English: My contribution to today's debate will focus primarily on the need for greater skills planning and training in Wales within the construction sector if we want to achieve the optimum benefit for the people of Wales in terms of job creation, utilisation of the local supply chain and investment in skills, so that we can meet the demands of our incoming infrastructure projects. The importance of effective skills planning to the success of infrastructure delivery continues to be highlighted as one of the most pressing issues facing the construction and engineering sectors in Wales. So, to capitalise on the largely positive construction environment in Wales at the moment, the Welsh Government and industry must work closely together to recruit talented people and train the workforce whilst also of course avoiding unnecessary skills mismatches. For skills planning, innovation and cost effectiveness should be the key drivers for future growth and reform. Closer partnership between employers and Welsh Government is crucial of course, as well as linking labour market intelligence to regional learning and skills partnerships. In Wales, we have regional skills partnerships that bring together a range of relevant bodies to co-ordinate and plan for skills development. However, there is no formal structure to co-ordinate their work at a national level. In Plaid Cymru's proposals for a national infrastructure commission for Wales, we called for skills planning and forecasting to be a central role within the remit of the commission, which could have provided that level of central co-ordination. Whilst giving evidence to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills committee, both CECA Wales and CITB Cymru agreed that construction sector skills should be part of the commission's remit and that it should produce a national infrastructure plan for skills to forecast requirements and avoid gaps in demand. Unfortunately, the Welsh Government rejected this idea, claiming that the current structures were appropriate to meet future demand. I suppose only time will tell as to whether they're right or not. Our motion today specifically calls on the Welsh Government to consider establishing a national construction college for Wales. Back in February 2015, two years ago now, the then Minister for skills said that the Welsh Government were working very hard to get a construction college under way as soon as possible and that it would be aligned to employer needs. However, as far as I'm aware, very little has happened since then. So, why do we need a national construction college for Wales? Over the years, some apprentices have had to leave Wales to gain industry recognised construction skills. The national construction college, as a strategic entity, would ensure that Wales has home-grown skills in place to meet the construction industry's current and, indeed, future needs. The case for a new-build national construction college is based on the model for the rest of the UK's national construction colleges - to satisfy the demand for courses not currently available in Wales. It would provide provision that's more tailored to the needs of industry in Wales, with expert teaching staff and facilities that can help raise the profile and, indeed, the attractiveness of the sector. A new-build facility could offer a dedicated centre of excellence with significant advantages, allowing, for example, large-scale equipment and realistic practice on a scale unlikely to be acquired within existing provision, and enabling Welsh construction firms to develop a broader base of skills in order to compete effectively within Wales and, of course, outside of Wales. Such a facility could potentially benefit the Welsh construction sector by bringing advanced resources and equipment within economical reach. There are significant challenges ahead of us if we're to ensure that the construction sector in Wales has the capacity to deliver on infrastructure projects and the future infrastructure projects that we know are coming. However, there are also significant opportunities if action is taken to meet that demand. I recognise that strides have been made in recent years, such as the establishment of the construction innovation centre for Wales in Swansea that's set to open in September this year. However, a strategic entity is required that provides if not all then certainly much more of the construction sector training provision that we require here in Wales. So, a key message for us from this debate this afternoon is that better engagement with the sector is now essential to improve and deliver enhanced forward skills planning and long-term improvement to the provision of training within the construction sector.
Welsh: Bydd fy nghyfraniad i'r ddadl heddiw yn canolbwyntio'n bennaf ar yr angen am fwy o gynllunio sgiliau a hyfforddiant yng Nghymru yn y sector adeiladu os ydym am sicrhau'r budd gorau posibl ar gyfer pobl Cymru o ran creu swyddi, defnyddio'r gadwyn gyflenwi leol a buddsoddi mewn sgiliau, fel y gallwn ateb gofynion ein prosiectau seilwaith sydd ar y ffordd. Mae pwysigrwydd cynllunio sgiliau'n effeithiol i lwyddiant darparu seilwaith yn parhau i gael ei amlygu fel un o'r materion pwysicaf sy'n wynebu'r sector adeiladu a'r sector peirianneg yng Nghymru. Felly, er mwyn manteisio ar yr amgylchedd adeiladu sydd ar y cyfan yn gadarnhaol yng Nghymru ar hyn o bryd, rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru a'r diwydiant weithio'n agos â'i gilydd i recriwtio pobl dalentog a hyfforddi'r gweithlu gan osgoi camgymharu sgiliau'n ddiangen ar yr un pryd wrth gwrs. Ar gyfer cynllunio sgiliau, dylai arloesedd a chosteffeithiolrwydd fod yn ffactorau allweddol ar gyfer twf a diwygio yn y dyfodol. Mae partneriaeth agosach rhwng cyflogwyr a Llywodraeth Cymru yn hanfodol, wrth gwrs, yn ogystal â chysylltu gwybodaeth am y farchnad lafur â phartneriaethau dysgu a sgiliau rhanbarthol. Yng Nghymru, mae gennym bartneriaethau sgiliau rhanbarthol sy'n dwyn ynghyd ystod o gyrff perthnasol i gydlynu a chynllunio ar gyfer datblygu sgiliau. Fodd bynnag, nid oes unrhyw strwythur ffurfiol ar gyfer cydlynu eu gwaith ar lefel genedlaethol. Yng nghynigion Plaid Cymru ar gomisiwn seilwaith cenedlaethol ar gyfer Cymru, roeddem yn galw am wneud cynllunio a rhagweld sgiliau yn rhan ganolog o gylch gwaith y comisiwn, a allai fod wedi darparu'r lefel honno o gydgysylltiad canolog. Wrth roi tystiolaeth i bwyllgor yr Economi, Seilwaith a Sgiliau, cytunodd Cymdeithas Contractwyr Peirianneg Sifil Cymru a Bwrdd Hyfforddi Diwydiant Adeiladu Cymru y dylai sgiliau'r sector adeiladu fod yn rhan o gylch gwaith y comisiwn ac y dylai gynhyrchu cynllun seilwaith cenedlaethol ar gyfer sgiliau i ragweld gofynion ac osgoi bylchau yn y galw. Yn anffodus, gwrthododd Llywodraeth Cymru y syniad hwn, gan honni bod y strwythurau presennol yn briodol i ateb y galw yn y dyfodol. Mae'n debyg mai amser yn unig a ddengys a ydynt yn gywir ai peidio. Mae ein cynnig heddiw yn galw'n benodol ar Lywodraeth Cymru i ystyried sefydlu coleg adeiladu cenedlaethol i Gymru. Yn ôl ym mis Chwefror 2015, ddwy flynedd yn ôl bellach, dywedodd y Gweinidog sgiliau ar y pryd fod Llywodraeth Cymru yn gweithio'n galed iawn i gael coleg adeiladu ar y gweill cyn gynted ag y bo modd ac y byddai'n cyd-fynd ag anghenion cyflogwyr. Fodd bynnag, hyd y gwn i, ychydig iawn sydd wedi digwydd ers hynny. Felly, pam fod angen coleg adeiladu cenedlaethol ar gyfer Cymru? Dros y blynyddoedd, mae rhai prentisiaid wedi gorfod gadael Cymru i feithrin sgiliau adeiladu cydnabyddedig y diwydiant. Byddai'r coleg adeiladu cenedlaethol, fel endid strategol, yn sicrhau bod gan Gymru sgiliau cynhenid ar waith i ddiwallu anghenion y diwydiant ar hyn o bryd, ac yn y dyfodol, yn wir. Mae'r achos dros goleg adeiladu cenedlaethol wedi'i adeiladu o'r newydd yn seiliedig ar y model ar gyfer gweddill colegau adeiladu cenedlaethol y DU - i fodloni'r galw am gyrsiau nad ydynt ar gael ar hyn o bryd yng Nghymru. Byddai'n cynnig darpariaeth wedi'i theilwra'n well i anghenion y diwydiant yng Nghymru, gyda staff a chyfleusterau addysgu arbenigol a all helpu i godi proffil, ac atyniad y sector yn wir. Gallai cyfleuster wedi'i adeiladu o'r newydd gynnig canolfan ragoriaeth bwrpasol gyda manteision sylweddol i ganiatáu, er enghraifft, ar gyfer cyfarpar ar raddfa fawr ac ymarfer realistig ar raddfa sy'n annhebygol o fod ar gael yn y ddarpariaeth bresennol, a galluogi cwmnïau adeiladu yng Nghymru i ddatblygu sylfaen ehangach o sgiliau er mwyn cystadlu'n effeithiol yng Nghymru, ac wrth gwrs, y tu allan i Gymru. Gallai cyfleuster o'r fath fod o fudd i sector adeiladu Cymru drwy ddod ag adnoddau ac offer datblygedig o fewn cyrraedd yn ariannol. Ceir heriau sylweddol o'n blaenau os ydym am sicrhau bod gan y sector adeiladu yng Nghymru allu i gyflawni prosiectau seilwaith a'r prosiectau seilwaith yn y dyfodol y gwyddom eu bod ar y ffordd. Fodd bynnag, mae yna hefyd gyfleoedd sylweddol os rhoddir camau ar waith i ateb y galw hwnnw. Rwy'n cydnabod bod camau wedi cael eu gwneud yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf, megis sefydlu canolfan arloesi adeiladu ar gyfer Cymru yn Abertawe sydd i agor ym mis Medi eleni. Fodd bynnag, mae angen endid strategol sy'n darparu os nad y cyfan, yna llawer mwy, yn sicr, o hyfforddiant y sector adeiladu sydd ei angen arnom yma yng Nghymru. Felly, neges allweddol o'r ddadl hon y prynhawn yma yw bod ymgysylltiad gwell â'r sector yn hanfodol bellach er mwyn blaengynllunio sgiliau'n well a sicrhau gwelliant hirdymor i'r ddarpariaeth hyfforddiant yn y sector adeiladu.