Tackling Poverty Action Plan

Section 2: Helping people to take up job opportunitiesand earn an incomeGrowth and sustainable jobs are at the heart of the Programme forGovernment and jobs and the economy are the Welsh Government’s overridingpriorities. Employment offers a high level of protection against povertyfor individuals and families. There is a strong correlation betweenqualifications and skills, employment and earnings. One of our objectives inthe Strategic Equality Plan will be to work with partners to identify andaddress the causes of the gender, ethnicity and disability pay andemployment differences.Our track recordOver the six years to 2010, Wales made great strides in improvingqualification levels in Wales and the overall skills mix. The proportion ofthe working-age population with a degree or higher qualification roseby 5.2 percentage points, whilst the proportion with no qualifications fellby 4.9 percentage points.There have been improvements in apprenticeship completion rates(from 54% in 2006/07 to 80% in 2009/10).Over the last decade the ReAct programme has established a strongtrack record for helping people back into employment. An internalevaluation of delivery for the period from 1 October 2008 to 31November 2011 shows that the proportion of participants who foundnew employment as a result of ReAct was 76%.GO Wales is a graduate employability and skills programme,sponsored and managed by the Higher Education Funding Council ForWales and delivered by Higher Education institutions across Wales.The programme has established credibility with employers with morethan 3,500 people so far benefitting.Investing European Union funding, particularly the European SocialFund, in actions to increase employment and tackle economic inactivity(30 projects with a combined value of over £280m) and to raise skillslevels. Our European programmes also support social enterprise,financial inclusion and locally-led approaches to development whichhelp to tackle poverty and exclusion.What we are doing now The risk of poverty for children in workless families remains high, at 58per cent, which is considerably above the average of 22 per cent.Therefore, although the Welfare to Work agenda remains a matter forthe DWP, we are determined to do what we can to boost skills, andcreate and safeguard jobs. We are working with our partners in local13