What training will the Welsh Government put in place to ensure that all staff working in health and social care will have courtesy level Welsh, given that only 16 per cent can speak Welsh currently?
Supporting and developing the Welsh language skills of the workforce is a key theme in our More than just words plan 2022-27. One of the actions in the plan (action 17) is for health and social care bodies to gradually introduce a minimum “courtesy” level of Welsh language skills to make staff more aware of the positive impact that learning and using Welsh can have on individuals accessing and receiving health and social care services. The aim is that all NHS and social care staff should have courtesy level Welsh by 2025.
In the meantime the National Centre for Learning Welsh offers taster courses under the “Work Welsh” programme which introduce everyday vocabulary and phrases tailored for the health and social care sectors. Last autumn we launched a mandatory Welsh language awareness course for all NHS staff and a similar course has recently been developed by Social Care Wales for the social care sector.
Senior leaders in the NHS have also attended the Leading in a Bilingual Country programme which brings together service leaders from the Welsh public sector to discuss how exactly they can lead their organisations in a way which will contribute to Cymraeg 2050.