Jeremy Miles MS, Minister for Education and Welsh Language
Following the announcement on 22 March 2021 that the Welsh Government was investing in our future generations by establishing an International Learning Programme for Wales, I am providing an update on the progress made to-date, and the next steps over the summer.
This important new Programme will provide a wide range of international mobility experiences for learners and staff across the whole education sector in Wales, with the first activities beginning in academic year 2022-23. A fundamental aspect of the Programme is reciprocity and I am delighted and encouraged by the noteworthy global interest we have received from potential participants since its launch.
Cardiff University have now established a subsidiary company that will deliver the Programme, and are in the process of appointing staff. I anticipate significant progress will be made on this over the summer, ready for wide stakeholder engagement and policy development in autumn this year.
The Advisory Board will provide strong oversight from across the education sector, and invitations have been issued to nationally representative organisations from across Wales. I expect a preliminary meeting of that Board will take place later this summer. Cardiff University are employing an executive search to identify a diverse and exciting group of candidates to interview for the unremunerated Chair of the Advisory Board. I expect the Chair to be in place by the end of September.
The International Learning Exchange Programme is a placeholder name, and a competition will be launched to find a new name later this summer. Details of this competition will be communicated through multiple channels, including social media.
I look forward to updating members on further developments with an Oral Statement during the next term.