Hywel Dda University Health Board has been celebrating the success of a new role to increase staff’s Welsh language skills and confidence.

The Confidence Building Officer role, funded by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, was introduced in 2023 as part of the Work Welsh scheme to provide a series of short confidence building courses for staff.

The series of courses has been very successful with 121 members of staff attending during the past year.

Enfys Williams, Welsh Language Services Manager for Hywel Dda UHB said: "As a health board we recognise the importance of the Welsh language in the workplace for our staff and service users. Our workforce language skills data shows that there is a significant percentage of Welsh speakers working for the health board, however, following previous feedback it is clear that many feel that a lack of confidence is holding them back.

“Through this new role, we have been able to provide staff with confidence building courses, the purpose of which is to change linguistic habits and improve confidence, so our staff are more likely to use their Welsh to communicate with others and complete their tasks in the workplace through the medium of Welsh.”