Afternoon, Minister, and thank you for your statement. I welcome focus and investment in this area and anything that will reverse the downward trends that we've seen in adult participation in learning. I welcome the specific areas you've chosen to focus on: the importance of strategy and strategic duty, shared responsibility, the need for sustainability and the idea of second chances.

While I am pleased to see this announcement of the new pilots, focusing on the different elements of adult learning, I do still have some questions. Adult learners face several challenges unique to their situation that must be addressed by any effort to bolster access to these opportunities. For instance, as you've outlined, adult learners often have to balance work, family and social commitments around any attempts to engage in new learning. Canadian research has found that over 70 per cent of employers offer financial support for job-related education, yet only 22 per cent of employees use it. Minister, how will you ensure that this extra support is signposted properly, promoted properly and reaches the adult learners who need it most?

Financial barriers are a core consideration, as those without access to funding for courses can struggle to find the funds for them, particularly amidst, obviously, the current financial challenges. A report by MillionPlus university group in the UK highlights the cost barrier. For example, when university tuition fees were increased in 2012, the number of mature students dropped by 20 per cent for most courses, and as much as 49 per cent for courses such as for nurses. How do you intend, Minister, to ensure that financial barriers aren't the biggest obstacle to our adult learners?

Mindset is another important area, as many adult learners suffer from self-doubt. This and other factors are why there are several key demands of any providers of adult learning, which include flexibility in delivery so that learners can fit sessions into their busy schedules; value for money, ensuring that affordable courses are not of low quality; a supportive community, ensuring a strong network to address any personal doubts or difficulties, ideally through the use of personal tutors or mentors. To help combat this, I believe we should encourage a range of teaching formats, including making sure remote learning is fully accessible, where possible, to those that wish to use it. I do, therefore, welcome this statement committing to looking at improving the availability of digital access and routes into education. Just how, Minister, in practice do you intend to make it as accessible and flexible as possible?

Minister, we all agree that Wales must be a place that offers the best possible support in the most flexible manner so that we can ensure that those that wish to engage in adult learning are equipped to do so and thrive in that environment. I look forward to monitoring the success of the coming pilots. Thank you.