º£½ÇÊÓÆµ

Oops.

Our website is temporarily unavailable in your location.

We are working hard to get it back online.

PRIVACY
Economic Development

Wales’ Economy Minister says recovery from Covid-19 will be used to narrow down workforce inequalities

Ken Skates said they ensure the barriers people face before coronavirus are 'torn down' in the recovery period

Ken Skates AM(Image: Welsh Government)

The Welsh Government said it is working through a number of forecasts for the economy post-Covid-19.

Wales’ Economy Minister Ken Skates also said the Government would use the recovery of the economy to narrow down the inequalities within the Welsh workforce, and that he was working with a BAME advisory group.

Mr Skates said: “My determination is that we use the recovery from coronavirus to narrow inequalities and ensure those that faced multiple barriers before coronavirus have those barriers torn down as we emerege from this terrible virus.”

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday that Britain’s economy was likely to slump by 11.5% in 2020 - but could contract by 14% if there is a second wave of Covid-19 later this year.

The international organisation said the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ economy is set to be the hardest hit among the world’s developed countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Skates said with the forecasts available to them they are preparing the skills and employability infrastructure in Wales to ensure as many people as possible who could be made unemployed as a result of Coronavirus get the training, support, and guidance needed to get them back into work as soon as possible.

“We are looking at significantly ramping up activity in regards to Working Wales, the single point of contact to people who face unemployment or who are unemployed,” Mr Skates said.

“We are looking at vastly increasing provision to some of our youth employability programmes, recognising that after the 2008 financial crisis it was young people who were particularly badly hit in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ. That is why we stepped in with Jobs Growth Wales.”