When I talk about apprenticeships, I’m not talking about policy in the abstract. I’m talking about my life.
At 16, I left school and became an apprentice. At that point in my life, I wasn’t particularly academically minded. University didn’t feel like it was for me, and I certainly didn’t feel confident about where I fitted in the world of education or work. But what I did have was an opportunity, and that opportunity came in the form of an apprenticeship.
That decision shaped everything that followed.
My apprenticeship didn’t close doors for me, it opened them. It gave me the chance to learn on the job while gaining qualifications, to grow in confidence, and to start believing that I had something to offer. With the support of a training adviser, a mentor and an employer who genuinely invested in me, I began to see possibilities where I hadn’t seen them before.
Those early experiences became stepping stones. They took me into further and higher education. As an adult learner, I went back to university, gained my PGCE, and later moved into politics, something I continue to be involved in alongside my role today. I don’t believe I would have taken those paths, or had the confidence to pursue such a varied career, if I hadn’t been given that belief in myself at 16.
That’s why apprenticeships matter so deeply to me. They’re not a fallback option. They’re a foundation.
When I walk into an apprenticeship fair today, perhaps into the Senedd, surrounded by ministers, banners, speeches and policy papers, I understand why all of that matters. Skills strategies, government programmes, and funding models: they are all important, and I will continue to push for them.
But what really matters to me are the people.
It’s the apprentices who walk through the doors, carrying a mix of excitement, nerves and pride. It’s the employers who genuinely want to invest in someone’s future. And it’s the training providers who pour their energy into helping people succeed. That human ecosystem is where the real impact happens.
Too often, apprenticeships are still seen through a narrow lens, as something just for young people, or as a second-best option compared to academic routes. My own story challenges that narrative. Apprenticeships are not just for 16-year-olds starting out; in Wales, we have all-age apprenticeships that offer real opportunities for people to retrain, reskill or rebuild after redundancy.
For some, an apprenticeship is the first step for a young person who doesn’t think university is for them. For others, it’s a lifeline for an adult learner navigating change later in life. In both cases, apprenticeships build confidence, capability and momentum.
And that matters not just for individuals, but for Wales as a whole.
If we want to enhance our economy, improve productivity and build resilient communities, everyone has a part to play. Apprenticeships help bridge skills gaps, support businesses to grow and give people practical, meaningful routes into work and progression. They support short-, medium- and long-term government goals, but they do so in a way that is grounded in real lives.
That’s why I believe we need to value apprenticeships more, not just by quoting figures or publishing policies, but by telling the stories behind them. Stories of confidence found, careers built, and lives changed.
My passion for apprenticeships comes from knowing, firsthand, what happens when someone is believed in at the right moment. At 16, that belief changed my life. And every time I meet an apprentice today, I’m reminded of why this work matters, not on paper, but in people.
