As the 2026 Senedd election approaches, the Coleg Cymraeg (the Coleg) has published its manifesto proposals which it is calling on political parties to adopt in order to meet the goals of the Cymraeg 2050 strategy and make the Welsh language an integral part of everyday life.
The Coleg is calling for the next Welsh government to commit to two goals in order to increase the daily use of Welsh:
· Increase the number of learners following Welsh-medium and bilingual pathways throughout the entire education system, and the tertiary sector in particular.
· Increase the number who can and who choose to work bilingually, including the education workforce.
To achieve both goals, the Coleg's manifesto outlines the steps that the next government needs to take, including providing the Coleg with an additional £1m a year to increase the number of Welsh-medium and bilingual apprentices, in priority subject areas where bilingual workers are in demand and especially in geographic areas with a higher proportion of Welsh speakers.
Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg, said:
"There is clear demand for bilingual workers across Wales, and specifically in the areas where the percentage of Welsh speakers is higher. Young people in these areas are keen to live and work in their communities, and it is vital that they have opportunities and encouragement to follow bilingual training. We need to ensure that Welsh-speaking apprentices are placed on Welsh-medium pathways and we need more bilingual tutors, assessors and mentors to support them along the way."
Cerys Brown is a health and care apprentice at Gower College Swansea. She is a Frailty Support Worker on a Clinical Decision Making Unit at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
Cerys said:
"I use Welsh with patients on the ward every day, and it makes everyone feel more at home. But more than that, children and others in crisis are better able to communicate their symptoms when using their mother tongue. So for us as health workers, the Welsh language is crucial in providing the best care for our patients.
"Recently, I was looking after a lady with dementia who had lost the ability to speak English, while her Welsh was perfect. The doctor didn't understand her, so I took care of her and translated important information for the doctor, ensuring she received the right care. We need to emphasise how important the Welsh language is in the health and care sector.
"I'm so glad that I was able to follow my apprenticeship bilingually with Hywel Dda Health Board and I think it's very important that others across Wales have the same opportunity."
The call for support to ensure that more apprentices can follow a Welsh-medium and bilingual pathway is supported by the National Training Federation Wales (NTfW). Lisa Mytton, Strategic Director of the NTfW, said:
"Our mandate to the next government is to ensure that more investment is available for apprenticeships, and as part of that, we want to see a commitment to Welsh language qualifications. The NTfW is calling on the next Welsh government to work closely with providers, employees and strategic partners such as the Coleg Cymraeg to ensure that all apprentices are able to retain and develop their Welsh language skills. By doing so, we will strengthen Wales's bilingual workforce."
Aled Jenkins runs Cartrefi A J Homes in Aberystwyth and employs apprentices. Aled said:
"We build houses for development companies, farmers and the general public in Aberystwyth and the surrounding area, and I would say that 90% of our clients speak Welsh. At the moment I have five people working for me, two of them are apprentices, and we all speak Welsh. So Welsh is the language of our workplace as well as the language of the service we give our customers.
"I speak Welsh every day, it's not perfect Welsh, but it's my first language, so I'm glad that our customers, my staff and I can use the language that comes naturally to us.
"It’s very important that there’s support to ensure that apprentices like the ones in our company are able to train through the medium of Welsh."
In May 2025, the report of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities, Empowering communities, strengthening the Welsh language, was published. The Coleg welcomes the report, which states:
‘Offering Welsh-medium apprenticeships in areas of higher density linguistic significance would be beneficial as part of a strategy of creating Welsh-medium workplaces. This would also help create favourable conditions so that more young people stay in their communities. But delivering Welsh-medium apprenticeships can be complicated; usually the apprentice, employer, mentor and training provider need to be proficient in Welsh. Better planning would allow public sector organisations to offer more Welsh-medium apprenticeships. Local authorities, health boards and other major public sector organisations should work to make this a reality.’
The Coleg's other manifesto proposals include:
· Provide the Coleg with additional funding to increase opportunities for learners to study seamlessly in Welsh or bilingually.
· Give the Welsh language as a subject a special status
· Give Medr strategic priorities that support the objectives of the Cymraeg 2050 strategy and respond to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities.
· Create a Bilingual Workforce Development Strategy and establish a Unit within the Welsh Government to implement and deliver it.
The Coleg says that a high percentage of learners are giving up studying through the medium of Welsh at every key stage in their education at present, leading to many learners joining the workforce unable to work bilingually. Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg, said:
"While we can expect some positive changes due to the Welsh Language and Education Bill and Medr’s plans for the Welsh language, the next Welsh government needs to take immediate steps to create more opportunities for our learners to continue studying and training through the medium of Welsh. The unprecedented funding challenges facing tertiary education providers are jeopardising the opportunities available and there is a real threat that progress will be undone.
"If we want to create an education workforce that can teach through the medium of Welsh, and if we want to ensure a health and care workforce that can care through the medium of Welsh, then we need to invest in initial training that gives people the confidence to use the Welsh language skills they have in the workplace."
The Coleg's full manifesto can be read on its website.