As many of us think about our New Year resolutions, I am really pleased to share with you some initiatives that Welsh Government has been running to support our young people carve out a hopeful future not just for the next 12 months but further beyond, too.

Key to this work is the year-old young person’s guarantee which provides under-25s in Wales with the offer of support to gain a place in education or training, support to find a job, or support to become self-employed.

We know the pandemic has meant that many young people lost out on valuable work experience and training opportunities.

The Prince's Trust recently reported that more than 60 per cent of people aged 16 to 25 were scared about their generation's future, with one in three concerned that their job prospects will never recover from the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

To help overcome these fears, Welsh Government has continued to run its Feed Your Positivity campaign, which aims to provide young people with positive messages and support to enable them to influence their life story.

The campaign was a response to the impact of the Covid pandemic and has been designed to counter the negativity the economic backdrop injects into discussions around job prospects and challenges to mental health that young people are exposed to.

Young people have faced extraordinary circumstances and deep uncertainty in recent years. More young people than ever are economically inactive due to health reasons, not just here in Wales, but across the UK. What we can be sure of is that the scarring effect of the pandemic is beginning to take effect.

That is why Welsh Government has continued to focus on those who are most vulnerable. Focusing on those not in employment, education or training is crucial if we are to address the threat of a long tail of unemployment or economic inactivity in years to come.

Under the young person's guarantee, more than 20,000 interventions have been delivered through the employability services alone, and 11,000 young people have started on Welsh Government-funded employability programmes. By April 2022, more than 18,600 all-age apprenticeship had started.

Let’s hope those new starts last longer than the New Year resolutions many of us make. Our young people deserve it. Happy New Year! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!