Page 36 - Swansea Skills Report 2024

Current Skill Requirements
HL&T jobs in Swansea have seen a decrease since
2017 (-13%), this dip could have been further
exaggerated due to pandemic impacts, but the fall
was apparent pre pandemic. However, the region is
still around 6% higher than the national average of
jobs in this sector.
Advertised wages in the sector have stagnated
without any real increase over the last 3 years
although job posting intensity for HL&T roles has
been on a steady increase since 2020 with sports
coaches and fitness instructors in high demand.
Within the last 12 months, the most advertised roles
are:
• Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
• Customer Service Managers and Supervisors
• Fitness Instructors
• Conference and Exhibition Managers & Organisers
• Sports and Leisure Assistants
• Restaurant and Catering Establishment Managers
and Proprietors
• Leisure and Theme Park Attendants
Health & Fitness leisure roles seem to be driving this
spike in demand for jobs in the sector coupled with
management requirements.
Essential Traits
Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism tend to recruit based
on essential traits such as communication, motivation,
attitude etc, as specific skills can be trained during
employment, the right attitude is the key factor to
ensuring the fantastic customer experience the sector
consumer's demand.
• Communications
• Customer Service
• Sales
• Management
• Leadership
• Coaching
• Planning
• Enthusiasm
• Leadership
Are all key Essential Traits posted in HL&T job adverts,
however many of these traits are missing in candidate
applications. Organizational, Cleanliness, Enthusiasm,
Detail etc all skills being the least mentioned in
jobseeker profiles.
We also have seen evidence from the C&G Youth
Misspent Report and the RLSP learner survey that 16–
24-year-olds struggle with their self-confidence to
demonstrate these skills.
Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism
After a recent review it was summarised that
Travel, Tourism, Hospitality and Catering sectors
post 16 qualifications are not fully meeting the
needs of learners or the industry. This sector
generates billions for the economy and employs
thousands of people in Wales.
Qualifications for this sector have been
reviewed recently in line with business needs.
The proposed new qualifications will now
offer:
Offer practical, hands-on learning with
opportunities to gain real-life experiences
outside of the classroom
Reflect the way that the sector has evolved
due to new digital technologies and the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Develop high-quality customer service skills
Provide more options for learners to
undertake Hospitality and Catering
qualifications through the median of Welsh
36