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Work Programme (Wales)

I thank my hon. Friend for that assistance. I saw him come in with some figures; I knew he had some statistics and would be able to support me in the small contribution I am making. I believe that the Welsh Assembly Government are determined to invest in and improve education in Wales. I will support them in some tough decisions that I know they will have to take. Those tough decisions will sometimes be in the face of the teaching profession, which, though very caring in its approach to pupils, is sometimes not radical enough in the necessary change of approach to education. I am particularly concerned that more children in Wales are encouraged to go into the so-called STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths. It is in those subjects that we will have—[ Interruption. ] Is that the Deputy Prime Minister on the phone? Have I gone down the wrong line? Tell him we are under control. Obviously, a number of pupils will want to study the humanities, such as languages, and those subjects are very important. However, unless we have a strong cohort of our young people in Wales engaged in science, technology, engineering and maths, Wales as a location for business will not be as attractive as it should be. We have lots of good universities in Wales. I am particularly impressed whenever I visit Cardiff university: its life sciences departments are very strong and it has other opportunities for young people to acquire the right skills to go into employment. I want to emphasise this point: in Wales we have discriminated too long against vocational education as a role for young people. The approach of the Government of Wales should be to ensure that vocational education sits on a par and has equality with academic education. We need technicians just as much as any other role within the economy and businesses, and we need to promote and encourage such an approach as much as we can. I am very pleased that the Government have invested in more apprentices because it is at that level of skill that we can make a real difference to the economy in this country. In conclusion, the future jobs fund achieved what it set out to achieve, but it was rather limited in its ambition. The European funding regulations meant that the fund could not support or subsidise jobs that might displace existing jobs in the UK or other parts of the European Union. I hope that the Work programme will give opportunities to young people and to adults to have real sustainable, permanent jobs. If we can achieve that, it will make a difference to the opportunities of all people in Wales.