Page 17 - Neath Port Talbot Skills Report 2024

Manufacturing
SWITCH
Leading the switch to net zero industry: new £20 million facility
to help develop a green economy in Wales - Swansea University
Lightcast™
. 2023
DARE - The Neath Port Talbot Decarbonisation and Renewable
Energy Strategy – Neath Port Talbot Council (npt.gov.uk)
Manufacturing will play a vital role in the
decarbonisation route to Net Zero. Not only will
manufacturing industries need to consider their
own decarbonisation approach, but they will also
need to consider how they can support the new
and emerging markets supply chain requirements.
Add this to the current labour market shortages
currently being faced it will be a challenging
transition period for this vital sector in NPT.
The county has seen around 7% jobs growth in
this sector since 2018 and further steady growth is
predicted to continue. Although Wales has seen a
decline in manufacturing roles since 2018 around
a 5% drop and this trend is predicted to continue
also, potentially providing NPT opportunity to
take advantage of labour displacement from
other regions.
This local increase in demand has driven up
average wages in the sector by up to 30% since
2020, with job postings also rising considerably
during this time.(Figure 1)
This points to a potential issue in relation to
Decarbonising manufacturing and ensuring the
sector can plan for a Net Zero supply chain
future.
The concern is that legislation may come fast and
with Industry being the biggest carbon emitters
in the county, manufacturing needs to plan now
for the Net Zero transition. With around 95% of
these businesses being small and micro, they may
not have the resources, or time to plan for the
transition.
There is a lot to consider for this sector,
particularly SME’s who will need support and
guidance to plan for the skills required in order
to:
• Reduce their own emissions
• Take advantage of emerging new supply
chains and markets Net Zero will bring
• Research and adapt to new materials and
processes
• Invest in circular economic principles
• Understand their own supply chain
sustainability
• Avoid a bottle neck in training when
legislation is passed
Availability of skills in these areas will be critical
for manufacturing.
Job postings for Manufacturing jobs NPT trend
Job postings skill
requirements vs
workforce profiles
Engineers being the most highly sought after roles
(Electrical, Mechanical, Maintenance, Compliance
etc) with roles being advertised up to 3 times
before they are filled. Figure 2 below clearly shows
the skills being advertised vs skills in jobseeker
profiles don’t match up.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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