Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee officially launched tby Economy Minister Vaughan Gething

Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee officially launched  

The Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee – providing everyone under 25 with the offer of work, education, training, or self-employment – has been launched today by Economy Minister Vaughan Gething.

The ambitious programme will help ensure there is no lost generation in Wales following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Young Person’s Guarantee is a key commitment in the Welsh Government’s five year Programme for Government.

The comprehensive package brings together programmes designed to provide the right support at the right time for the diverse needs of young people across Wales. This includes new user friendly services to help young people find opportunities more easily.

Phase one of the Guarantee provides young people aged 16 to 24 in Wales with access to:

• one simple route to access the guarantee via Working Wales – support and advice from advisers will be provided in multiple forms, including virtually, on the high street, and through improved outreach facilities across Wales;
• self-employment advice and support available through Big Ideas Wales;
• traineeships, that provide work experience and training;
• training and wage incentives via the ReAct programme;
• a place on one of the Welsh Government’s outreach Community Employability programmes;
• help to find an apprenticeship;
• a new course search platform, for those wanting to enter further education or higher education, to make it easier to find their choice;
• a referral to one of the programmes funded by other partners, such as DWP and Local Authorities.

Working Wales has today become the single gateway for every 16 to 24 year old in Wales to access the Guarantee. This will build on its already strong and successful model of delivering careers guidance and signposting support.

Working Wales is also trialling a new Job Matching service, to assist young people with securing employment and to help employers fill vacancies.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said:

“The Welsh Government is determined that there will be no lost generation in Wales as a result of the pandemic.

“Our young people hold the key to Wales’ future success – which is why I’m delighted to officially launch our Young Person’s Guarantee today. We are putting in place an ambitious programme designed to provide everyone under 25 in Wales with the offer of work, education, training, or self-employment.

“This is the bold action we must take to help young people get the best possible start. We want to give young people the support they need for a brighter future when leaving school, college, university, if they are unemployed or even facing redundancy.

“Whatever the uncertainties we face, we can be sure of one thing – failing to step up to support young people today, guarantees economic failure tomorrow.”

The guarantee is supported by wide ranging provision which ensures young people can take up effective support that works for them.

In this year alone the Welsh Government has invested:

• £390m in Sixth Forms and Further Education, providing thousands of young people with a range of academic and vocational courses, £16.4m in Educational Maintenance Allowances, £5m for extra places and an additional £33m to support young people in education to recover from the impact of the pandemic;
• £152m in apprenticeships, including an £18.7m in employer incentive to recruit and support young people.  Whilst this is an all age programme, around 39% of all apprentices starting in 2019/20 were under the age of 25;
• Around £1.22bn in Student support for 2021-22. In 2019/20, around 60% of Welsh Higher Education students were aged 16 to 24, meaning our innovative package of maintenance grants and loans enable students, regardless of age, or household or family income, to access higher education. In the past year, Ministers have also provided £122m of additional funding to build capacity and to enable our universities to increase their hardship funding and support services to students affected by the pandemic; 
• £70m per annum to help people into work through a range of employability programmes including ReAct, Traineeships and Community Employabilty Programmes. 

Our next steps in the development of the guarantee will include:

• Regional Skills Partnerships will commence engagement events to shape Guarantee provision within their area;
• Continuing to listen to our young people through a series of focus groups between now and December, to understand how they view the support and offer available; what they want to see; and to tell us about the barriers they face. 

Lansio Gwarant Llywodraeth Cymru i Bobl Ifanc yn swyddogol 

Heddiw, mae Gweinidog yr Economi, Vaughan Gething, wedi lansio Gwarant Llywodraeth Cymru i Bobl Ifanc – sy’n cynnig gwaith, addysg, hyfforddiant neu hunangyflogaeth i bawb o dan 25 oed.

Bydd y rhaglen uchelgeisiol yn helpu i sicrhau na fydd yna genhedlaeth goll yng Nghymru yn dilyn pandemig COVID-19.

Mae’r Gwarant i Bobl Ifanc yn un o ymrwymiadau allweddol Rhaglen Lywodraethu bum mlynedd Llywodraeth Cymru.

Mae’r pecyn cynhwysfawr yn tynnu ynghyd raglenni sydd wedi’u cynllunio i ddarparu’r gefnogaeth iawn ar yr amser iawn yn ôl anghenion amrywiol pobl ifanc ledled Cymru. Mae hyn yn cynnwys gwasanaethau hwylus newydd i helpu pobl ifanc i ddod o hyd i gyfleoedd yn haws.

Mae cam un y Gwarant yn cynnig y canlynol i bobl ifanc 16 i 24 oed yng Nghymru:

• un cyfrwng syml i fanteisio ar y gwarant, sef drwy Cymru’n Gweithio – darperir cefnogaeth a chyngor mewn sawl ffordd, gan gynnwys yn rhithiol, ar y stryd fawr, a thrwy well cyfleusterau ymgysylltu ledled Cymru;
• cyngor a chefnogaeth o ran hunangyflogaeth drwy Syniadau Mawr Cymru;
• rhaglenni hyfforddi sy’n darparu profiad gwaith;
• hyfforddiant a chymhellion cyflog drwy raglen ReAct;
• lle ar un o raglenni Cyflogadwyedd Cymunedol Llywodraeth Cymru;
• help i ddod o hyd i brentisiaeth;
• platfform newydd i chwilio am gyrsiau, i’r rheini sydd am ddechrau ar addysg bellach neu uwch, i’w gwneud yn haws dewis llwybr;
• cael eu hatgyfeirio i un o’r rhaglenni a ariennir gan bartneriaid eraill, megis yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau ac awdurdodau lleol.

O heddiw ymlaen, bydd pob person ifanc 16 i 24 oed sydd am fanteisio ar y Gwarant yn mynd drwy borthol Cymru’n Gweithio. Bydd yn adeiladu ar ei fodel cryf a llwyddiannus o ddarparu arweiniad ar yrfa a chyfeirio pobl ifanc at gymorth.

Mae Cymru’n Gweithio hefyd yn treialu gwasanaeth newydd i baru unigolion â swyddi, gan helpu pobl ifanc i ddod o hyd i gyflogaeth, a chyflogwyr i lenwi swyddi.

Dywedodd Vaughan Gething:

“Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn benderfynol o sicrhau na fydd yna genhedlaeth goll yng Nghymru yn dilyn y pandemig.

“Mae llwyddiant Cymru yn nwylo ein pobl ifanc – a dyna pam fy mod i wrth fy modd yn cael lansio ein Gwarant i Bobl Ifanc yn swyddogol heddiw. Rydyn ni’n sefydlu rhaglen uchelgeisiol â’r nod o gynnig gwaith, addysg, hyfforddiant neu hunangyflogaeth i bawb o dan 25 oed yng Nghymru.

“Dyma’r cam mentrus y mae’n rhaid inni ei gymryd er mwyn helpu pobl ifanc i gael y dechrau gorau posibl. Rydyn ni eisiau rhoi’r gefnogaeth sydd ei hangen ar bobl ifanc i sicrhau dyfodol gwell wrth adael yr ysgol, y coleg neu’r brifysgol, os ydyn nhw’n ddi-waith neu’n wynebu cael eu diswyddo hyd yn oed.

“Beth bynnag yw’r ansicrwydd rydyn ni’n ei wynebu, fe allwn ni fod yn siwr o un peth – bydd peidio â mynd ati i gefnogi pobl ifanc heddiw yn arwain at fethiant economaidd yfory.”

Yn ategu’r gwarant mae darpariaeth eang, gan sicrhau cefnogaeth effeithiol sy’n gweithio i bobl ifanc. Dim ond eleni mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi buddsoddi:

• £390m yn y chweched dosbarth ac addysg bellach, gan ddarparu ystod o gyrsiau academaidd a galwedigaethol i filoedd o bobl ifanc, £16.4m mewn Lwfansau Cynhaliaeth Addysg, £5m ar gyfer lleoedd ychwanegol a £33m i gefnogi pobl ifanc mewn addysg i ddod dros effaith y pandemig;
• £152m mewn prentisiaethau, gan gynnwys £18.7m mewn cymhellion i gyflogwyr recriwtio a chefnogi pobl ifanc. Er bod hon yn rhaglen i bob oed, roedd tua 39% o’r prentisiaid a ddechreuodd yn 2019/20 o dan 25 oed;

tua £1.22bn mewn cymorth i fyfyrwyr ar gyfer 2021-22. Yn 2019/20, roedd tua 60% o fyfyrwyr addysg uwch Cymru rhwng 16 a 24 oed, sy’n golygu bod ein pecyn arloesol o grantiau a benthyciadau cynhaliaeth yn galluogi myfyrwyr, beth bynnag eu hoedran, neu incwm eu haelwyd neu eu teulu, i fanteisio ar addysg uwch. Yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, mae Gweinidogion hefyd wedi darparu £122m o gyllid ychwanegol i feithrin capasiti a galluogi ein prifysgolion i gynyddu eu cyllid i helpu unigolion mewn caledi, ac ar gyfer gwasanaethau cymorth i fyfyrwyr y mae’r pandemig wedi effeithio arnynt;

• £70m y flwyddyn i helpu pobl i gael gwaith drwy ystod o raglenni cyflogadwyedd, gan gynnwys ReAct, rhaglenni hyfforddi a rhaglenni Cyflogadwyedd Cymunedol.

Fel rhan o’n camau nesaf wrth ddatblygu’r gwarant:

• bydd Partneriaethau Sgiliau Rhanbarthol yn cychwyn digwyddiadau ymgysylltu er mwyn llywio darpariaeth y Gwarant o fewn eu hardal
• byddwn yn parhau i wrando ar ein pobl ifanc drwy gyfres o grwpiau ffocws rhwng nawr a Rhagfyr, er mwyn deall sut maen nhw’n ymateb i’r gefnogaeth a’r arlwy sydd ar gael; beth y maen nhw am ei weld; a beth yw’r rhwystrau y maen nhw’n eu hwynebu.