Page 3 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan

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Foreword
I am delighted to introduce the Employment and Skills Plan for the South West and Mid Wales region. This Plan has been developed in collaboration with employers; the Swansea Bay City Region Board; Growing Mid Wales Partnership and the skills providers across the region and sets out the priorities required to address the skills deficit and improve employment in the area.
The political landscape is changing and there are many opportunities for this region to improve its’ economic transformation through new and exciting projects that will be transformational, creating new jobs and skills not only for the region but for the whole of Wales. The challenge ahead is to ensure that new and existing employees are prepared to grasp the emerging opportunities and our Employment and Skills Plan is the first critical step on this important journey.
The ambition of both the Swansea Bay City Region Board and the Growing Mid Wales Partnership is to transform the future economic success of the region through the delivery of key transformational projects. This will be achieved through:
• Improved employer engagement
• Improving educational attainment
• Increasing skills in line with the aspirational projects
The region is now at a pivotal point in respect of managing capacity to ensure the success of the economy. This success will require the growth and sustainability of a capable, flexible and competent workforce, achieving the appropriate levels of education and skills linked to our economic strengths.
During the next few years there are many key projects being developed within the region that will require a skilled and competent workforce, many of these skills will be new to the region and will need to be introduced into the Colleges and Universities or through Apprenticeship opportunities, building a knowledge-rich, creative economy. It is critical that the region responds to new and emerging opportunities, for example within manufacturing and engineering technologies of the new projects. This will demand the highest levels of education and skills development in our entire workforce, from the youngest apprentices through to the entrepreneurial leaders of our companies.
There will be a shift in the composition of the workforce over the next few years and this will be an opportunity for the region to be ‘ahead of the game’ and increase the economic opportunities, prosperity and importantly the GVA of the region. Critical to this achievement is the on-going skills development that will be required in the region over the next few years.
Examples of key projects emerging in the region include:
Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus
A new state-of-the-art, internationally recognised facility to attract further research funding so that companies and researchers can undertake collaborative research projects to boost the bio-economy.
Aberystwyth Veterinary Hub
A joint venture between Aberystwyth University and Royal Veterinary College looking at the development of a veterinary School for Wales.
ARCH
Health and science working together on a multi-location high technology development based on future medical solutions.
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Foreword