Page 33 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan 2019

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2.13 Green Growth and Low Carbon
The transition to a low carbon Wales brings with it opportunities around clean growth, quality jobs and global market advantages. Wales has unique strengths and capabilities in its environment and landscape that will support this movement. Welsh Government have identified key areas which are key to the successful implementation of this ambition, they are:
• Agriculture,
• Land use,
• Transport,
• Energy,
• The Public Sector,
• Industry and Business,
• Waste,
• Homes.
Estimates suggest that the low carbon economy in Wales currently consists of approximately 9,000 businesses, employing 13,000 people and generating £2.4 billion turnover in 2016. Furthermore;
‘Over the past 20 years carbon GHG emissions have fallen, whilst Gross Value Added (GVA) has risen. To in- crease our economic prosperity we must create an environment where all of the Welsh economy contributes to the clean growth aim. Doing so has the potential to prepare the Welsh economy for the markets of the future as the demand for low carbon goods and services emerges.’35
The RLSP sees its role in relation to the low carbon agenda as being one of importance. Engagement with employers is key in ensuring that skills needs aligned to this transition will be identified through employers and highlighted within the Regional Employment and Skills Plans moving forward. Further detail on this can be seen in the individual sector profiles within section 3.
2.14 Welsh Language
The Welsh language is one of the cornerstones of Welsh culture and identity. It helps to create a sense of place and is a large part of what defines us as people and as a nation. The Welsh Government’s ambition is to see the number of Welsh speakers increase to one million by 2050. An ambitious target given that only 896,900 individuals can speak Welsh as of 2019, however it is one that Welsh Government believe is ‘worthwhile and necessary if we are to secure the vitality of the language for future generations’.36
Inference of primary intelligence gathered by the RLSP indicates that 13% of the business surveyed cited ‘oral Welsh language’ skills as a skills challenge. In addition only a further 11% suggested that ‘written Welsh language’ skills were a skills challenge for them.
Inference of primary intelligence gathered by the RLSP indicates that 13% of the business surveyed cited ‘oral Welsh language’ skills as a skills challenge. In addition only a further 11% suggested that ‘written Welsh lan- guage’ skills were a skills challenge for them.
35 https://gov.wales/written-statement-publication-prosperity-all-low-carbon-wales 36 Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh Speakers
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales
Policy Context