Jo Corke of Future Skills Wales, said: “The survey gives the Welsh Assembly Government the most current information on demand among key industries in the private sector. Armed with these figures, the Assembly and other organisations charged with developing and delivering learning provision can meet current demand more efficiently and consider ways to encourage further demand in the future.”
Between November 2004 and January 2005, 2,000 businesses in seven sectors in Wales were asked about demand for staff with Welsh Language skills. The Future Skills Wales Partnership commissioned the survey to discover the level and nature of need among businesses in the tourism, customer services, agri-food, financial services, care, construction, media and retail sectors. The survey revealed that nearly one in ten of these businesses currently have a demand for Welsh-speaking employees.
Although revealed to be the sectors most likely to drive the need for vocational qualifications delivered through the medium of Welsh in the last survey held in 2003, the numbers stating a need for staff with these skills are still low in comparison to the public sector.
The survey identified that companies using the Welsh language in business do so largely in response to customer needs and that the emphasis is on speaking and listening rather than reading and writing. This survey also revealed a higher demand amongst businesses in the media sector with 18% of employers calling for more staff that can operate in the Welsh language. The retail sector recorded the lowest level of demand among businesses in the survey, with only 5% of respondents saying that employees require the Welsh language.
Regional variations were also as expected, with businesses in the North West showing the highest demand and those in the South East least likely to require staff with Welsh language skills.
Meirion Prys Jones, Chief Executive of the Welsh Language Board, said:
“This survey has given a valuable insight into what private businesses really want in relation to Welsh language skills. It also shows that offering language choice to customers is now becoming important within the private as well as the public sector. It tells us that we need to work further to improve awareness amongst the private sector as to the potential commercial benefits of the Welsh language, particularly in terms of customer retention and new market penetration. From a training perspective, the survey also provides evidence for key partners such as individual training providers, and the Sector Skills Councils, of the need for appropriate bilingual learning materials and opportunities.”
