Universities, colleges and skills

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University finances and jobs, further education and sixth forms, apprenticeships and the skills Wales's economy needs.

In the Programme for Government this sits under the well-being objective Unleashing the potential of the Welsh economy, and creating good well-paid jobs.

Have your say: 2 open consultations on this subject

Regulations under section 11(2) of the Higher Education Act 2004 in respect of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) Complaints Scheme in Wales, closes 23 November 2026
Proposed Apprenticeships Specification Cymru (ASC), closes 4 December 2026

See them all

ThemesEverything Universities Colleges and sixth forms Apprenticeships and training

Showing the theme Universities. The Programme commitments are the brief's as a whole.

Statements and debates: 3; in the Sixth Senedd
Contributions: 3,125; in the Sixth Senedd
Written questions: 207; in the Sixth Senedd

How often it comes up

On this page

The debate so far
Where things stand
What the government has promised
From the Welsh Government
In the news
Key moments in the Senedd
Related votes
Who raises it
Who ministers have met
Written questions
Petitions
In committee
Latest contributions
Month by month
How this brief is put together

The debate so far

Since May 2026 the Senedd has focused on university finances, including a Welsh Government review of higher education, and on funding pressure in further education colleges. Members have also pressed ministers on apprenticeships, skills shortages and young people not in education, employment or training. Plaid Cymru ministers point to a skills audit and summit. Opposition Members ask what will change now.

The main arguments

Deputy Minister Cefin Campbell (Plaid Cymru) said universities face funding, student market and demographic pressures, with a collective underlying deficit of £82 million in 2024-25. Adrian Mason (Reform UK) cited a £79 million deficit and asked for certainty on the fee cap. Contributions: [1][2]

Where things stand

Statistics published by the Welsh Government. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.

Young people not in education, employment or training

13.7%

2024 (provisional)

A year earlier: 13.2% (2023)

The estimated share of 16 to 24 year olds in Wales who were not in education, employment or training, by year.

The estimates combine survey and administrative data. The latest year is provisional and is revised the following year.

Source: Welsh Government, Estimated 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training in Wales by economic activity and age group. Accredited official statistics. Next update due in November 2026. Checked on 30 October 2026.

Show the figures

Young people not in education, employment or training: every figure in the chart, newest first.
Period	Wales
2024	13.7%provisional
2023	13.2%revised
2022	13.8%revised
2021	16.0%
2020	14.2%
2019	14.4%
2018	14.0%
2017	13.3%
2016	15.7%

Economic inactivity

23.7%

The year to 30 June 2026

United Kingdom: 20.9%
A year earlier: 24.1% (the year to 30 June 2025)

Wales
United Kingdom

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How we show official statistics Figures on this brief quoted in the Senedd (13)

What the government has promised

The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.

The skills that Wales needs

Develop a Skills Strategy for Wales, informed by a national skills audit, to align skills provision, vocational education and qualifications with current and future economic needs. We will support a system that strengthens pathways into education, training and employment, helping people gain the skills, support and opportunities they need to enter, remain and progress in fair, secure and sustainable work.
Read it in the Programme
Take steps to create a financially sustainable tertiary education system that delivers high‑quality education, skills and research, supports collaboration across the sector, and secures long‑term value from public investment, starting with our independent review of higher education funding.
Read it in the Programme
Work to ensure that young people in Wales can live, study and work in Europe – including by maximising the opportunities for Welsh students that stem from the UK rejoining the Erasmus+ scheme and examining options for the future of the Wales‑specific Taith programme.
Read it in the Programme

Learner pathways

Develop a tertiary education system with clear and coherent learner pathways, supporting lifelong learning and enabling people of all ages to progress confidently between education, training and employment throughout their lives and to reach their full potential.
Read it in the Programme
Reform Academi Seren, building on its strongest elements to support more learners, including from disadvantaged backgrounds, to fulfil their potential and progress into higher education, training or employment including here in Wales.
Read it in the Programme
Strengthen opportunities for young people to fulfil their potential including increasing access to vocational pathways such as junior apprenticeships and ensuring the contribution of youth work is better valued and understood.
Read it in the Programme

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

Month by month

Contributions tagged in each month of the Sixth Senedd. No sittings were held in August 2021, August 2022, August 2023, December 2024, February 2025, March 2025, April 2025, May 2025, June 2025, July 2025, August 2025, September 2025, October 2025, November 2025 and December 2025.

Show the numbers

Month	Contributions
May 2021	2
June 2021	20
July 2021	16
August 2021	No sittings
September 2021	38
October 2021	25
November 2021	75
December 2021	107
January 2022	66
February 2022	39
March 2022	99
April 2022	17
May 2022	162
June 2022	77
July 2022	52
August 2022	No sittings
September 2022	30
October 2022	315
November 2022	90
December 2022

How this brief is put together

This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.

Show the phrases it uses

A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.

Phrases for the brief as a whole

“higher education”
“further education”
“tertiary education”
“post-16”
“lifelong learning”
“skills system”
“skills training”
“Commission for Tertiary Education and Research”

Abbreviations

“Medr”

Not counted when part of

“University Health Board”
“University Health Boards”
“University Hospital”
“University Hospital of Wales”
“Grange University Hospital”
“University Local Health Board”

Universities

“university”
“universities”
“tuition fees”
“student finance”
“student support”
“university funding”
“international students”
“Erasmus”
“Taith”
“Seren”
“Academi Seren”
“research and innovation”

Not counted when part of

“University Health Board”
“University Health Boards”
“University Hospital”
“University Hospital of Wales”
“Grange University Hospital”
“University Local Health Board”

Colleges and sixth forms

“further education college”
“further education colleges”
“FE college”
“FE colleges”
“college”
“colleges”
“sixth form”
“sixth forms”
“Coleg Cambria”
“Coleg Gwent”
“Grŵp Llandrillo Menai”

Not counted when part of

“Royal College”
“Royal Colleges”
“College of Paramedics”
“College of Policing”
“Coleg Cymraeg”
“electoral college”

Apprenticeships and training

“apprenticeship”
“apprenticeships”
“junior apprenticeships”
“skills gap”
“skills gaps”
“skills shortages”
“Skills Strategy”
“skills audit”
“vocational”
“adult learning”
“employability”
“personal learning accounts”
“Jobs Growth Wales”
“young person's guarantee”
“not in education, employment or training”

Abbreviations

“NEET”
“NEETs”

Period	Wales	United Kingdom
The year to 30 June 2026	23.7%	20.9%
The year to 31 March 2026	24.5%	21.0%
The year to 31 December 2025	24.0%	20.9%
The year to 30 September 2025	24.1%	21.1%
The year to 30 June 2025	24.1%	21.3%
The year to 31 March 2025	23.9%	21.6%
The year to 31 December 2024	24.7%	21.7%
The year to 30 September 2024	25.1%	21.7%
The year to 30 June 2024	24.5%	21.7%
The year to 31 March 2024	23.8%	21.5%
The year to 31 December 2023	23.0%	21.3%
The year to 30 September 2023	22.9%	21.3%
The year to 30 June 2023	23.8%	21.5%
The year to 31 March 2023	24.5%	21.7%
The year to 31 December 2022	24.4%	21.7%
The year to 30 September 2022	24.1%	21.8%
The year to 30 June 2022	23.5%	21.6%
The year to 31 March 2022	23.5%	21.6%
The year to 31 December 2021	23.7%	21.7%
The year to 30 September 2021	24.0%	21.7%
The year to 30 June 2021	24.5%	21.7%
The year to 31 March 2021	24.7%	21.5%
The year to 31 December 2020	24.4%	21.2%
The year to 30 September 2020	23.9%	21.2%
The year to 30 June 2020	23.4%	21.1%
The year to 31 March 2020	23.5%	21.1%
The year to 31 December 2019	23.6%	21.2%
The year to 30 September 2019	23.2%	21.3%
The year to 30 June 2019	23.5%	21.3%
The year to 31 March 2019	23.3%	21.5%
The year to 31 December 2018	23.3%	21.7%
The year to 30 September 2018	23.8%	21.7%
The year to 30 June 2018	23.7%	21.8%
The year to 31 March 2018	23.5%	21.8%
The year to 31 December 2017	23.9%	21.8%
The year to 30 September 2017	24.3%	22.1%
The year to 30 June 2017	24.8%	22.1%
The year to 31 March 2017	25.1%	22.2%
The year to 31 December 2016	25.2%	22.3%
The year to 30 September 2016	25.2%	22.3%
The year to 30 June 2016	24.8%	22.3%

The debate so far

The main arguments

The debate so far

The main arguments

Where the parties stand

Welsh Labour

Plaid Cymru

Welsh Conservatives

Reform UK

What the government is being pressed on

What the public is asking for

Who ministers are meeting

In the Sixth Senedd (2021 to 2026)

Where things stand

Young people not in education, employment or training

Economic inactivity

What the government has promised

The skills that Wales needs

Learner pathways

From the Welsh Government

253 additional nursing graduates secure posts across NHS Wales

New Chair of Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust

In the news

Key moments in the Senedd

Related votes

Amendment 184

Amendment 185

Amendment 186

Amendment 187

Amendment 188

Amendment 189

Amendment 190

Who raises it

Which parties raise it

Members who raise it most

Who ministers have met

Written questions

Petitions

In committee

Latest contributions

Month by month

How this brief is put together

Phrases for the brief as a whole

Universities

Colleges and sixth forms

Apprenticeships and training