Page 22 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan

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2.10 Digital Skills
Digital skills are becoming increasingly important within the economy with many job roles becoming increasingly digitalised.
‘Digital skills underpin growth across the economy and are vital to ensuring global competitiveness and productivity. They are needed across the population to enable social inclusion and access to digital public and private services.’
If the UK and indeed Wales are to become world-leading digital nations then it is imperative that the current and future workforce are equipped with the right skills which allow them to full take advantage of the opportunities that new digital technologies will provide.
‘Market and institutional challenges mean that many businesses are struggling to obtain employees with the right skills to exploit technological opportunities, and sections of society are missing out on the benefits of the digital economy.’
At a regional level the Swansea Bay City Deal will provide significant opportunities within the digital sector, it is therefore imperative that any market and institutional challenges are addressed in a timely manner. The Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District in particular will provide much opportunity for the development and expansion of high value digital/tech companies which will be positive both for employment levels and the economy as a whole.
2.11 Rurality
Rurality and the rural economy
The rural economy within South West and Mid Wales is of significant importance and encompasses large areas of the North and West of the region. It faces a wide range of challenges that are unique to the rural setting. These include the issues identified below;
a) Declining productivity
The productivity as measured by GVA within predominantly rural areas is significantly below the UK and also below those of more urban areas across the region. This is a trend that is visible across the UK. This is in part due to the nature of businesses located within the different areas with higher numbers of high GVA industries such as Financial and Professional Services being located in the more urban areas. An additional factor is the nature of employment within rural areas with a greater emphasis on part time working and self-employment, often relating to lifestyle businesses.
‘Self-employment, part-time working and seasonal employment are more prevalent in rural labour areas. Self-employment and part-time working can be a positive lifestyle choice or a response to a lack of employment opportunities.’21
This productivity divide between the urban and rural areas is significant as it produces a number of skills related challenges in particular relating to the availability, recruitment and retention of appropriately skilled individuals.
21 Employability and Skills in Rural Scotland 2012 – Scottish Government Employability Learning Network
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Policy Context