Keir Starmer hosts Q&A during visit to Wales

Testing one, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. A warm welcome to all, particularly to the Ministers for what promises to be a very important announcement for us here on the island. Gaidh y flwyno Eluned Morgann, Prif Weinidog Cymru i ddwyd Gaidh Meidhau. Allow me please to introduce Eluned Morgann, First Minister of Wales, to say a few words please. Diolch yn fawr. Well, diolch yn fawr i chi gyd, ac mae'n bleser mawr i fod yma heddiw gyda newyddion arbennig iawn ar gyfer Sir Fôn. A dwi'n gwybod mai Sir Fôn yw Mam Cymru, mae'r rheswm cafodd i'r enw yna, achos Sir Fôn oedd yn gyfrifol am fwydo Cymru. Wel, bydd Sir Fôn yn fwydo Cymru mewn ffodd gwahanol yn y dyfodol, yn rhoi egni i'r genedl yn gyfan. Mae hwn yn gam arithrol ymlaen, ac rydym ni'n falch dros ben bod miloedd o swyddi a miliynau na biliynau o fuddsoddiad yn mynd i ddod i'r ynys yma. Bydd yn trawsnewid yr economi yma yn Ogledd Cymru. I am delighted to be here and joined by so many key people from the UK Government and from the Welsh Government in what I think is a significant day for North Wales and particularly for Anglesey. This is the biggest investment in a generation in North Wales, and it is coming here to Anglesey. Now, we know you've been through disappointment before. We know you've been led up the hill and nothing has come from it. That is changing today, and I'm delighted that Keir Starmer and his team have put their faith in the people of Anglesey and in the people of Wales to deliver the first generation of small modular reactors. Now, this is transformational technology that is going to be developed here in Wales, and you, you the people of Anglesey, you training here in this college are going to be a part of that new generation and that new system that is going to change the way we produce energy in this country. I am delighted that we will be working with Rolls-Royce, a blue-chip company, a company that is very recognised for its excellence, and I know they'll be anxious to work with you here in North Wales. The great thing for you is this means jobs, jobs by the thousand, by the thousand, and we've seen on too many occasions before the people of North Wales being trained up and then having to leave. That ends now, and we are delighted and we're sure that you will find opportunities here in North Wales to make sure that you can use those skills that you've developed here in Coleg Sandrisol. This is a partnership approach. It's an approach between the UK Government, the Welsh Government, the local authority, Coleg Sandrisol and industry. We all need to come together to make sure that we absolutely make the most of this incredible opportunity. And it's not just about SMRs. Today there are two announcements, two major announcements. The other one is that here in Anglesey we will be getting an AI growth zone, an artificial intelligence growth zone, because what we know is to power the next generation of technology you need a lot of energy. So marrying these two together means not just thousands of jobs in energy, in construction, but also in the technologies of the future. And we are delighted that today we're hearing the announcement of the first AI growth zone in Wales. Can I thank the Prime Minister and his team for putting their faith in our country? We've been pushing for this for a number of years. The last lot didn't listen, and this lot are listening, and I am delighted and I hope that you will put your faith in this new industry, in this new sector, and that you will find a future for yourselves here and that you won't leave. You can leave for a little bit if you want to, but you need to come back. You need to come back. We need you. We need your skills, your talent, and we need to make Wales an absolutely amazing place to work and live, and we need to do that, look into the future. What we have here is the future. And now I'm going to hand over to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer. I don't think I need that. Thank you very much, First Minister. Can I just start by thanking all of you, and I just look around and see you all here. Thank you for giving up your time this morning to be with us for this announcement. We wanted to do the announcement here because this is an announcement of two major projects, but it's more than that. It's an announcement about your future. It's an announcement about the opportunities that you're going to get that wouldn't necessarily otherwise have been there, and that's why it's really important for us to be here, and it's why we wanted to be here in this college today, to talk to you, because this is going to affect each and every one of you and give you really important opportunities. As the First Minister has said, two major announcements. This is very much a partnership announcement, so this is a Welsh Government working with a Labour Government in Westminster to deliver, and of course something here has been promised I don't know how many times, but we've come here not with a promise, but with delivery, and that is really important, that partnership working. The First Minister has been really, really clear about her determination to ensure that we can make these announcements today and move forward on both of these projects, and I'm really pleased that we've worked so closely together on this. The first is the small modular reactor at Wylfa. What a great thing. On the site that was nuclear, I've spoken to some of you this morning. I know that some of your parents worked in the old site, and now to have the opportunity to have the new site set up. This is going to be next generation nuclear, so it's really exciting. We're going to sign the contract this year, and the work is going to start next year. So I'm not coming here to say to you, this great nuclear project is going ahead, but it'll be five or ten years before there's any work. We're starting it next year. Some of the early work will start even earlier than that. So this isn't a promise of what's going to happen tomorrow, it's what's going to happen very, very soon. In relation to the jobs that are going to be needed, they're not just construction and engineering and nuclear jobs. There's all sorts of jobs that are going to be needed in relation to Wylfa. And therefore, whatever you're training in, it is likely that there's going to be a job which will be of relevance and significance to you. And these are going to be good, well-paid jobs for years and years to come. So this is a fantastic push forward, a real boost to have the first one here in North Wales. The first of its kind, pushing forward. And of course, it's not just a partnership between two governments. You've got Great British Nuclear and Rolls-Royce partnering. So the very best partnership you could possibly put together for this. Alongside that, we've got the AI growth zone up at Holyhead, which is going to be absolutely amazing. Again, I think we're at three of them now, so this is the third of these growth zones. That'll be a data centre. Again, the work on that will start very, very soon. It will attract other businesses in, because businesses will want to be near where the data is. And it'll be a magnet to bring in even more jobs. So we've got 3,000 jobs at the nuclear site, 3,500 jobs at the AI growth zone. And so putting that together, that's 6,500 jobs. I personally think it'll be more than that, because these things have a magnet effect. They draw in other businesses. People say, well, if the data's going to be there, I need to be nearer the data. Putting the energy and the data together makes complete sense. And so this is probably the biggest announcement for a generation, I think, here. And these are not jobs that are going to last one year or two years or three years, as some projects are. These are jobs that are going to be there for decades to come. And so whatever your aspiration, and I know, having spoken to some of you, that you want to work in engineering, construction, in various different issues, we're going to need you. We've got plenty of work for you. But it's really important for us to come here to make this announcement, because it's your futures that are being announced today and your chance. And we want you to work with us and say thank you to that, because, as the First Minister said, we need you to be doing these jobs here and powering forward to the future. So a really good example of partnership working. What a difference it makes when you've got two governments working together, when you've got Great British Nuclear and Rolls-Royce working together. And it's really good to come here, not with a promise of something in the future, but something that's being delivered. So thank you all very much. Thank you for showing us around as well. It's great to be in this environment. This college, I can tell from talking to you, is a great college as well. I've spoken to a number of people who said, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do when I arrived here, but then I tried various different things and now I know this is what I want to do. And that's what it's all about, because at school it's quite difficult, I think, to know what precisely you want to do when you're sitting behind a desk. Being in an environment like this, where you're actually doing it, I think gives you a much better sense of what you want to do, what's of interest to you, and where your skills might take you. So thank you so much for your time. Thank you for showing us around, some of you, and showing us what you're doing and the skills that you're learning. I'm really pleased that we're able to say to you, we're going to need your skills. You've got great opportunity here. Please work with us on this. This is a very good news announcement today, and thank you for sharing it with us. Thank you. Now, I think we're going to take some questions from you. So we'll take any question, by the way. I think I'll just look at some. I think there are some around, but we'll take questions and we'll get as many in as possible. I'll try to remember to look slightly behind me as well. Where do we want to start? Yes, sir. My name is Tegid, and at the moment, I'm a Level 3 student. My question is, after this publication, will there be any new courses, new skills, or new opportunities being created for young people to prepare them for the new jobs that will be created by this project? Thank you. Yes, there's going to have to be. Because the skills, I mean, I think I've been saying to those running this college, we're going to have to have a bigger college. Because, I mean, the skills, just to run through very quickly, we will need construction. We will need engineering. We will need nuclear skills. We will need computing skills. We will need business skills, because there are business cases that need to be done. Commercial skills. There'll be work in security as well, for nuclear sites. It's a very specialist form of security. So the range of skills that's going to be needed. Don't think this is just about construction or just about engineering. It's a much broader range than that. And within construction and engineering, there'll be lots of different types of engineering and skills and construction skills that are needed. So we'll have to expand that, either at this college or elsewhere, because it's a real opportunity to have young people come in and get the skills that they need. And already, I hope some of you can start thinking, what element of engineering or what element of construction would I be most interested in? Because it won't just be one sort of construction. The AI growth zone is different to the nuclear zone. We'll need different skills in both of those. So a much wider range of skills and a sort of wider range of opportunity, I suppose, as you're trying to think, well, where would I want to put my skills? So thank you very much for that question. We'll put a team together at the Welsh Government to ensure that we know exactly how to make the most of this opportunity, including ensuring that the right services are provided by the college and by the principals, for example. We need to work together. The reality is that it's exactly what skills I want. So the discussion will start before long. Absolutely. Just one thing to say to the question, because it's a really, really important question, is all of our experience of previous nuclear projects, particularly Point C, now it's coming to Sizewell C, is they work with the local colleges because there needs to be a massive expansion of the skills training and there's a massive expansion of the opportunities. And one of the most important things from my point of view is we make sure that this builds jobs in Wales. This is about delivering in Wales, not just the construction jobs that are important, but right across the supply chain. So in a way, we're talking about 3,000 jobs on the site, but that's an underestimate because there are going to be thousands more jobs in the supply chain. And just the other thing to say, Keir, you said it very well, this is Britain leading globally. We've got Rolls-Royce here. I'm incredibly proud that Rolls-Royce is leading in Europe. This is going to be a £470 billion industry by 2050. That's what the forecasts are. This is a huge thing and Wales is going to be leading the way. Great. Liz on zones. Yeah, and we're actually, as part of the announcement today on building the AI growth zone, an additional £5 million specifically for North Wales to make sure young people, businesses and others have got the skills they need to seize the opportunities there. And that will be for you here to decide how best to use it. I've already seen downstairs how AI is linked to robotics. Some of your engineering apprenticeships downstairs. There are lots of other opportunities and the truth is the more that businesses use AI, the more people will need those skills and the more new jobs it will create. So I don't know how many of you here have ever used AI in your own lives as well as in your working lives. It's a real growth area in the future and you are going to be leading the way. Today's announcement is about clean energy powering the technological revolution, providing the jobs and opportunities of the future here for you and the future genuinely will be in your hands. Great. Shall we take another question? How soon do you think we'll see this development take shape? And what sort of integration into the national grid will we see? The answer to how soon is virtually straight away. So the contracts will be signed this year and the work will start next year. Some of the work will already have started because of various tests that need to be taken, done on the site. So some of those jobs will already be beginning and they will ramp up during the rest of this year. But then next year to come on stream for both the nuclear and the AI growth zone. And that's really important because that means for those of you that are finishing your courses next year or maybe the year after or the year after that, by the time you finish your courses, some of these jobs will be coming on stream. So this isn't a case of us saying, you know, there'll be a job in five years. Do you mind sort of waiting? It'll be coming much, much more quickly than that. And that was a really important factor in making sure we could press ahead, particularly with the SMR here today. First Minister? Yeah, I think it's really important that we are making sure that we get those jobs as soon as possible, that we start by construction. And what we'll be doing is to make sure that we're working with the local businesses to make sure that they can also take advantage of the opportunities here. And that can lead to all kinds of things. There may be local cafes that will need to feed the people working on the construction site. I mean, the opportunities here are absolutely endless and they'll get started next year. The number one mission of the government is economic growth, which is driving wealth, wealth creation and jobs. And Rachel, maybe just in terms of the timing and how that fits to the wider work that you're doing on this mission to get growth everywhere across the United Kingdom, but particularly here. As a government, we are putting particular focus on big capital infrastructure investment because that has been neglected for a long time. And that includes the energy infrastructure. One of the reasons why our energy bills are so high, and I think we all know that, is because we haven't got enough homegrown energy here in the UK. And so fixing that infrastructure problem is also about bringing down bills. But also infrastructure increasingly is the digital infrastructure as well, because that's what small businesses, businesses of all sizes, need to be able to power their industry. And Lyn had made the point that she wants everyone to stay here and why wouldn't you want to? It's one of the most beautiful places in the world. But what we are doing here is building a first of its kind technology. And there are already countries all around the world who are looking at what we are doing with Rolls-Royce. And there are going to be big export opportunities for us as a country. But also, if you become engineers or construction specialists in nuclear energy, you're going to be able to go to any country in the world and get a really great job and roll this out internationally. So this is incredibly exciting for North Wales. But you're all young people with a whole future ahead of you. Your point about the apprentices, Rolls-Royce are brilliant for apprentices. But it's not just about Rolls-Royce apprenticeships. For every big company, there are hundreds of smaller businesses supplying them. Because even the Rolls-Royces of this world can't do everything. And each of those companies is going to need to scale up to be able to meet the new demand. So there's going to be apprentices, yes, at Rolls-Royce. But also apprenticeships at the medium-sized companies and the smaller companies supporting them. And that's where all of you come in. Because we can put this investment in, and we are. And it's a substantial investment, both from us as a government and also from Rolls-Royce themselves. But this is only going to succeed if you choose to get those skills and use them here to make a success of this project. And like what Kia said, from talking to you this morning, I can see that there is a real excitement about this. Many of you have got family members who work there. And I know how proud they were of the work that they did. And you can now rebuild that pride by making the future of nuclear energy here in North Wales. And I think that's incredibly exciting. And I've already heard this morning that some of the students who were here in recent years have been phoning up to say, what's this announcement all about? I think I'm going to be coming back. So that's really, really good news. Let's take another question, shall we? We've got a microphone. What advice would you give to young people in Wales who want to make the most of the job opportunities this development will create? Well, the thing to do is to ensure that the skills suit you. And there are opportunities in colleges like this to ensure that you're ready for those opportunities. So try out the opportunities that have been offered here. Make sure you're studying hard. There will be opportunities. And what we want to see is that everyone gets the opportunities. But there will be a lot of opportunities. That's the difference with the degree that we're talking about here. It's that the degree is extensive. It will be too much just on the phone. My advice would be go for it. Just go for this opportunity. And I would also, whatever course you're doing, you've probably got a sense of what you want to do at the end of it. I'd just say maybe broaden that a bit. Because there may be a range of jobs that you might have not thought of because they weren't going to be available. Now there's going to be a wider range. So whether it's engineering or construction or any other course, just think again about what aspect of that might I be most interested in. What sort of other different job that I haven't thought about now might be available. So I would just say go for it. And also go for it in a sense of, I'm talking about coming out and going perhaps on an apprenticeship etc. For many of these businesses and companies, Rolls-Royce and others, many of the people who then make it through the business to the top of the business started off as apprentices. That's much more common in construction and engineering than other walks of life. And so there will also be the opportunity to start at the bottom as it were, but work through the business or whatever it may be. So just go for it. And just take a moment today, all of you, to think, well what does this give me? What's the extra opportunity I've now got from this? How can I expand my range of options? Because these are going to be your jobs and your future. And as Rachel says, this is leading edge stuff. SMRs haven't been done before. So these are new. The rest of the world is going to be looking in to say, how's it being done there? Same with the AI growth zone. These are new, different jobs, and very much part of the future, rather than just an infrastructure project of sorts you might have seen in the past. I think we've probably got time for one more, have we? Give us a go, maybe to this side if we've got one. My name is Somadina Fitri. I'm currently the FC President of College Menai. And my question is, what kind of funding will set in place for local colleges, not just my colleague, but other colleges in the UK, to make sure that skills and qualifications are set in place for young people, to make them get ready for the jobs in the future? This is a really good question about funding, but also about focus. Because we need the right funding for the right jobs. And therefore, what we need to do is to match up the skills and the training in colleges like this to the actual jobs that are going to be there. I think this is fundamentally important. And what we've done elsewhere, Ed touched on this, is in Siswell, where there's going to be a nuclear project, the college is almost dedicated to Siswell in the sense of the jobs that are actually going to be available. And therefore, the courses are geared to the particular project. And so, we need to do as much of that as possible to make sure that the skills you get are the skills that are going to be absolutely then snapped up by an employer. Actually, the ideal thing, and we'll talk to Rolls-Royce about it, is for Rolls-Royce to talk to the college, and the other businesses to talk to the college and say, what we would be looking for is people coming out of this college and other colleges with the following skills, so that there's a complete match. Almost so that when you start your course, you know, this is going to give me that opportunity at the end of it, of a job with Rolls-Royce or whoever it may be. So really, really important. I'll go to the First Minister, and then I'll go to the Secretary of State for Wales, because in a sense, this demonstrates the partnership. Yeah, so skills development in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. So the important thing is that we understand that, that the UK Government understands that, and we all understand we can't do this alone. We have to do it together, along with business. And so what we've done is we've put more money into making sure, in particular, further education has had more money. And what's been great is just in the last year, we've seen an 8% increase in the number of young people going into further education. This is exactly what we want to see. And we are on course to develop, to deliver 100,000 apprenticeships over the course of this Senate term. So this is exactly the space we want to be in as a Welsh Government. I think what the First Minister says here is really significant in the emphasis that she puts on further education. And this 8% increase is really significant because it means that this is the focus. This is where we see the growth in the skills that we need. And that figure is really quite incredible. Jo is the Secretary of State for Wales, and just on this joint working between us. I was just going to sum up by saying my whole thing about this opportunity, this huge investment, one of the biggest in Welsh history, is about you being able to learn and earn in this area. You don't have to leave your home, your village, your town, in order to get good jobs and good careers. And a combination of our two Governments working together means that you will be able to build your future in North Wales and have a proud future here, a successful and prosperous future here because of the decisions that we've announced today. So I just want to wish you all the very best and good luck. We have in North Wales and on Anglesey a proud nuclear history and we're going to have an absolutely phenomenal nuclear future. Great, thanks Jo. Last few comments from the First Minister. I just wanted to invite the Economy Minister, Rebecca and Ken, just to say a few words as well. Because this is the woman who's going to have to make sure this is all delivered very quickly. It's a big job, but we're absolutely up for it. And oh, to be a young person in North Wales today with these opportunities, it's absolutely incredible. And we're going to be working so hard with the UK Government to realise these opportunities for you. The First Minister's top priority is growth, but she always talks about growth with purpose. It's about growth to ensure good skilled jobs, the highest skilled jobs, the highest paid jobs that you can get. I'm so envious of you all. You have amazing futures ahead of you. Congratulations for everything that you've achieved so far. I hope that you leave today feeling really excited about the opportunities ahead of you. I'm going to hand over to Ken. Diolch yn fawr iawn. As Minister for North Wales, I could not be more delighted today. This is the biggest day for this region in a generation. In the 80s, we lost 10,000 jobs in one day at Shotton Steel. These programmes that have been announced today will create more than that sum. It will give hope and opportunity to countless young people. For far too long, people in North Wales have had to leave North Wales, have had to move away from home in order to move up in the world. Today, that ends. Diolch yn fawr iawn. Thank you all very much indeed.