2. What is the Welsh Government doing to promote employment opportunities for young people in Mid and West Wales? OQ57096

Thank you for the question. We've extended our employer incentive scheme to support businesses in recruiting apprentices until the end of February next year. This scheme will continue alongside our ambitious young person's guarantee, and I will update the Chamber on progress with the young person's guarantee in an oral statement scheduled for 16 November.

Thank you for your reply, Minister.

Over the past decade, the Jobs Growth Wales programme has helped more than 19,000 young people step into the world of work, to get a good job and to start building a future. And now, Jobs Growth Wales+ will create those life-changing opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training. And it's just the first part of Welsh Labour's young person's guarantee, of course—our promise and commitment to every young person in Wales. So, ahead of the roll-out next year, Minister, what support is in place to help providers adapt existing apprenticeships and traineeships to deliver that new programme?

Thank you for the question. It's an important point about recognising that we have got the new Jobs Growth Wales+ programme starting in April next year, building on the success of the previous Jobs Growth Wales programme, together with ReAct+, again strengthening the offer we already have available. So, we are working with providers, so they'll understand what we are looking to do, and actually further education providers are in particular very enthusiastic about working alongside us. Our biggest challenge in many ways is not just making sure we have a single point of access to help people navigate through the system, but also the level of certainty that we can or can't have about both funding and strategy as well. And it's why the employability review we're undertaking is so important, and that will be launched in the spring to get ready for the start of the roll-out of Jobs Growth Wales+, and really accelerating with the offer that we have made to young people in Wales, to ensure there really is an opportunity for job, education, or indeed self-employment and work in the future.

Minister, I recently visited the Hafren, an entertainment venue and theatre based in Newtown, and they outlined a specific issue that is facing their industry at the moment. I'd be grateful if you could outline what the Welsh Government is doing to encourage younger people to take up opportunities in the creative industry—theatre staging and technicians in particular. And what they outlined to me is that, during the close-down of the the live theatre industry during the lockdown period, many theatre technicians went to work in film and television production, with that, of course, leaving a gap in the theatre industry, with a lack of young talent coming through into live theatre. So, I wonder if, Minister, I could ask you to consider how the Welsh Government could support this particular gap in this industry and what the Welsh Government is doing to ensure the future of this particular industry.

You're right to point out that there has been a real boom in film and tv production following the easing of restrictions. Wales is recognised as a place where there's a good environment to do so, not just our natural environment, but the support of the Government working alongside industry, and those are both important factors. I also recognise some of the challenges around what that's done in terms of a labour shortage for the demand that exists across a range of sectors, including on the stage. It's an area that the Deputy Minister, Dawn Bowden, is leading on, in terms of the creative industries, and we talk regularly about the challenges and making sure that the skills that are needed for the future workforce in the creative sector are ones where we can appropriately plan for them and provide the skills, training and opportunities for people to go into an industry that has grown significantly already in Wales and we are confident has a bright and positive future. You can expect to hear more about this from either me or the Deputy Minister as we continue to work through the challenges of the UK budget settlement and our own budget settlement here in Wales.

Good afternoon, Minister. Following on from my esteemed colleagues in Mid and West Wales, I wanted to focus in on relating young people to green jobs. I think we're all concerned about the employment opportunities currently on offer to young people in Mid and West Wales. So, in Canada, for instance, the Government supports science and technology internships in the green industries to support young people to have the skills needed for the green jobs of the future. And, closer to our home, in Mid and West Wales, in Talgarth, Black Mountains College has launched a vocational NVQ aimed at preparing young people for the green jobs of the future. So, I wondered if I could just ask you what ideas the Welsh Government is taking from those jobs initiatives abroad and how the Government is working with colleges, like Black Mountains College, to expand the provision of education and skills to both meet the challenge of the climate emergency and improve the employment opportunities for young people. Thank you. Diolch.  

Thank you for the question. And, interestingly, we have good relationships with Canada, the example you mentioned—internationally—and we do look regularly to see what effective practice exists within the UK, Europe, and beyond, when developing policy and programmes, and in particular in this area, where there is a real challenge for us, but also a real opportunity, as the Member has recognised. And officials do meet regularly with colleges, including representatives from Black Mountains College, to explore those opportunities, and I think we're in a good place in Wales in the way that we've been able to work together. The biggest barrier to us being able to take up those opportunities is certainty on what we can do here in Wales. That's both budget certainty and the policy certainty we can provide, and actually to move away from an unnecessarily competitive and unhelpful dialogue with the UK Government, but greater certainty about what each Government is going to do in respect of the devolution settlement, and making real progress forward, because there are opportunities that have real gain for students and citizens here in Wales.