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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