Paul Slevin, President of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid, said:

“We welcome the Welsh Government’s new Plan for Employability and Skills, helping people of all backgrounds and abilities to find and stay in work.

“We repeatedly hear from businesses about the difficulties of recruiting suitable staff, with a skills deficit often acting as a barrier. Preliminary results from our Quarterly Economic Survey for Q1 indicate that 45% of businesses in Wales attempted to recruit over the past three months, with 65% of these experiencing difficulties recruiting skilled staff in particular.

“The plan’s five key areas of action, in addition to schemes for young people like Jobs Growth Wales+ and ReAct+ with training and upskilling at their heart, will be a boost for businesses who are recruiting and wish to retain skilled employees in the long term.”