The Welsh Government isn’t doing enough to halt the “crisis” of young people leaving Wales, according to a campaign group.
They estimate that 117,000 young people between 15 and 29 years old have left the counties of Ynys Môn, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire over a decade.
At a meeting in Blaenau Ffestiniog today, Cymdeithas yr Iaith published a series of recommendations in order to ensure that young people stayed in the country.
The policies include:
Abolish tuition fees for students who stay to study in Wales
New training colleges for vets and health workers in Bangor and Aberystwyth
New local banks established with the support of councils’ pension assets
Councils allowed to charge a tourist levy in order to fund projects like super-fast broadband
The out-migration posed particular problems for the Welsh language, the campaign group said.
It is estimated that Wales is losing around 5,200 Welsh speakers a year through out-migration from the country.