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.