Work in Cynon Valley

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:34 pm on 12 July 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:34, 12 July 2022

Llywydd, I thank the Member for that, and he'll be pleased to know that there are a range of specialist advisers and mentors operating within the Cynon Valley, exactly to do what Joel James has said, to help those people facing complex barriers to getting into work, to navigate their way from where they are today to the jobs that are there for them in the future. The careers service is operating out of Aberdare. As of September, it will be in Pontypridd as well, helping people who live in the lower Cynon valley to get the help that they need. The service is also currently working out of the Dare Valley Country Park. And that is, I think, a very good example of a response to exactly the issues that Joel James has mentioned, Llywydd. There are people who have the commitment, who have the skills sometimes, to get the job that they would need, but they lack the confidence. And particularly if they've had the sorts of experiences that the Member pointed to—applying for jobs and not getting them, not being given feedback on why that is the case—then you do need some extra help there, on the ground, to repair that lack of confidence and to give people new ideas and support along that journey, to make sure that, in an era of very close to full employment in Wales, where there are many employers looking for people to take up job chances that they are struggling to fill, we are able to bring those two things together.