A “DEVASTATING” cut in apprenticeship funding of nearly 25 per cent could cost the Welsh economy more than £400 million over the long term, the Senedd has heard.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow economy minister Luke Fletcher told MSs that 10,000 fewer apprenticeship starts are expected in 2024-25 – a 50 per cent reduction.

Mr Fletcher said Cardiff and Vale College group estimated the total lifetime economic loss from the proposed cuts at between £296 million and £406 million.

“These cuts, of course, couldn't be proposed at a worse time,” he said. “A time when we know that 80 per cent of small firms in Wales cite a skills shortage as a barrier to recruitment.

“That should be an indication that demand is only going to increase for starters.”

Paul Davies highlighted an open letter to the first minister from the sector warning that the cuts will undermine the new economic mission and cut the talent pipeline for employers.

The Conservatives’ shadow minister backed calls for an independent review of the long-term plan for apprenticeships.

He urged ministers to rethink cuts, saying: “The decision to cut funding for apprenticeships is completely out of kilter with the Welsh Government's own policy objectives.

“The budget process is far from over and there is time for changes to be made, so I urge the Welsh Government to listen to the sector, listen to businesses and listen to learners.”

Cefin Campbell, a Plaid Cymru MS for Mid and West Wales, focused on the impact of the cuts on the health sector which make up about 43 per cent of all apprenticeships offered.

He said: “Apprenticeships in the health and care sector provide specialist training for essential roles in social care, home care, clinical healthcare and many other areas.

“In a sector that is already crying out for support in the face of years of cuts, cuts to apprenticeship funding is going to have a detrimental impact on workforce planning, recruitment and training for the future.”

Laura Anne Jones, the Conservatives’ shadow education minister, told the chamber that the apprenticeship sector is in a perilous state.

“Whether it be normal apprenticeships or degree apprenticeships, we are so far behind our neighbours in England and Scotland that it's almost, quite frankly, embarrassing,” she said.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams raised concerns about the impact of proposed cuts on women, who make up 59 per cent of all apprenticeship starts.

Vaughan Gething stressed that UK Government choices and high inflation mean that the Welsh budget is worth £1.3 billion less than when it was set in 2021.

He said: “In addition to that, the loss of EU replacement funds means that we are £375 million a year worse off, or to put it another way, the entire revenue budget of Caerphilly Council.

“That is the gap that we have to make up.”

The Plaid Cymru motion was defeated after the debate on Wednesday, January 17. Amendments proposed by the Conservatives and the Welsh Government also fell.