Less than 0.5% of apprenticeship learning activity in Welsh

Language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith has expressed concern about the proportion of apprenticeships delivered through the medium of Welsh, which the group says is “pitiful”, and is calling on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to increase Welsh language provision.

Welsh Government statistics show that less than 0.5% of apprenticeship learning activities in Wales are delivered through the medium of Welsh (excluding learning activities to teach Welsh specifically).

According to Cymdeithas yr Iaith, setting an expectation that a specific percentage of apprenticeships should be delivered through the medium of Welsh would directly contribute to a number of Plaid Cymru’s commitments during the current Senedd term, including commitments to strengthen Welsh as a community language and as a language of work.

The campaigners have requested a meeting with the Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Cefin Campbell MS, to discuss these concerns.

Aled Thomas, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group, said:

“It is unacceptable and a cause for concern that so few apprenticeships are taught through the medium of Welsh. The current figure is pitiful. This doesn’t reflect where the Welsh language should be in our education system and in society more broadly.

“Apprenticeships are essential to ensuring a Welsh-speaking workforce for the future in a number of fields where the ability to work through the medium of Welsh is crucial, such as health and social care, childcare and agriculture. In health and social care, for example, Welsh-medium apprenticeships will be essential to ensuring that services can be provided in Welsh in line with the More Than Just Words strategy.

“We call on the Government to do the work and provide sufficient funding to significantly increase the provision of Welsh-medium apprenticeships. We will ask the Deputy Minister to include a clause in the guidance for apprenticeship providers placing a duty on them to allocate a percentage of their budgets to Welsh-medium provision.

“We also ask the Government to allocate a specific percentage of its apprenticeship budget for Welsh-medium provision, with this amount increasing every year towards a share of 20% by 2030. If the new Government is serious when it says that the Welsh language is an integral part of our country’s education system, it needs to take action to make that a reality.”