At this year’s Welsh Labour Conference, I’ll have the opportunity to speak as Minister for Skills. My particular focus will be jobs and green growth, one of the top priorities of our First Minister, Eluned Morgan.
As a trained engineer who has worked in advanced manufacturing, I know that if we want to compete for the next generation of skilled manufacturing jobs, renewable technologies is the territory we will be competing on.
Pretending we can avoid this and simply turn to the energy solutions of over 100 years ago is wrong. Former mining communities in Wales don’t want Farage’s open-cast mines on their doorstep, and meeting our energy needs in Wales is a must. The development of the next generation of renewable green technology and use of AI is happening; the question is only whether Wales will build them and benefit from them. Politicians who refuse to accept this must be brought back to the stark reality that they will only cause us to fall behind.
‘A just transition to new technology’
A whole host of new technology is impacting the way we travel, the way we keep our homes warm, and the way we generate energy. We are also seeing huge changes with the growth of AI. I want communities across Wales to benefit from the jobs that come with these products, and that’s about ensuring everyone has the skills to engage. Young people having the opportunity to train as engineers and other specialists, and those in the workforce now having the opportunity to retrain to take advantage of the changes in our economy.
The red Welsh way of working in Wales, and that is in social partnership, means bringing working people with us and working towards a just transition to new technology. I have seen what happens when governments abandon groups of workers to face economic headwinds without any sense of responsibility. It happened in my own community in the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher, cheered on by young acolyte Nigel Farage, brought devastation to Deeside.
The Welsh way of working extends beyond the impact of the social partnership legislation I am the lead minister for. Welsh Labour recognise that working with our trade union partners is best for everyone. We invest in upskilling union reps in Wales through the Wales Union Leaning Fund. Well-trained union reps working with employers is the best way to ensure a just transition.
‘Both Labour governments are investing huge amounts across Wales’
Labour governments in both Wales and London are investing huge amounts across Wales. The biggest rail spend in living memory, investment in carbon-neutral tech, and support for renewable energy. The latter shows the difference between us and Reform, who want to see open-cast mines open across the South Wales Valleys and in Flintshire and Wrexham as well. We cannot rely on importing our energy from some of the most volatile parts of the world, and we want Welsh workers building the products that drive renewable production.
I recently visited the port at Port Talbot to see and hear about the plans for the floating wind turbine project, supported by the UK Government. The project would see over 5000 jobs created and make Wales a world leader in this technology.
We are also seeing huge investment in home building and an explosion in new techniques for heating and insulating our homes, not just new homes but retrofitting old ones. The Welsh Government’s new housing quality standards put social housing in Wales at the forefront of this change.
To meet the challenges brought by these technologies and other sectors of the economy, I recently launched the Flexible Skills Programme. Meaning employers can access up to 50% of the accredited training costs, up to a maximum of £50,000 per application. From digital and cyber skills to engineering, green technologies and more, the programme gives Welsh businesses the support and flexibility to choose training that helps them upskill staff, boost retention, and adapt and grow in an ever-changing landscape.
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‘The future is bright for Wales’
In Wales, we are set to meet our ambitious target of over 100,000 apprentices this Senedd term. Working with employers and our FE colleges to ensure we are not just focused on numbers but developing the skills of the future is a big part of my role. Welsh workers and apprentices did not build the last generation of wind turbines, but there is no reason they can’t build the next. If they can build the most advanced wings in the world, they can build turbines too.
People, for understandable reasons, talk apprehensively about AI, but from healthcare to animation and much in between, we are already seeing it happen. It requires data centres and processors but also the skills to develop products. The way we view it in Wales is that we embrace the technology, but we don’t leave working people behind and out of work. A just transition must be our rallying cry. Supporting workers who want to retrain and investing in building the infrastructure to attract jobs in construction and manufacturing, to name just two.
Where we invest well, we can create real opportunities. Just look at Wales’s thriving cultural economy. Jobs right across the spectrum of employment are now supported by this sector in Wales, and I have personally met young people whose futures look bright because of the way the Welsh Government has supported the cultural economy and invested in skills.
The future is bright for Wales, and I will be setting out in my conference speech how we can develop the skills to take up the opportunities emerging technologies present. I am unusual in politics, coming from a manufacturing background, and that gives me the understanding to know a country marked by Farage’s open-cast mines won’t meet the needs of our young people, but good jobs building the next generation of renewable technology products just might.
That’s the vision I have, and that’s the vision our bold and confident First Minister, Eluned Morgan, has too.
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