6. What is the Minister's strategy for ensuring the young person's guarantee is helping to fill the most significant skills gaps that are holding back the economy? OQ57291

Thank you. Employers can fill their skills gaps through the young person's guarantee by offering an apprenticeship place, recruiting and training via our employability programmes, or by advertising their jobs through the Working Wales jobs bulletin. Employers can discuss their needs by contacting the Business Wales skills gateway.

There's a danger in that that we're simply putting out more journalists, for example, or hairdressers. Others have talked about the aerospace industry; I want to focus on the construction industry. We heard from the construction cross-party group earlier this week that there are 3,000 unfilled vacancies in the traditional construction skills, so there are clearly opportunities there. But also, the future generations commissioner has highlighted the thousands of jobs and skills that are needed, both to build the zero-carbon social housing that we have, as well as retrofitting all our existing homes, and that includes the need for nearly 3,000 retrofit engineer assessors. I'd like to understand what the Government's strategy is for ensuring that this fantastic young person's guarantee is leading into the specialist retrofit and construction work that is so urgently needed to ensure we deliver on the zero-carbon strategy that we've set ourselves.

I think it's both the work we do with the guarantee, as well as what we're doing on, more broadly, looking to generate better value from local supply chains. When we talked about the foundation economy and getting better jobs closer to home, actually, this is part of it, to make sure that we're investing in local businesses. The business that I visited to launch the £35 million fund is a good example in exactly this area. They provide energy-efficiency services, they retrofit houses, including solid-stone properties, to improve not just the bills for that person but, actually, what it means to have a genuinely decent and warm home. They're a good example of where they're already investing in their current workforce and their future workforce to provide exactly the skills that you refer to.

I mentioned earlier in answers today regional skills partnerships. They're really important to make sure we don't do what you suggested might be possible in simply generating a range of people for jobs that don't exist. It's really important to match up the skills that businesses are telling us they will need for the future, the skills we recognise we need for the future, and to make sure that the way that the courses are provided from providers actually match the skills that are needed. It is about a proper partnership—skills partnerships, local authorities, businesses, trade unions and the Government—and it all fits in with our approach on regional investment and support for our economy. I'm confident and optimistic that the young person's guarantee will fit in with that. The way that we're structuring the new Jobs Growth Wales+ programme, and, indeed, the announcement I'll make in the new year on ReAct plus, I think, will give the Member the sort of comfort that she is looking for that we are genuinely looking at skills for the future.