The cessation of EU funding leaves Welsh graduates and employers in uncertainty.
- Historically disadvantaged, Wales benefitted significantly from EU-supported training initiatives.
- The termination of projects like GO Wales impacts graduate opportunities and employer recruitment.
- Employers express frustration over difficulties in finding qualified software skills locally.
- Potential future funding offers a glimmer of hope, but timelines remain unclear.
Wales, often considered a disadvantaged region due to traditionally higher rates of unemployment, received crucial EU assistance that facilitated the training and development of its workforce. Such initiatives, most notably the GO Wales project, contributed significantly to narrowing the employment opportunity gap between Wales and England. Over 8,000 Welsh graduates took advantage of this programme, with 71% securing full-time employment, and more than half remaining with their initial placement companies.
The end of funding for the GO Wales initiative, after 11 years, has generated a sense of unease among both graduates and employers. The lack of an alternative graduate recruitment scheme and the discontinuation of free training projects like Software Alliance Wales exacerbate the challenge employers face in hiring adequately experienced staff. The absence of a platform to register interest in employing graduates further compounds these issues.
One employer, choosing to remain anonymous, expressed frustrations: ‘It’s annoying, we are desperate for qualified staff. I need graduates with software development skills, if I advertise for them I get bombarded by recruitment consultant cold calls and the job centre often just sends CV’s from 16 year olds who ‘like computers’. That wouldn’t be so bad if we still had Software Alliance Wales to help with free training, but we’ve been left high and dry whilst Wales awaits more funding, meanwhile the applicants we seek remain jobless!’
The sentiment of discontent extends beyond employers, as reflected in the concerns of Joshua Parry, a Plaid Cymru prospective parliamentary candidate. In his correspondence with Wales Online, Parry criticised the Welsh Government’s lack of a clear policy for retaining graduates within Wales, describing the situation caused by the absence of GO Wales as a ‘travesty’.
Despite the current predicament, there is some optimism regarding future funding, with entities like the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales putting forth proposals for additional European funding. Although an outcome of these applications remains pending until 2015, the council anticipates the possibility of reintroducing a modified GO Wales scheme aimed at young, unemployed graduates.
Joshua Parry further questioned the contingency plans, if any, that are in place for replacing Go Wales, stressing the urgency of such developments. While prospective funding may bring some relief, the continuum of training and graduate recruitment stands on uncertain grounds.
The future of training and graduate recruitment in Wales remains uncertain amid current funding gaps and ongoing challenges.
