Building a workforce ready to deliver Wales’s industrial and low-carbon future was the focus of a National Engineering Day visit to JES Group and The Skills Academy recently.
Visitors to the Talbot Wharf based Academy on ABP’s Port Talbot Docks, were Elyn Stephens AS, Member of the Senedd for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, and the Head of Skills Policy and Head of Skills Delivery from the Welsh Government’s Skills, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate, accompanied by local Aberavon ward councillor Andrew Dacey.
Welding is essential to delivering net zero, from wind energy and nuclear power to hydrogen infrastructure and industrial decarbonisation. Yet employers face recruitment difficulties, an ageing workforce and increasing competition for skilled people.
The Skills Academy’s response is workforce building, not simply course delivery: employer-led training that develops practical competence, recognised qualifications and readiness to contribute productively from the first day in a suitable job. Welding can offer well-paid careers, particularly as experience and specialist qualifications develop.
Since its first course in November 2024, the Academy has supported more than 250 trainees, including 52 former Tata Steel workers made redundant, delivered over 1,250 courses and completed 600 welder qualifications.
Visitors met JES’s 16 apprentices, including Jess Hann, its first female apprentice, and WorldSkills UK national Welding finalists Dylan Jones and Brynley Thomas. The delegation joined the Academy in presenting Dylan and Brynley with professional-grade welding toolboxes, gifted by the Academy to recognise their achievement and support their development.
Contributions from TWI Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David explored robotic welding technology. JES and the Academy have committed significant capital to robotic welding and associated technology, with further equipment expected from North America.
Discussions addressed Port Talbot Docks redevelopment proposals, welding, fabrication and pipefitting skills needs, and how training can respond at the scale and speed employers require.
The Academy supports employers beyond JES across steel manufacturing, petrochemicals, oil and gas, construction and nuclear. Its Cynnydd partnership is connecting young people with practical engineering skills and a clearer route towards working life.
While National Engineering Day looks 50 years ahead, the visit focused on practical preparation over the next 50 days, 50 weeks and 50 months: developing talent, strengthening job readiness and building the workforce Wales’s transition needs.
