Press release: 'Work for Wales' campaign

On Sunday 29th July, Plaid Cymru Youth, the youth and student wing of Plaid Cymru, will launch its ‘Work for Wales’ campaign.

The campaign will draw attention to the dangerous reality that almost a quarter of 16 to 24 year-olds in Wales are unemployed, and to call on the Welsh Government to act now to reverse this worrying statistic which goes against the UK trend. A petition to the National Assembly calling on the Welsh Government to do more to tackle youth unemployment will be launched the same day.

The campaign will be launched at Plaid Cymru’s Summer School which takes place this weekend at the Urdd Camp in Llangrannog.

Plaid Cymru Youth National Chair Cerith Rhys Jones said:

"Because of the Welsh Government’s lack of action and the Westminster coalition government’s destructive policies, thousands and thousands of young people in Wales are without jobs. There is a grave danger that their generation will become a lost generation.

"Unfortunately, the Welsh Government would rather use the Westminster Government’s misguided policies as a means to score political points. The lives and jobs of Wales’s young people are not a political game, so we are calling on the Welsh Government to act urgently to put effective and positive schemes in place in order to create work for Wales."

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood AM added:

"The figures for youth unemployment are shocking and should act as a catalyst for urgent and direct action from the Welsh government. 23.7% of 16 to 24 year-olds in Wales are out of work; this is unacceptable.

"Youth unemployment is crushing too many hopes and dreams - it is already stifling too many communities, many of which are yet to recover from previous recessions. Plaid Cymru Youth are absolutely right to prioritise campaigning for jobs and opposing the scourge of youth unemployment. I therefore fully support the petition launch as part of the 'Work for Wales!' campaign."

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Contact Cerith Rhys Jones (cerithrjones@live.co.uk) for more information.

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