Guest Blog - Airbus Workshop

Published 06/01/2014   |   Last Updated 06/01/2014

Last week the Welsh wing makers Airbus visited the National Assembly for Wales. Airbus is a real Welsh success story. An Airbus aircraft takes off or lands every 2.3 seconds around the world. In fact, Airbus aircraft make up half of all the commercial fleet flying in the world’s skies and every single one of them flies on wings manufactured at our plant in Broughton, north Wales. On Tuesday 10 December, we took a small delegation of the 6000 employees based at Broughton, to the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. As a Welsh anchor company we were looking forward to a day that would broaden our knowledge and give us some real insights. We weren’t disappointed. The day started with an overview of the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh Government, from its conception through to today. Outreach officer, Rhys Morgan gave us a succinct and informative presentation. He outlined the history, working structure and brought us all up to speed on the current state of play. Next up, we were given a tour of the Senedd. Exploring the chamber and committee rooms we were really impressed by the building, designed to encourage democracy and public participation. We heard some great stories from our entertaining tour guide Gareth Coombes who really brought the legislative process to life. An opportunity to hear about the committee processes, business engagement and how reports are created, followed from the research team. This linked nicely with our next session, as we met with Members of the Enterprise and Business committee over lunch. Committee chair, Nick Ramsay AM outlined the responsibilities of the committee and gave us an update on their current work. It was great to share the latest Airbus news with members and we were grateful they took the time to meet us. The day then concluded with a real highlight for many of our group; the opportunity to view First Minister’s Questions. The session wrapped up our day nicely and tied in well with what we had taken from the day’s sessions. It was a particular privilege to hear the tributes to Nelson Mandela during the Plenary meeting. Our visit proved highly informative and enjoyable. Thanks again to all those who made it so worthwhile.