Download John Griffiths, Welsh Assembly deputy minister for children

Doc 2
Speech











Diolch am fy ngwahodd i siarad yn eich cynhadledd flynyddol
heddiw.
[Thank you for inviting me to speak at your annual conference
today.]
The last 12 months have seen UCU bedding down its new structure
across the UK and our coalition Government embarking on the
exciting challenge of delivering the One Wales agreement.
We have all been through considerable changes over the last year
and I am delighted to stand here as Deputy Minister for Skills and
reiterate our commitment to lifelong learning in which FE and HE
play such a big part.
The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to ensuring that
everyone who has the potential should be offered the opportunity
to go onto further or higher education, regardless of social or
economic background. I want to see everyone having a lifelong
engagement with learning.
I want Wales to be a learning country where high quality lifelong
learning provides the people of Wales with the skills they need to
prosper, liberate their talent, extend opportunities and empower
their communities.
This is not a slogan – it is a necessity. The skills that were required
in the last generation are no longer appropriate.
We can no longer expect a job for life. Increasingly our careers will
be characterised by a series of jobs. Young people and adults alike
will need support to help them acquire new skills to survive and
prosper in this exciting and challenging environment.
I am sure that we all recognise the power and value of learning in
increasing opportunities for all. Education empowers us both in our
work and in our social life. It stretches our boundaries and our
perceived limitations and makes us more confident to face the
challenges of daily life. Education also enhances the contribution
we can make to the communities in which we live.
Our further and higher education institutions are key to this.
So how do we extend the reach of Further and Higher Education
into the community? We are looking to a systematic presence in
schools and communities to raise awareness, aspirations and
ambitions. It is important that all our partnership arrangements
are at a local level so that we’re responsive to the needs of the
1




community and reach those who face the greatest barriers to
learning. Progression routes need to offer a climbing frame, not a
simple ladder.
As a Government, we are investing in removing financial barrierswe have introduced the Assembly Learning Grant, the tuition fee
grant and the Education Maintenance Allowance – financial support
targeted at individual learners.
We are also committed to removing non-financial barriers. We have
invested in widening access programmes to extend opportunities to
all and we have invested in removing physical barriers, which
students with disabilities too often encountered.
I strongly believe that education and personal development do not
end when a person leaves school. An individual will continue to
develop new skills throughout their life- both in terms of vocational
skills and wider personal development. To reach everyone, this is
only possible if we have a wide range of learning opportunities in
Wales and develop sustainable new access routes.
This is one of the reasons that we invested in a network of
centres throughout the five counties of Greater Gwent to bring
learning to the heart of communities affected by the closure of
the Corus steelworks. Coleg Gwent, Ystrad Mynach College and
Newport University continue to work together with the WEA, and
other providers to plan provision through the RISE Learning
Network.
Student Satisfaction
 Your on-going commitment to provide a high quality student
experience is demonstrated once again by the results of the
National Student Survey.
 I am delighted to see that the third annual National Student
Survey showed that those in higher education in Wales continue to
have a high level of satisfaction with their student experience in
higher education.
 The 2007 NSS shows that 83 per cent of students in Wales are
satisfied with their experience, which remains above the figure
achieved for the UK as a whole.

Aberystwyth University scored highest in the UK for satisfaction
in the Times Good University Guide. The results, based on a
national survey of final-year students, included questions on
teaching, feedback, resources and personal development.
2


This is great news for Welsh Higher Education institutions and
proves that UK students can be confident in the high quality
teaching and the whole student experience they will get in Wales.
Excellence of education provision is something we must all strive
for and these results prove that we continue to move in the right
direction.
Numbers
 We are doing well in Wales – our student numbers are rising along
with student satisfaction.
 There was a measurable increase in the number of first year fulltime undergraduates in Wales, compared with a fall across the UK.
 Full-time numbers increased by 2.9 per cent and part-time numbers
increased by 0.6 per cent. We are getting it right in Wales.
Funding
 The budget, agreed in January and the first since the historic One
Wales agreement - provides the necessary investment to make
public services in Wales amongst the best.
One Wales provides a radical, progressive agenda, continuing the
transformation of Wales into a self-confident, prosperous and
healthy nation.

In a tight overall settlement, we have been able to maintain real
terms increases - Opportunities for continuing to learn beyond
compulsory school age will receive further investment, where we
will be substantially increasing the number of apprenticeships with
an extra £25 million invested over three years.
Pay
 I know that pay is on your agenda for today’s conference and I
would like to reiterate that the Welsh Assembly Government is
committed to the principles of equal pay under the “Narrowing the
Gap” project. But we all recognise the significant financial
implications of meeting our objective. To this end, the Assembly
Government, via HEFCW's Reconfiguration and Collaboration Fund,
met the cost of the preparatory work for higher education that
was underway, at cost of £2.9 million. equal pay.
 Despite a very tight budget settlement, which did not include any
across-the-board increases, Ministers took account of a range of
cost pressures, including pay.
3


As a result of taking the pay framework into account, HE pay costs
make up a very substantial part of the overall increase allocated to
Higher Education in the budget.
The Assembly Government, of course, only funds a proportion of
HE costs and institutions will need to manage their budgets in a
way that is appropriate to their own situation and reflects their
autonomy.
Further Education
 We can be rightly proud of our FE Institutions. Throughout Wales
we see examples of excellence in our colleges. Coleg Llandrillo
holds Network of Excellence status for Catering and Hospitality;
Coleg Menai won the Wales Quality Awards in 2006; Coleg Glan
Hafren excels in Automotive training; Estyn has awarded Gorseinon
College grade 1s across the board; and Barry College’s International
Centre for Aerospace Training holds CAA status and is
internationally recognised.
 What is more, Welsh colleges are finding new ways of working;
breaking through the traditional barriers between sectors. In
Rhondda Cynon Taf provision is shared between FE and the schools
to extend the vocational offer to local learners. In Cardiff, Barry
College and Coleg Glan Hafren are working together to deliver the
skills required for new developments within the city. And, of
course, in Merthyr we have seen the first ever, merger of a Welsh
college of further education with a university.
Closing para
 My vision for Wales as a learning country is that everyone has a
contribution to make. I believe that we can all aspire to individual
excellence and not settle for second best. That way, we will fulfil
our potential as individuals while the wider community benefits
from our success.
 Mae Addysg Bellach ac Addysg Uwch yn chwarae rhan bwysig i
sicrhau bod y weledigaeth hon yn dod yn realiti, a byddant yn
parhau i wneud hynny.
 [Further and Higher education has and will play an important part if
we are to make this vision a reality.]
4