Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 20 September 2022.
Thank you. As the mother of a daughter who is a coder, I absolutely appreciate what you're saying about it being a very male-dominated sector. I don't know if you're aware—I'm sure you are—that it's National Coding Week this week. That was begun a few years ago now in recognition of the need to fill that growing skills gap that was there.
The Minister brought forward the digital competence framework in Wales 2022 just this year. It's an integral part, obviously, of the new curriculum that has come into being this month, and it is an area of learning that sets out how to teach children the knowledge, aptitude and skills that they need to be able to use technology and systems confidently, and also creatively and critically. I know that the Minister continues to work closely with the four regional skills partnerships to identify regional employment and skills priorities, and that's absolutely based on what employers are telling us they require going forward. The Minister specifically requested that RSPs consider digital skills as part of this work.