GUEST COLUMN:
Gwenllian Roberts
Executive Director of Commercial Development
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai
There are moments in regional economic development when a project moves from concept to reality, and its potential becomes far easier to see. The launch of Academi Croeso was one of those moments. After several years of partnership working, planning and refining the model, we now have a shared identity and a delivery structure that set out clearly what we are trying to achieve for tourism and hospitality in North Wales.
It is a sector of huge importance to the region, and Academi Croeso has been created to support its future in a way we have not attempted before.
At its heart, the project establishes a one-stop-shop model for skills, training and career development across the visitor economy. Grŵp Llandrillo Menai serves as the hub, connecting with a network of spoke partners including Portmeirion, Theatr Clwyd, Zip World, Snowdonia Hospitality and Leisure, and the National Trust. Together we are making high-quality training facilities available across the region and ensuring that provision reflects real employer needs. This hub-and-spoke approach is designed to strengthen the talent pipeline, improve access to learning and create a more coherent system for developing the workforce that tourism and hospitality depend on.
The Academi Croeso brand gives this structure a visible focal point. It acts as a single shop window for the entire partnership, and it allows us to speak with one voice about what we are offering. That matters, because we want learners, employers and communities to recognise the breadth of support available and how it all fits together. The project has a ten-year lifespan, and having a clear identity from the outset will help us maintain consistency and confidence as the work progresses.
From the perspective of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, being the hub means bringing partners together, aligning our activities and ensuring that the training offer meets the needs of the North Wales economy. We have a long-standing role in delivering apprenticeships, further education and work-based learning, and Academi Croeso builds on that foundation.
While the immediate focus is tourism and hospitality, we are already seeing interest from other sectors that recognise the wider potential in areas such as knowledge transfer, commercial training and workforce development. That is encouraging, because it reflects a willingness to learn from the model and consider how similar principles might support other parts of the regional economy.
A central part of this work is investment in facilities. Through the North Wales Growth Deal, we have been able to support best-in-class environments both within the college and across our spoke partners. These sites will give learners access to practical, high-quality spaces that mirror the settings they will eventually work in. It means we are creating a living, breathing classroom for North Wales, one that allows people to train within businesses and to understand the realities of the sector from the outset. This is a significant step forward in how we think about delivering skills regionally.
Confidence is an important theme throughout this project. Investing in facilities, committing to a long-term partnership and establishing a shared identity all signal that we believe in the sector’s future. Tourism and hospitality remain key parts of the foundation economy, and they play an influential role in shaping the perception of North Wales more broadly. By supporting the skills base, we are investing in the wider community and reinforcing the message that there are viable, rewarding career pathways here. For me, that confidence is essential, not only for employers but for the young people and adults who may be considering their next steps.
The level of interest from organisations has already been striking. People have contacted us wanting to understand how the partnership works and how Academi Croeso might support their own development needs. These early conversations are one of the softer, yet highly meaningful, effects of the project. They demonstrate curiosity, ambition and shared pride in what the region can achieve when it works collectively. Those softer outcomes sit alongside the more formal targets around jobs created and so on, and together they contribute to a sense of momentum.
The partnership itself is a strength. The North Wales Growth Deal provides the strategic backing and investment framework; employers bring practical experience and an understanding of the skills they need; and we contribute the training infrastructure and capacity to respond. None of this works in isolation. It is the combination of these elements that gives Academi Croeso its pioneering nature and its potential to act as a flagship for skills development in the region.
We are at the start of a long-term programme, and there is much to do. But the direction is clear. Over time we will see new facilities come online, the training offer expand and more employers engage with the model. My hope is that Academi Croeso becomes recognised as a trusted and practical route into skilled, bilingual and sustainable careers, not only within tourism and hospitality but as an example of what partnership and shared ambition can deliver for North Wales.
Gwenllian Roberts talks about this and more in the Ambition North Wales podcast episode Strengthening North Wales’ Hospitality and Tourism Workforce. Listen here.
