Williams receives fellowship for commitment to Welsh language in social care

Rhian Huws Williams, chief executive of the Care Council for Wales, has been made an honorary fellow of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol as a result of her unwavering commitment to promoting the importance of Welsh language in effective social work and social care services.

The Welsh language policy for social work training developed by Ms Williams in the late eighties brought about a lasting sea-change in social work training and practice in Wales and became a blueprint for subsequent work on Welsh Language policies.

As the CEO of the Care Council for Wales for the past 15 years she has ensured the importance of language as part of effective care was understood, promoted and improved. Rhian has continued to champion the value of a bilingual workforce and has been at the forefront of developing the same opportunities for those working within the social care sector.   

Speaking about the award, Rhian said: “This is a huge and unexpected honour, and one which I very much appreciate.

“Wales is a small country and despite much successful progress in Welsh medium education over many years, we have somehow failed to make sure this leads to an increase in Welsh speaking workforce cultures where people use Welsh day to day in some of our most critical person-centred services – health and social care.

“The Coleg Cymraeg Cendelaethol is part of the solution. It provides opportunities to study in Welsh and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the College on some of these early initiatives.

“It is vital that the investment made at school level is maintained and built upon, ensuring that people continue their learning and development through the medium of Welsh and are then encouraged to use the language day to day in their work. The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol is an important bridge to ensure this is achieved.”

The ceremony took place at the Temple of Peace, Cathays Park in the capital, on March 2.