English: Well, I think it's vital that in schools and colleges students and pupils have a very clear understanding of what the options are for them, what the progression opportunities within those career choices are and what course options and so on they should take to get them there. And I think there's a place for much more integration between the world of work, the local economy and schools and colleges, so anything that takes us down that route, I would welcome. The Hazelkorn proposals that have now been accepted I think are a good institutional foundation for what we're talking about today. There have, of course, been funding challenges - speakers have spoken about the cuts to FE, and there have also been cuts to the adult learning budget - and I think that presents a challenge in some of the things that John Griffiths referred to in terms of second-chance learning and so on. But I do want to pay tribute to the FE sector for great innovation in the face of some of those pressures. There are a number of examples, including in my own constituency, of FE colleges really looking very creatively at how they can deliver what they can deliver in a much more entrepreneurial way, and I think that plays into the spirit of those institutions. One of the, I think, if not hidden, then undervalued exports from Wales actually is the work that FE colleges are doing to provide education services overseas, which happens in lots of our institutions. So, I think that also should be recognised. There are some boundary issues between FE and HE that I think need to be looked at closely, where you have degrees being offered by FE colleges under partnership agreements. There are issues around transparency of what can be delivered to learners that I think need to be looked at. We have now a system of tuition support that is based on the living wage, but, of course, an apprentice's minimum wage is discounted minimum wage, so I think there is a potential there for some perverse incentives, which I think we need to look at. We're always invited to look at European models when we're looking at FE, HE and vocational options. And I think it will benefit us to look at some of the things that are happening in the Netherlands. In the time left to me, I won't be able to elaborate too much on that, but I'll just pick out two or three lessons I think that we could learn. One is that the institutional landscape, for example, in the Netherlands is very, very straightforward. It's very clear how the institutions work and how they interrelate, and I think there's a benefit in that. There's a high degree of flexibility and coherency, in particular around some of the apprenticeships, which, again, I know is not the only offer from FE, but it's an important offer. And there's a high level of flexibility between the academic and the workplace aspects of that. Most importantly, to take us back to where we started, the vocational route is promoted from a very early stage in the school and college journey. Most students that go through the system actually end up taking a vocational route in the Netherlands, and I think that's testimony to the real level of integration and the lack of boundaries between vocational college-based and higher education. We're living in a time of a changing economy where, actually, a linear conventional learning path probably is becoming outmoded. I think we need the imagination to look beyond that, and look at a flexible, modular part-time system as becoming the norm for all of us.
Welsh: Wel, rwy'n credu ei bod yn hanfodol fod gan fyfyrwyr a disgyblion mewn ysgolion a cholegau ddealltwriaeth glir iawn o'r opsiynau sydd ar gael iddynt, y cyfleoedd ar gyfer camu ymlaen o fewn y dewisiadau gyrfa hynny a pha ddewisiadau cyrsiau ac yn y blaen y dylent eu gwneud i'w cael yno. Ac rwy'n credu bod lle i lawer mwy o integreiddio rhwng byd gwaith, yr economi leol ac ysgolion a cholegau, felly buaswn yn croesawu unrhyw beth sy'n mynd â ni ar hyd y llwybr hwnnw. Rwy'n credu bod cynigion Hazelkorn sydd bellach wedi cael eu derbyn yn sylfaen sefydliadol dda ar gyfer yr hyn yr ydym yn ei drafod heddiw. Mae heriau cyllido wedi bod, wrth gwrs - mae siaradwyr wedi sôn am y toriadau i addysg bellach, a chafwyd toriadau hefyd i'r gyllideb addysg oedolion - a chredaf fod honno'n her o ran rhai o'r pethau y cyfeiriodd John Griffiths atynt mewn perthynas â dysgu ail gyfle ac yn y blaen. Ond rwyf eisiau talu teyrnged i'r sector addysg bellach am arloesi'n wych yn wyneb peth o'r pwysau hwnnw. Ceir nifer o enghreifftiau, gan gynnwys yn fy etholaeth fy hun, o golegau addysg bellach yn edrych yn greadigol iawn ar sut y gallant gyflawni'r hyn y maent yn ei gyflawni mewn ffordd lawer mwy entrepreneuraidd, a chredaf fod hynny'n rhan o ysbryd y sefydliadau hyn. Rwy'n credu mai un o'r allforion - os nad cudd, un a danbrisiwyd - o Gymru mewn gwirionedd yw'r gwaith y mae colegau addysg bellach yn ei wneud yn darparu gwasanaethau addysg dramor, sy'n digwydd yn sawl un o'n sefydliadau. Felly, rwy'n meddwl y dylai hynny gael ei gydnabod hefyd. Mae rhai materion yn codi ynglŷn â'r ffin rhwng addysg bellach ac addysg uwch y credaf fod angen edrych arnynt ofalus, lle y mae gennych raddau sy'n cael eu cynnig gan golegau addysg bellach dan gytundebau partneriaeth. Credaf fod angen edrych ar faterion sy'n codi mewn perthynas â thryloywder yr hyn y gellir ei ddarparu i ddysgwyr. Mae gennym system o gymorth dysgu bellach sy'n seiliedig ar y cyflog byw, ond wrth gwrs, isafswm cyflog wedi'i ddisgowntio yw isafswm cyflog prentis, felly rwy'n meddwl bod perygl yn hynny o beth i rai â chymhellion diegwyddor, a chredaf fod angen i ni edrych arno. Rydym bob amser yn cael ein gwahodd i edrych ar fodelau Ewropeaidd pan edrychwn ar addysg bellach, addysg uwch a dewisiadau galwedigaethol. Ac rwy'n meddwl y bydd o fudd i ni edrych ar rai o'r pethau sy'n digwydd yn yr Iseldiroedd. Yn yr amser sydd gennyf ar ôl, ni fyddaf yn gallu ymhelaethu gormod ar hynny, ond fe ddewisaf un neu ddwy o wersi y credaf y gallem eu dysgu. Un yw bod y dirwedd sefydliadol, er enghraifft, yn yr Iseldiroedd yn syml tu hwnt. Mae'n glir iawn sut y mae'r sefydliadau'n gweithio ac yn cydberthyn, ac rwy'n meddwl bod hynny'n fuddiol. Mae yna lefel uchel o hyblygrwydd a chydlyniant, yn enwedig mewn perthynas â rhai o'r prentisiaethau, ac unwaith eto, rwy'n gwybod nad dyna'r unig gynnig sydd gan addysg bellach, ond mae'n gynnig pwysig. A cheir lefel uchel o hyblygrwydd rhwng yr agweddau academaidd ac agweddau'r gweithle yn hynny o beth. Yn bwysicaf oll, i fynd â ni'n ôl i ble y dechreuasom, caiff y llwybr galwedigaethol ei hyrwyddo o gam cynnar iawn yn y daith ysgol a'r coleg. Mae'r rhan fwyaf o'r myfyrwyr sy'n mynd drwy'r system yn yr Iseldiroedd yn dilyn llwybr galwedigaethol yn y pen draw mewn gwirionedd, ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n dyst i'r lefel wirioneddol o integreiddio a'r diffyg ffiniau rhwng addysg alwedigaethol yn y coleg ac addysg uwch. Rydym yn byw mewn cyfnod pan fo'r economi'n newid, lle y mae llwybr dysgu llinellol confensiynol yn mynd yn llai ffasiynol yn ôl pob tebyg. Rwy'n credu bod angen dychymyg i edrych y tu hwnt i hynny, ac edrych ar system ran-amser fodiwlaidd hyblyg fel rhywbeth a ddaw'n norm i bob un ohonom.