Swansea announces skills investment to boost region

A major investment programme is set to equip thousands of local people with the skills they need to access well-paid jobs in Swansea.

Swansea Council’s Cabinet is meeting this week to consider the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Skills and Talent programme, which will invest £30m in identifying skills gaps throughout the region and putting education and training solutions in place to meet the needs of the city’s industry.

The Swansea Bay City Deal is expected to invest up to £1.3bn in nine major projects, including the Skills and Talent programme, and the Council predicted that it will create over 9,000 high-quality jobs.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council leader, said: ‘The Skills and Talent programme is a key City Deal initiative because it’s vital that local people are given training pathways to access the thousands of high-value jobs the investment will create.

‘This will help retain talent in the region, while boosting our economic prosperity and helping attract further investment and well-paid jobs in future.’

He added: ‘Investment of this kind in both Swansea and throughout the region as a whole means South West Wales is well-placed to quickly recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.’

The Skills and Talent programme aims to deliver 2,200 additional skills while helping 14,000 people develop their existing skills, through creating centres of excellence for skills training in identified sectors and at least 3,000 new apprenticeships.

Funded by the UK government, the Welsh government, and public and private sector investors, the Swansea Bay City Deal is being led by Carmarthenshire County Council, Neath Port Talbot Council, Pembrokeshire Council and Swansea Council, in partnership with several local universities and health boards.

If approved by the regional councils, the business case for the programme will go to the City Deal’s Joint Committee for potential submission to the UK government and Welsh government for final approval.

In related news, £180m worth of private sector investment into offshore wind is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs in the North of England.

Photo by Green Chameleon