8. What measures has the Welsh Government put in place to improve employability prospects for young people in North Wales? OQ57466

Thank you. The young person's guarantee has, of course, commenced, and I'll have more to say on the young person's guarantee, moving forward, and its component parts, in the coming months. We're also reviewing our employability strategy as well. We would, of course, be better able to meet the predicted employability needs of young people if we were in a position to have guarantees around receiving full replacement funding for former European Union funds that, of course, supported skills and other interventions to help improve prospects for young people in north Wales and beyond.

If you'll just excuse me for a moment, I'll close the door, as my son doesn't need to join in. [Laughter.]

Certainly. I saw the door. You have got a blurred background, so that helps. [Laughter.] Thank you, Minister. I recently visited a new community facility called Tŷ Calon in north Wales. It's been part funded by Welsh Government as part a learning hub. It was raised with me that there is a gap that needs filling for some of the young people that they support, in particular those who have dropped out of school and are waiting to go into further education, but need help in building confidence, resilience and some foundational skills for that step up. Is there any funding available for this cohort of young people?

Yes. I actually think that, for that group of young people, it's where our traineeship programme should be able to help, and we're looking at how to refine those interventions. The traineeship programme was aimed at helping young people aged 16 to 18 in Wales, and to give those young people the skills they need to progress further, either in further education and apprenticeships or employment. It also supports them with the development of soft skills, and tries to provide purposeful training and work experience opportunities. So, I'd be more than happy for my officials to engage with you around issues with Tŷ Calon to make sure that they get access to the right sort of information to help Tŷ Calon succeed in its mission.