10. What is the Welsh Government doing to improve digital skills in Wales? OQ57515

Among the steps being taken to improve digital skills in Wales are the new curriculum for schools, investment in further and higher education, and the creation of higher level apprenticeships.

Thank you for that response. A week ago, I questioned the health Minister on a number of issues, including how we can ensure that more steps are taken in terms of developing the digital response to COVID, and developing the Welsh NHS app for example. I'll quote from the Minister's answer here:

'oh my gosh, Rhun, I'm just as eager as you are to see that developing. One of the problems that we have with those digital issues is that we don't have enough people who have the digital skills in our systems.'

What is the First Minister going to do, given that that is the situation in view of the health Minister, so that we can use the pandemic, and the situation we're in, and the difficulties we faced in developing the app and so on, to move things on and to accelerate the process of providing our workforce, and our young people in particular, with the digital skills that Wales needs?

First of all, I agree with what Rhun ap Iorwerth has said about the importance of drawing more young people into the programmes available in our schools and our colleges that focus on digital skills. Where we have done it already, we can see the success of those approaches. In the south-east, through our universities, we have developed people with the skills that have, in turn, attracted companies in the field of cybersecurity to that area. The largest cluster in that sector is here in Wales. One of the reasons that they have moved to Wales and created new jobs here is because of the work that our universities have done with those companies. We therefore develop people who have the necessary skills in order to achieve success in that sector. 

We can see on a practical level the case for doing more. That's why the new curriculum in our schools is going to be so important. That is why we are investing in colleges, not just higher education, but also further education, in order to try and create more opportunities, and to attract young people into a sector where the possibilities for employment in the future, and creating a pathway for young people into the future, are clear when you look at what's happened already.