What steps is the Welsh Government taking to halt the brain-drain of students leaving Wales post-graduation?
The Welsh Government is committed to encouraging graduates to stay to Wales to support our ambition to create a high skill knowledge-based economy and prosperous communities. The Welsh Government and Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) have introduced a range of and initiatives with this ambition in mind. For example, HEFCW has introduced a Targeted Employability Support Scheme which aims to help graduates furthest from the labour market to find graduate employment, and by its nature tends to focus on employers in Wales. W23/15HE: Targeted Employability Support for Students: Delivery Plans and Allocations - HEFCW
There are also bursaries available to incentivise postgraduates to study in Wales. These are available for eligible Post Graduate Taught Master’s students who will be studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine related subjects, also known as STEMM subjects, and/or who will be studying through the medium of Welsh and/or who are aged 60 or over. The bursaries apply to those studying on either a full-time or part-time basis and are made available to students, through providers, to cover costs associated with their programmes of study. The Welsh in Education Teacher Retention Bursary is a pilot aiming to increase the number of Welsh and Welsh-medium secondary teachers by encouraging them to remain in the profession.