GUEST COLUMN:
Caryn Grimes
Regional Skills Partnership Manager
Cardiff Capital Region Skills Partnership
A skills plan is only useful if the evidence behind it changes what is taught, funded and delivered. That is one of the strongest features of the Cardiff Capital Region Skills Partnership model. The labour market intelligence we generate does not simply sit in a report; it feeds directly into discussions with colleges, universities, work-based learning providers and government, helping shape practical decisions about post-16 provision.
Everything starts with the evidence. We continuously analyse employer demand, future skills gaps and the wider economic context across the region. When that highlights shortages in areas such as digital engineering, primary care, data analysis, early years or hospitality, the findings are used to identify where provision needs to expand and where investment may need to shift.
The value of a Regional Skills Partnership lies in making that link between intelligence and action. Employers can explain what they are seeing on the ground, providers can respond through courses and training, and government can make more informed choices about funding and priorities.
No single part of the system can resolve the region’s skills challenges alone. Businesses need training that can adapt quickly, providers need clear signals about where demand is heading, and government needs robust, current evidence, while communities need accessible routes into sustainable careers.
The Partnership brings those interests together around a shared evidence base. That reduces the risk of decisions being driven by assumptions or by the needs of one organisation in isolation.
When employers, education providers, local authorities and government are working towards the same goal, it creates stronger foundations for productivity and prosperity. It also helps ensure that the benefits of growth reach communities across the Cardiff Capital Region.
Our work has to reflect the full economy. The region is home to globally significant sectors such as advanced manufacturing and compound semiconductors, but it also depends on construction, creative industries and the foundational economy, including hospitality, retail, tourism, health, social care, childcare and public services.
The pressures are different across those sectors. Advanced manufacturing and compound semiconductors face acute shortages in technical and engineering roles, while construction is responding both to major infrastructure projects and the scale of retrofit required to support net zero commitments.
Creative industries, hospitality and tourism continue to experience recruitment and retention challenges for different reasons, while health, care and early years provision require sustained workforce pipelines of their own. Evidence allows us to see those pressures side by side rather than concentrating only on the most visible or fastest-growing industries.
It also gives government a clearer view of what employers across South East Wales need. The regional evidence informs annual post-16 priorities, influencing investment in qualifications, apprenticeship numbers and Personal Learning Account provision.
Horizon scanning is a significant part of that work. The skills system cannot respond only to vacancies that exist today, particularly when industries and technologies are changing so quickly.
Employers are increasingly asking for higher and degree apprenticeships, especially in digital, engineering, compound semiconductors and emerging green technologies. These sectors rely on highly specialist skills and require clear pathways that can take somebody from an entry-level role through to advanced technical work.
The frameworks are improving, but some areas are not yet changing at the pace employers require. We are working with Qualifications Wales, further and higher education, training providers and awarding bodies to help provision evolve more quickly and reflect what industry actually needs.
Digital and green skills are also becoming less confined to particular sectors. Construction and manufacturing now use far more automation, data and digital technology than they did 20 years ago, while environmental considerations are changing roles across the economy.
The difficulty is that public perception has not always kept pace. Young people can still view sectors such as manufacturing and construction through an outdated lens, without seeing the technology, modern workplaces, international opportunities and progression routes now available.
We are working with employers, Careers Wales, schools and local authorities to present a more accurate picture of those industries. Visibility is especially important because some of the sectors most in need of talent are also those which many people feel least able to enter.
Women, young people without established connections and people from underrepresented communities can still find routes into fast-growing sectors difficult to see. Inclusion is therefore not separate from the economic agenda and widening access is part of building the workforce the region requires.
Providers are already doing strong work across the region, but the pace of change remains demanding. Technology develops quickly, policy moves and employer requirements shift. The system therefore needs more agile curriculum development, flexible funding and sustained employer involvement.
The Cardiff Capital Region has the evidence to identify where the pressure points are and where future demand is likely to emerge. The next step is to ensure that everyone using that evidence is aligned around the same purpose.
When intelligence, provision, investment and employer demand move together, the region is better placed to raise productivity, strengthen talent pipelines and open opportunities to more people across its communities.
Caryn talks about this and more on episode 10 of the People and Skills podcast. Listen here:
