The challenges facing skills and workforce development in Wales, together with opportunities to improve productivity, strengthen training provision and ensure businesses can access the talent they need, are to be presented to more than 200 government officials and industry stakeholders through a new intelligence report produced by INFORM Wales, a Business News Wales initiative.
The report, titled Developing the Workforce of the Future, forms part of a new programme designed to strengthen the flow of evidence and insight between industry and government, ensuring that the experiences of employers, education providers and training organisations can help inform future policy decisions.
The publication draws on the inaugural INFORM Wales Skills & Workforce Editorial Board, which brought together senior representatives from across industry, further and higher education, apprenticeships and workforce development to examine how Wales can build a skills system that better supports economic growth.
The discussion explored a range of interconnected challenges, including the coordination of skills provision, apprenticeship opportunities, adult learning, workforce succession, careers guidance, industrial skills requirements and the relationship between workforce development and economic productivity.
A central theme was the need to develop a more connected and responsive skills system, capable of meeting the changing requirements of Welsh businesses while creating accessible opportunities for people throughout their working lives.
While Wales has a range of organisations and programmes supporting education, training and employment, the evidence highlighted challenges around how these activities are coordinated and how effectively they respond to the practical needs of employers and individuals.
These include the complexity of navigating different training and funding arrangements, the need for greater flexibility in workforce development, difficulties recruiting specialist skills and the challenge of ensuring that young people understand the career opportunities available across Welsh industries.
The findings have now been developed into a comprehensive evidence report structured around 12 chapters, examining the principal challenges facing Wales’ skills and workforce landscape and identifying opportunities for greater coordination, stronger employer engagement and more effective investment in workforce development.
A shorter policy-focused publication is also intended for ministers, senior civil servants and government stakeholders, highlighting the principal findings and areas requiring further consideration.
Both publications form part of INFORM Wales’ quarterly evidence-gathering programme, designed to provide government with a continuing source of independent, industry-led intelligence.
Business News Wales Managing Director Mark Powney said:
“Skills and workforce development are fundamental to Wales’ economic future, but we need to look beyond the familiar discussion about skills shortages and examine how effectively the system is supporting the people and businesses that depend on it.
“Our Skills & Workforce Editorial Board brought together people with direct experience of these challenges, including representatives from industry, colleges, universities, apprenticeship provision and workforce development.
“What emerged was a detailed picture of a system with considerable expertise and commitment, but also opportunities to improve coordination, make training more responsive and strengthen the relationship between education and the needs of employers.
“We have taken the findings from the editorial board and developed a comprehensive evidence report that examines these challenges across 12 chapters, identifying areas where greater coordination and a more responsive approach could improve outcomes.
“Our intention is to ensure that this intelligence reaches more than 200 people involved in policy, education, employment and economic decision-making, rather than simply being published and left to sit on a website.
“Importantly, this is not a one-off exercise. Our Skills & Workforce Editorial Board will meet quarterly, allowing us to revisit the challenges, examine progress and continue building an evidence base informed by the people working directly within the sector.
“We believe independent media has an important role to play in connecting the experience of employers, educators and training providers with government decision-making.
The publication also coincides with the launch of a dedicated Skills & Workforce media channel on Business News Wales, designed to provide a continuing platform for skills-related news, apprenticeships, education, training, workforce development and employment.
