The Welsh Government has outlined a £310 million package of financial support to boost skills across Wales, with £260 million earmarked for apprenticeships — including those supporting the manufacturing and engineering sectors.

Ahead of the publication of the Welsh government’s departmental spending plans, Education Secretary Kirsty Williams announced £50 million of capital funding for further education (FE) and higher education (HE) to improve
facilities and learning environments for students.

Over the next two years, £10 million will be allocated for FE institutions to invest in industry-standard training equipment — and a further £10 million for essential maintenance to ensure safe learning environments.

An additional £30 million (£10 million in each of the next three years) will be allocated to rationalisation of the HE institutions in Wales (expanding successful schools and programmes while reducing surplus capacity).

Ms Williams said: “Our £50 million capital investment for the FE and HE sectors will enable them to provide ‘state of the art’ facilities, improving learning environments for students and satisfying local employer needs. This investment is crucial both for our learners and for the wider economy.”

Skills and Science Minister Julie James said: “We are committed to raising skills standards across the board in Wales, and we are putting investments in place to do just that.

"Apprenticeships are the start of an exciting and rewarding career, and we are already delivering one of the most successful apprenticeship programmes in Europe.

"The £260 million we’re investing over the next two years will build on this and enable us to deliver our commitment of creating 100,000 all-age apprenticeships over the life of this Welsh Assembly term.”