8. Statement by the Minister for Economy: The Young Person’s Guarantee

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:39 pm on 16 November 2021.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 5:39, 16 November 2021

Thank you for the question. I think it's a very practical example of where we're already engaged in supporting a major employer, but looking at a sector that provides really well-paid jobs. The investment we've continually made in broadly more skills, and I'm pleased to hear the Member reference the fact that it was Welsh Labour funding that helped him to achieve his own apprenticeship, and his own route through to being an engineer, and there are more of those people in sites like Airbus around the country. Now, as well as the new generation—I've met new apprentices when I've been on a visit to the site in Broughton—it's also about the investment in the workforce who are already there, and that's got to be a partnership between the Government and sectors, and sometimes with individual businesses.

So, we've invested in the past in a skills programme. There are conversations between the Government and the company about what we could be able to do in the future, because you're right to point out that this is a sector that at present contributes to our challenges with the environment. We know that we're going to need to go through at least a couple of stages to get to genuine net zero. There's the point about having more sustainable aviation fuels, and Airbus and others are investing in that, which will lead to significant decarbonisation. There's another step beyond, and that's both about the fuel that's used and also about the manufacturing and how light the aircraft are themselves. Airbus are already taking steps forward on that and crucially there needs to be more research, development and innovation, and the way that we can fund and support that will be crucial for the sector—this sector, but many others too. I think it's a good example of a successful, high-value area of the economy that we want to see carry on being successful, and our work alongside the company and the sector will be crucial in doing just that.