsh Tory praise some of their work. We are looking at how they've done some of this, to learn from what works, and that's the point: not to be worried about the ideological difference, but to understand what works, and how to we do that in making sure there is a meaningful conversation with young people. That will need to be based around the institutions that already exist, so it would be odd if we didn't ask the Welsh Youth Parliament what their view was, for example, but also to do some bespoke engagement with young people in different parts of the country to understand some of the different challenges, because young people here in Cardiff who I might represent might face a different context to people who live, for example, on the Llŷn peninsula, or in the Member's part of Wales as well.

Finally, just on that point about consultation, I expect this to be not done in a traditional way, asking people to respond to a consultation and send in written notes, but about how we do more in the way we've got used to having to work when we're not all in the same place, but also online too, as well, to encourage people to express views to help us to deliver the right sort of outcomes. I do welcome his broadly positive support for a young person's guarantee and ensuring there is no lost generation.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Luke Fletcher.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. There's a lot to welcome in today's statement. It's very similar to the Plaid Cymru offer during the election. We look forward to seeing the detail, and we'll be keeping an eye on its implementation to ensure it delivers for young people in Wales.

It's positive to know that the Welsh Government is looking at other examples, not just in the UK, hopefully, but in the EU as well. I often say—and it's quite hard for us to admit sometimes—that when we have a good idea, the likelihood is someone's already come up with that idea, so it's always good to learn from others' experiences, so we don't fall into the same traps.

When similar schemes were implemented in Europe, local staff working on the implementation acknowledged that internships and work placements were not always of the highest standards. While measures were taken to ensure quality, it was not always possible for local staff to systematically monitor placements. Can the Minister confirm that, as part of Working Wales's role, they'll be ensuring that job quality meets agreed standards? The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's assessment of similar schemes was a lack of reliable data, and indicators were difficult to come across. Difficulties collecting data and indicators were obvious both at the national level and local level in terms of target population, services and outcomes. How will the Welsh Government obtain data on the proportions of young people directed to each possible option of the scheme? Further to this as well, how does the Welsh Government intend to be able to report on those who obtain secure employment as a result of taking part in the scheme?

If I could also move on to young workers' rights for a moment, the Wales TUC is calling on the Welsh Government to work with unions to ensure that the Welsh economic recovery focuses on good-quality jobs and empowering young workers, and in fact, actually, they have launched a new campaign to drive up union membership among young workers. A Wales TUC and YouGov survey has demonstrated that tens of thousands of workers are facing unfair treatment and a lack of opportunity at work. How will the Welsh Government ensure that young workers can avoid the poor-quality and insecure jobs that characterise the recovery from the last recession?

Finally, on the green recovery, we have a real chance to help both our young people and our planet by ensuring that these jobs are helping contribute to our green economic recovery. So, does the Welsh Government intend to use the guarantee to be a key part of our rapid recovery in Wales, which could prioritise greener homes, better public transport, renewable energy and high-speed broadband? Diolch yn fawr.

I thank the Member for his comments and questions. On your first broad point about the quality of opportunities that are provided, we've been through some of this before, both in the creation of Jobs Growth Wales, about the rates of pay that are available, and about the quality of the work provided, but also in what we already do to monitor the outcomes in apprenticeships. We've actually had good feedback from apprentices themselves, but also businesses that have helped to take them on.

In the visits I've been able to do, I've met a series of apprentices in both large companies, when I visited both Airbus in north Wales, but also I've been to Toyota, seeing some of their apprentices, and what they are doing to invest in more apprentices. That's really good news. They were potentially looking at a different future, but they are continuing to invest in high numbers of apprentices, and that's a very sought-after provision in a large employer like that, but for smaller businesses too as well. It's why when you look at the work that we've done on a range of things, for example, twenty-first century schools, it doesn't just deliver high-quality learning facilities. But because of the way we've worked on community benefits, we almost always have young workers and new apprentices coming through in those build projects as well, and having a career in a sector that we know is actually in a good place to deliver good-quality, above average wages of work for the future.

So, we do take that seriously, and it's the same in traineeships where you look at providing people who are under the age of 18 with opportunities to undertake more experience in the world of work, even if they then go on to opt for options into training as opposed to entering the world of work directly at that point in time.

So, yes, I do expect us to be able to match and understand the quality of what happens. That's both in, if you like, the system's point of view, but also in the direct feedback from individuals themselves as well. And you'll be aware that many of our providers already have well-developed systems to understand the feedback about their provisions, and whether it's actually making a difference with and for the young people who are taking up those opportunities.

When it comes to the broader tracking of outcomes, that's why I mentioned Working Wales and what they're going to do from the end of September, because that tracking will help us to understand more of what's being done, both with what we've already started with to build on and what we're then starting off and improving as well, because it is important that we understand the impact of what we're doing. Otherwise, if we're just carrying on with what we already do, then we're not really adding to what we already provide and not really meeting the scale of the challenge that we know exists.

And it goes, I think, on to your point about the Wales TUC and their campaign, because the world of work has already changed. It was changing before the pandemic and there's been a lot of acceleration in the change in the world of work as a result of it. That obviously means that trade unions need to change the way that they organise, and we've seen successes in that, for example, GMB and their recognition within Uber, but there are many other parts of our economy that have changed significantly since I was a genuinely young person as opposed to the point in my life I find myself now.

But this is all part of an agenda that we recognise, because we've seen an acceleration in the world of online retail, for example, how we have that alongside physical premises on our high streets, and young people seeing careers—lots of young people work in retail, hospitality and others and they are not necessarily just seasonal jobs. They can be good-quality jobs for a longer and proper career as well. And we recognise the agenda on fair work in each part of our economy. So, you can expect Ministers in more than one part of the Government to keep on not just talking about fair work, but Members will be scrutinising how we take that forward in a number of departments. And you'll see that, for example, in the social partnership and procurement Bill, but also the work that my colleague Jane Hutt will continue to take an interest in as well.

Interestingly—I'll finish on this, Deputy Presiding Officer, this point—on the point about the challenge of the environment and the opportunities to have greener jobs and growth areas, that's a big part of what we already see. So, in my visits and the announcement today about battery technology, I was talking to Yuasa Battery in Ebbw Vale about what they are doing, and that's a big opportunity for our renewable sector as well, and the number of workers they have there in that one plant and what that will mean for other parts of our economy. And when I met young people on a previous visit to Careers Wales just last week, they were very clear that they understood the impact of the way that we generate power, the way that we move and get around our world already, and the prospects for their future and for the children they've yet to have as well. So, actually, young people are very well attuned to the way the world works now and what it means for the future of the planet, and want a different sort of future.

The Minister just made reference to Careers Wales/Gyrfa Cymru, with particular reference to the role that they will play in delivering the young person's guarantee. How will he make sure that they're both supported, adequately resourced and their staff are properly paid to deliver this programme?

It is one of our big challenges. I remember well talking to Ministers who've moved on to different parts of Government about the challenge it is in how we resource Careers Wales, and the really big budget challenges we've had. That's part of the reason why when it comes to the next budget round, we need to see a range of these services in their whole Government impact. And when I went to Careers Wales in Cardiff to meet people that had been supported, it was very clear about the impact that the mentors and advisers have had on helping people to make their own choices.

So, in broad terms, I can give you a commitment that we will continue to take an interest in how we resource Careers Wales to meet the ambitions we have for them, and their role in delivering the guarantee. And we'll, of course, work alongside them as they will need to meet their obligations as an employer. If the Member has more specific points, I'll happily meet him outside the Chamber to discuss those. 

Thank you, Minister, for your statement. The Working Wales job-matching pilot sounds really positive in terms of integrating supply and demand. How can Welsh Government ensure, though, that vacancies offered are good-quality jobs for the future, and also that employment opportunities in communities like Cynon Valley are grown and nurtured so that we don't see people from the Valleys having to travel to cities to access opportunities?

Finally, I welcome the comments around supporting young people to become entrepreneurs. It seems to me that there could be additional opportunities to support similar types of enterprise through co-operative or social enterprise models. Will you also look at how these could be integrated and supported into the offer?

Yes. On your first point, about making sure that we do have a proper view of the quality of jobs and the wages that are being paid and what it means for people going into the world of work, that's part of the point I was trying to make in response to Luke Fletcher as well, about the fact that we do take an interest in the quality of what we provide. This can't simply be about funnelling people into poor-quality jobs that don't have a longer term future, because actually that isn't going to provide people with the experience of the world of work we want, and it won't help us to build the fairer, greener, more prosperous economy that all of us want to see, and that includes in a range of Valleys communities.

I was very pleased to visit you in Cynon Valley and see some of the work that is being done to bring people back into the world of education and training with people who aren't succeeding in mainstream education and actually what that does in preparing them to go into the world of work successfully. That is both about creating jobs within local communities, as well as providing access to other employment centres, and I also think that, of course, improving transport around the country will mean that there are opportunities for businesses to grow with a different cost base outside of some of our cities as well. And that's part of the reason that I'm interested in business start-ups, because we do know that we don't have the same level of business start-ups in Wales, or indeed not just the growth of those businesses but how many of those businesses survive through their first year. So, it is a key challenge for us to see more businesses grow to survive, to be successful, and then the growth of those businesses to become medium-sized employers, and if they become large employers, how many of those will still be in Welsh ownership at the end, to think about what the future economy will look like. This is a big opportunity to help change the way the world of work currently works, and not to simply be on the receiving end of a changing world around us.

And finally, Buffy Williams.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, having worked and volunteered in education and communities for the last 20 years, I have always said that if you give young people a chance, either through employment or volunteering, it's amazing what they can achieve. I was proud to stand on a manifesto that included a young person's guarantee, either of work, education, training or self-employment. Today's statement from the Minister will be welcome news to young people in Rhondda. Talent comes in many forms, and a young person's guarantee will let our young people shine and allow them to make a positive contribution to our communities. Will the Minister meet with me to discuss how the young person's guarantee will benefit young people in Rhondda?

Yes, I'll be happy to meet with her individually to talk about the Rhondda. I know that there's interest from other constituency Members around her to have a conversation about what this will mean for the Valleys, and I'm really interested in the opportunities we can create for people in their own communities, as well as in communities in the broader travel-to-work area. So, I'll be very happy to do that and arrange it with my office.

Thank you, Minister. We will now suspend proceedings temporarily to allow changeovers in the Siambr. If you're leaving the Siambr, please do so promptly. The bell will be rung two minutes before proceedings restart. Any Members arriving after a changeover should wait until then before entering the Siambr.

Plenary was suspended at 16:28.

The Senedd reconvened at 16:38, with the Llywydd in the Chair.