English: I'm delighted to have this opportunity to speak in this debate today. I want to take this opportunity to thank the committee and all its members for this very important report. Despite not being a member of this committee, Members will know that I take a great interest in apprenticeships, having been an apprentice myself before entering the Assembly. With that in mind, I could spend great time today speaking about this issue, but in the interests of time, I want to focus my contribution on three main issues: one, apprentice trainers; two, automation; and, finally, emotional intelligence. At age 17, at the start of the fourth Assembly - for Members who are interested - I started my apprenticeship at a local firm on Deeside industrial estate. That apprenticeship gave me the opportunity to work, learn and earn, and I am delighted that the Welsh Government has a commitment to creating a minimum of 100,000 high-quality apprenticeships in Wales over this Assembly term. With that said, I hope the Government looks seriously at the issue of trainers. We know that once an apprentice has served his or her time, it takes a few years to get the relevant experience as a fully served and skilled tradesperson. I want to take this point now to pay tribute to John Steele, who recently retired from my workplace - the workplace where I was fortunate to do my apprenticeship. He was my mentor, my friend, and his retirement raises so many serious questions about how we ensure firms across Wales have the people with relevant experiences and skills to train the next generation of apprentices. Automation is another big issue that will impact on the type of apprenticeships that we will need in the future. Members will be aware of the recent statistics that were recently raised on this matter. They revealed that the proportion of jobs at risk of automation by the early 2030s in Wales varies from 26 per cent to over 36 per cent. My constituency in Alyn and Deeside was highlighted as the constituency that had the highest percentage of jobs at risk through automation, with 36 per cent. Now, I agree completely with the future generations of Wales commissioner when she says that, instead of asking what automation will take away from us, we should be asking how automation can help us improve our public services and the well-being of our lives and communities. We should be embracing automation as a huge economic opportunity, but at the same time ensure that we have a strategy for dealing with the risks of these technologies. At this point now, it is important to recognise and highlight the importance of emotional intelligence. Now, we've all been here and we've all been there: you're ordering tickets to an event online, you're almost done, but that annoying screen pops up and makes you type some blurry letters and some numbers, right at the end, into a box. Now, this is a step, as most people know, to ensure that you are just a person buying a ticket to your favourite concert or football match, and you are not a computer programme deployed to grab a bunch of seats. Now, it's that level of emotional intelligence that will ensure the next generation of workers does not lose out as a result of automation. We urgently need to identify those who are most likely to be hardest hit by automation, and to develop targeted measures to help those people. That must include financial and psychological support, as well as the upskilling of the workforce. Finally, in closing, I welcome the publication of this report and look forward to working with Members from across the Chamber as well as the Welsh Government in ensuring that we have high-skilled, well-paid, quality apprenticeships for our future generations in Wales. Diolch.
Welsh: Rwy'n falch iawn o gael y cyfle hwn i siarad yn y ddadl hon heddiw. Hoffwn fanteisio ar y cyfle hwn i ddiolch i'r pwyllgor a'i holl aelodau am yr adroddiad pwysig hwn. Er nad wyf yn aelod o'r pwyllgor hwn, bydd yr Aelodau'n gwybod fod gennyf ddiddordeb mawr mewn prentisiaethau, ar ôl bod yn brentis fy hun cyn dod i'r Cynulliad. Gyda hynny mewn golwg, gallwn dreulio amser hir heddiw yn siarad am y mater hwn, ond oherwydd prinder amser, rwyf am ganolbwyntio fy nghyfraniad ar dri phrif fater: un, hyfforddwyr prentisiaid; dau, awtomatiaeth; ac yn olaf, deallusrwydd emosiynol. Yn 17 oed, ar ddechrau'r pedwerydd Cynulliad - i'r Aelodau sydd â diddordeb - dechreuais fy mhrentisiaeth mewn cwmni lleol ar ystâd ddiwydiannol Glannau Dyfrdwy. Rhoddodd y brentisiaeth honno gyfle imi weithio, dysgu ac ennill cyflog, ac rwy'n falch fod gan Lywodraeth Cymru ymrwymiad i greu o leiaf 100,000 o brentisiaethau o safon uchel yng Nghymru yn ystod y tymor Cynulliad hwn. Wedi dweud hynny, gobeithio y bydd y Llywodraeth yn edrych o ddifrif ar fater hyfforddwyr. Pan fydd prentis wedi gwneud ei amser, gwyddom ei bod hi'n cymryd ychydig flynyddoedd i gael y profiad perthnasol fel crefftwr medrus sy'n darparu gwasanaeth llawn. Rwyf am gymryd y cyfle hwn i dalu teyrnged i John Steele, a ymddeolodd o fy ngweithle'n ddiweddar - y gweithle lle'r oeddwn yn ffodus i wneud fy mhrentisiaeth. Ef oedd fy mentor, fy ffrind, ac mae ei ymddeoliad yn codi cymaint o gwestiynau pwysig ynglŷn â sut y gallwn sicrhau bod gan gwmnïau ledled Cymru bobl â sgiliau a phrofiadau perthnasol i allu hyfforddi'r genhedlaeth nesaf o brentisiaid. Mae awtomatiaeth yn fater mawr arall a fydd yn effeithio ar y math o brentisiaethau y bydd eu hangen arnom yn y dyfodol. Bydd yr Aelodau'n ymwybodol o'r ystadegau diweddar a welwyd yn ddiweddar ar y mater hwn. Roeddent yn datgelu y bydd cyfran y swyddi sydd mewn perygl yn sgil awtomeiddio erbyn y 2030au cynnar yng Nghymru yn amrywio o 26 y cant i dros 36 y cant. Tynnwyd sylw at fy etholaeth i yn Alun a Glannau Dyfrdwy fel yr etholaeth lle roedd y ganran uchaf o swyddi mewn perygl yn sgil awtomeiddio, ar 36 y cant. Nawr, rwy'n cytuno'n llwyr â chomisiynydd cenedlaethau'r dyfodol yng Nghymru pan ddywed, yn hytrach na gofyn beth fydd awtomatiaeth yn ei ddwyn oddi wrthym, y dylem fod yn gofyn sut y gall awtomatiaeth ein helpu i wella ein gwasanaethau cyhoeddus a llesiant ein bywydau a'n cymunedau. Dylem groesawu awtomatiaeth fel cyfle economaidd enfawr, a sicrhau ar yr un pryd fod gennym strategaeth ar gyfer ymdrin â risgiau'r technolegau hyn. Ar y pwynt hwn yn awr, mae'n bwysig cydnabod a thynnu sylw at bwysigrwydd deallusrwydd emosiynol. Nawr, rydym oll wedi bod yno: rydych yn archebu tocynnau i ddigwyddiad ar-lein, rydych chi bron â gorffen, ond mae'r sgrin ddiflas honno'n dod i'r golwg a gwneud i chi deipio llythrennau a rhifau niwlog, ar y diwedd un, mewn blwch. Nawr, cam yw hwn, fel y mae'r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn gwybod, i sicrhau mai person yn prynu tocyn i'ch hoff gyngerdd neu gêm bêl-droed ydych chi, ac nad rhaglen gyfrifiadurol a ddefnyddir i fachu llwyth o seddi. Nawr, y lefel honno o ddeallusrwydd emosiynol a fydd yn sicrhau nad yw'r genhedlaeth nesaf o weithwyr yn waeth eu byd o ganlyniad i awtomeiddio. Mae arnom angen canfod pwy sy'n fwyaf tebygol o gael eu taro galetaf gan awtomatiaeth, a datblygu camau wedi'u targedu i helpu'r bobl hynny. Rhaid i hynny gynnwys cymorth ariannol a seicolegol, yn ogystal â gwella sgiliau'r gweithlu. Yn olaf, i gloi, rwy'n croesawu cyhoeddi'r adroddiad hwn ac edrychaf ymlaen at weithio gydag Aelodau ar draws y Siambr yn ogystal â Llywodraeth Cymru i sicrhau bod gennym brentisiaethau medrus o safon uchel, ac sy'n talu'n dda, ar gyfer cenedlaethau'r dyfodol yng Nghymru. Diolch.