People & Skills 

4 February 2025

Census Reveals Industry Hiring Challenges in Wales

An ECI worker at Ledwood Mechanical Engineering in Pembrokeshire, Wales
An ECI worker at Ledwood Mechanical Engineering in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Findings of a workforce report have highlighted the challenges Wales faces to ensure it has the skilled workers needed to meet future demand in the engineering construction industry (ECI).

The ECI plays a crucial role in the UK meeting its net zero ambitions, spanning sectors that focus on the construction, maintenance and decommissioning of heavy industry, including oil and gas, nuclear, power generation, renewables, chemicals, food and drink, pharmaceuticals and water treatment.

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) Regional Workforce Census report offers a comprehensive overview of the ECI workforce in Wales, having gathered data on more than 2,200 workers.

The data reveals that 80% of ECI employers in Wales are experiencing challenges hiring workers, compared to 71% in the wider industry across Great Britain.

Employers in North Wales note recruitment challenges due to the remote locations of sites and offices, the niche nature of some specialist roles, competition from larger employers and a general shortage of applicants, especially for construction roles.

This makes it particularly challenging for employers to recruit for roles such as crane operators, welders, pipefitters and project engineers.

Industry employers in South Wales say the main issue is a lack of new entrants, which is impacting the recruitment of supervisors, crane operators and general operators.

The ECITB report also highlights an upcoming wave of possible retirements, with the share of workers over 60 in Wales increasing from 11% to 14.6% since 2021. Also, the number of workers under 30 has decreased from 18% of the workforce to 12.1% in the last three years.

The ageing workforce issue is worse in North Wales, where only 8% of the workforce is under 30 and half (50.4%) is aged 50 or older.

ECITB Chief Executive Andrew Hockey said:

“The Census is vital in helping industry understand labour market dynamics, anticipate workforce challenges and develop strategies to address skill gaps in Wales.

 

“Only through bringing in new talent, training and upskilling existing workers can industry benefit from the skilled workforce it needs both for now and the future.

 

“The ECITB will continue to support employers in Wales to invest in their talent pipeline – helping industry to grow the number of apprenticeships and graduate opportunities, developing alternative entry pathways and as funding quality training to upskill and reskill the workforce.”

Other key findings on Wales from the Census

• The ECI workforce in Wales primarily works in the nuclear (45%) and oil and gas (29%) sectors.
• Most of the workforce is concentrated in Pembroke, Port Talbot, Barry, Cemaes and Trawsfynydd.
• The share of women in the workforce is lower than in the wider ECI (11% versus 17%) and lower still in South Wales, where women represent just 3% of the regional ECI workforce.
• Reliance on overseas workers in Wales is minimal, with just 2.1% of the workforce being non-UK nationals.

Helping predict future trends

The ECITB conducts a census every three years, with in-scope employers providing information on workforce numbers by occupation, sector and location, as well as demographics data on age, gender, ethnicity and nationality.

Employers primarily involved in engineering construction are considered ‘in-scope’ of the ECITB’s remit, with those exceeding a certain size legally required to contribute to an industrial training levy.

In summer 2024, employers were asked to fill out an online survey which included questions on expected workforce growth, business opportunities by sector and hiring challenges.

Andrew added:

“Thanks to a record response rate, up from 54% of the workforce covered in 2021 to 78.8%, the ECITB will now be able to provide more precise, up-to-date data to industry and make predictions on future workforce trends and labour demands in Wales.

 

“The Census data will help inform training interventions and ensure accurate representation of industry in our discussions with governments and other partners.”

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