§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal for the young unemployed in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [55156]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesTheNew Deal for 18–24s is making excellent progress in Wales. By the end of July, more than 1,600 jobless young people had secured employment and, at the latest count, over 2,000 employers had committed more than 3,800 job opportunities.
A further 600 young people have either entered full-time education and training or are developing skills that will enable them to secure employment through work that benefits their community or their environment.
This is a tremendous achievement in just a few months and is a great credit to the Employment Service, its many partner organisations and the employers of Wales. However, we must not be complacent. Further hard work lies ahead to ensure that we continue to develop the high quality opportunities that our young unemployed people deserve.