At the start of Apprentice Week on Monday I was really proud to see colleagues across the council recognised at the Gower College Swansea Apprenticeship Awards. Congratulations to Leon Lezzi from our Building Services team in securing the Apprentice of the Year in the Built Environment category and Zoe Payne in Waste and Recycling, who won Facilities and Resource Management Apprentice of the Year. Also congratulations to Rachel Healion for collecting the employer apprenticeships champion award for her long-standing work with Gower College in supporting our apprentices year after year. You can read more about their awards here.
Their achievements reflect their hard work, but it’s also a reminder of how important it is that we continue investing in people and creating opportunities for the next generation of staff to build their careers with us. That’s why we’re now developing a new apprenticeship strategy for the council which will also extend to traineeships, graduate schemes and more bespoke opportunities such as our social services academy. This isn’t a “one size fits all” approach, but will set out how we can work with every service area to grow the skills it needs for the future as part of our workforce development strategy. The draft will be going to CMT in the coming weeks, ahead of further discussions with our trade unions and Cabinet members.
Apprenticeships don’t just benefit individuals, they strengthen our organisation, bring fresh ideas into our services and help us plan ahead with confidence. I want to thank everyone who has played a part in this work so far, from our managers and mentors to the apprentices themselves. Their commitment shows the real value of learning and development across the council, and I’m looking forward to seeing how our new strategy helps us build on that even further.
Sticking with the jobs and development theme, earlier this week, we met with representatives of the Crown Estate. We get together quarterly to discuss future jobs and innovation opportunities tied to plans for floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea and other wider initiatives. Such developments are still a number of years away, but they could have a transformational impact, creating new jobs and skills that our communities can take advantage of if we prepare well. As we know developing a skills pipeline can take a number of years so it’s important we get ahead of the game and place Swansea in as strong a position as possible.
A little more in the here-and-now was this week’s meeting of the Development Advisory Group (DAG). It’s a regular catch-up of local developers, businesses and housing providers designed to make sure we’re all pulling in the same direction on the future of our city centre and wider regeneration and housing supply. It’s great to hear about the continued progress being made across the city and wider county
Following consultation with staff, trade unions, schools, residents and businesses, our budget papers have been published ahead of next week’s Cabinet meeting. It’s not just the main revenue budget, there’s also the corporate capital budget and two Housing Revenue Account budget reports up for discussion. After considering the reports, Cabinet will agree what recommendations to make to Full Council next month when final decisions will be made. Please do have a look because in one way or another, they’ll be affecting the work you do in the coming financial year.
This week Dawn Bowden, Minister for Children and Social care, came to Swansea to see the excellent work being done by our Flying Start team. Their hard work supported by Welsh Government funding means every family in Swansea with a two?year?old can now access Flying Start childcare. Reaching this milestone is a fantastic achievement and a testament to colleagues across the council who’ve worked with dedication to make it happen. This investment in our youngest children will make a real difference to families across the city. My thanks to all involved.
Finally, if you’ve been by the Castle Square Gardens building site recently, you’ll have noticed some colourful new artworks have appeared on hoardings near Y Storfa. They’re the result of a collaboration between a local business and artist and designed for passers-by to enjoy as work continues to transform the area into a landmark city centre attraction. My thanks to all involved.
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