Page 37 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan

Growing Mid Wales
The majority of ICT activity in Mid Wales is centred around Ceredigion and Aberystwyth University. This in part is due to the Computer Science Department at Aberystwyth having a ranking of 11th in the UK and first in Wales according to the Research Excellence Framework. Specialist activities and expertise include industrially relevant computing with the potential to develop technological transfer activities to enable business growth.
Furthermore, Aberystwyth University is also a partner in the High Performance Computing Wales project, providing integrated supercomputing services for businesses and researchers across Wales and beyond.
3.3.4 Creative Industries
Please see Sectors at a Glance for full illustration.
The Creative Industries (CIs) are sectors of the economy which use creative talent for commercial purposes. They create jobs and wealth by exploiting intellectual property.
The CIs are made up of the following subsectors:
• Advertising and marketing;
• Architecture;
• Crafts;
• Design: product, graphic and fashion design;
• Film, TV, video, radio and photography;
• IT, software and computer services;
• Publishing;
• Museums, galleries and libraries;
• Music, performing and visual arts.
The Welsh Government states that the CI sector in Wales employs over 30,000 people and generates over £1.8 billion annual turnover. Evidence gathered via Creative Skillset (the Sector Skills Council for Wales’ CI sector) suggests that employment across Creative Skillset’s footprint alone is expected to increase by 45% between 2012 and 2022, rising from 37,200 to 54,100 employees. Of specific importance to Wales is the fashion and textiles sub-sector with the turnover of businesses in textiles and manufacturing solely reaching approximately £121 million.
The sector remains relatively resilient to the recession and forecasts predict significant growth in the number of jobs – 7,000 more people by 2017 in Wales (150,000 more across the UK).78
37
78 Creative Blueprint Summary Wales June 2008: Creative & Cultural Skills)
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Aspirational Economy