Skills levels in Wales are generally lower than in England: while Cardiff contains the constituencies with the highest skills levels in the region, it does not provide the regional economic heart offered by many national capitals.
The lack of a leading urban centre to drive economic growth has led to a low demand for skilled workers. Compared with other regions, there are fewer professional and senior management roles, and more positions at the intermediate level.
Certain barriers to upskilling are inherent in the region: poor infrastructure is experienced by rural communities, making it difficult to access courses in nearby towns. Low provision of broadband internet in rural areas simultaneously reduces the effectiveness for distance learning.
South Wales has the poorest skills and the largest number of constituencies in the region. Just under half its constituencies have low or very low skills levels. Mid-Wales has only three constituencies, in which skills levels range from low to high. North Wales has broadly average skills levels, with a small proportion of constituencies with high skills and just over a quarter with low skills. The poor skills levels in the south of the region can be attributed to a traditional reliance on heavy industry. Most of the pits in the southern valleys have closed and the employment rate is low, causing the area to be less prosperous.
There has, however, been some substantial investment in education and training across Wales. This has resulted in some high-profile companies in the manufacturing and service sectors locating headquarters and high value-added functions there. The Welsh Development Agency has set in motion a range of initiatives to counter the problems of low skills levels and economic inactivity. There is recognition that schemes need to be locally adapted due to the varied nature of Welsh regions. The Welsh Assembly’s current emphasis is to work with the economically inactive to develop skills such as teamworking and communication, along with function literacy, numeracy and ICT.
Future skills scenarios are positive for Wales. The overall situation is one of growth, with over 100,000 more people in work than in 1999. Welsh export rates have been growing at a higher rate than the national average, and business start-up rates are high. Average earnings have increased by more than 10 per cent over the last five years, and there is increasing investment in research and development, which has in the past been very low. With appropriate investment and education focus, these factors should substantially increase the skills levels across Wales in years to come.