Page 34 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan

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Welsh Language
The vast majority of respondents reported that the Welsh language is not important at all to their business.
Whilst many indicated that the Welsh Language was a crucial part of national culture and identity it offers no apparent benefits to businesses operating within the sector. A vast majority of the products manufactured are exported and therefore working on a global stage creates very little demand for the Welsh language. However, it was identified within the cluster groups as being useful for public consultation and engagement within the energy sector.
‘Almost exclusively export our goods and no business, even with local suppliers, is undertaken in Welsh. Everyone speaks English as the business language, even when it is their second language.’
‘We recognise that we play a major role in the Welsh economy, but as our customers range across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, there is very limited business needs for employees to develop their Welsh language skills.’
Barriers to Training
The nature of the sector requires the renewal of training on a regular basis. This exacerbates some barriers such as cost which many are reporting are increasing regularly. Associated with this is the introduction of the Apprenticeship levy which is a source of concern and confusion for many employers.
There are many opportunities for businesses to access subsidised training, however employer feedback indicates that it is very difficult to gain clear information on what these are and how they can access them.
Several are resorting to developing their internal training offer to reduce their reliance on external providers;
‘Our main barrier is cost of release of employees to attend training programmes, followed by the cost of training. We typically see that the cost of training set by external providers is on average 3 times higher than what we can deliver internally, which has influenced our strategy to insource training. > 90% of our training needs are now delivered internally.’
For those businesses that are located in rural areas sourcing training that is fit for purpose and relatively local is a challenge, this once again worsens the cost element which many find to be a significant burden.
‘The costs are forever increasing, but unfortunately, within our industry we require certain training or to renew certain training every so often. You aren't always guaranteed to have grant support either. Another issue we also have is due to our workload and the location of where our employees are working it isn't easy to arrange/book training to suit.’
Skills Gaps
Maintenance excellence
Operational excellence
Client Management
Skills Gaps
Engineering Software, electronics, process, project, technical support
Skilled Machinists
Drawing office staff
Leadership, Management & Personal Effectiveness
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Sector Profiles