Page 18 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan 2019

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2.2.1 The Existence of Skills Gaps
Inference of primary intelligence indicates that 46% of businesses surveyed are experiencing skills challenges. These skills challenges are most prolific in the Construction, Health and Social Care, Leisure and Tourism and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing sectors.
59% of those experiencing skills challenges indicated that ‘specialist skills or knowledge needed to perform the role’ was a skill area that they experienced challenges in. This was followed by ‘communication skills’ and ‘problem solving’.
2.2.2 Labour Immobility
Labour immobility relates to the lack of movement of labour to where it is in greatest demand. Recruitment and retention are effective measures of labour immobility.
Recruitment was reported as a challenge for 45% of businesses surveyed (384) with the main effects being reported as ‘increased workload for other staff’, ‘lose trained staff to other organisations’ and ‘experience increased operating costs’.8
Wales as a whole suffers from what is termed as ‘brain drain’ where skilled individuals leave Wales to move to neighbouring nations. Between 2013 and 2016, 23,807 graduates came to Wales, however 44,335 left the country, totalling a loss of 20,528 skilled graduates over the course of three years.
It is imperative that Wales as a whole and indeed the region is highlighted and promoted for its many positive attributes. A high quality of life, high paid jobs (which appear to be hard to fill vacancies in some instances), a lower than average cost of living and its rich heritage and natural landscapes.
2.2.3 Inequality
Gender Imbalances
There continues to be significant gender disparity across many areas of the economy which relates to employment, the gender pay gap and opportunities to prosper more generally. In other words, women and men do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities across society.
‘Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right. It is also a keystone of a prosperous, modern economy that provides sustainable inclusive growth. Gender equality is essential for ensuring that men and women can contribute fully at home, at work and in public life, for the betterment of societies and economies at large.’ 9
Recent research carried out on behalf of Chwarae Teg has indicated that full gender equality could add £13.6bn to Welsh GVA forecasts for 2028. This substantiates the basis on why it is imperative for Wales to become a world leader in terms of gender equality, a feat which the Welsh Government has and continues to show commitment to.
Perhaps the starkest evidence to support this notion is the continued disproportion between employment levels for males and females in some key sectors. The graph on next page depicts this;
8 https://www.iwa.wales/click/2018/12/its-time-for-students-to-come-together-and-stop-the-welsh-brain-drain/
£24-28 million (Welsh Government, 2014).
9 https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/the-pursuit-of-gender-equality_9789264281318-en#page5
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales
Policy Context