The middle of May has brought a rich mix of headlines from skills initiatives in many different sectors, with the latest Fintech Sector report revealing an explosion in job growth, as well as warning of a global talent shortage on the horizon – so it was good to see the launch of the Wales STEM Awards for 2022, celebrating the tremendous tech skills we have in our region, as well as Coadec and Tramshed Tech coming together to improve our tech startup landscape.
Beyond that, it’s also wonderful to see our CCR Sustainability agenda being strengthened by the arrival of Cambrian’s Waste Management Training in South Wales – and South Wales Police developing their Future Leaders, in the most imaginative and immersive way …
Fintech Sector sees huge job growth – and faces global talent shortage
The global fintech sector has seen an exceptional +182% increase in tech job growth for the first quarter of 2022 – with the top eight fintech ‘mega-hubs’ accounting for over 90% of all new fintech jobs advertised around the world.
The findings from Robert Walters’ Global Fintech Talent Report highlights how fintech – a CCR priority sector – is one of the fastest-growing post-pandemic industries, outperforming the wider market by over 300%.
According to last week’s report, the sector will face major hurdles this year as an acute world-wide talent shortage takes hold – with a continued concentration of talent in the eight countries recognised for their fintech ecosystems: Australia, China, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, UK and US.
The report notes Software Engineering & Software Development as the most in-demand roles with fintech across the globe, accounting for a third of all job roles advertised by fintech’s – with San Francisco (+40%), New York (+33%) and Singapore (+33%) all hiring en masse for developers; while there’s a wider trend emerging for skills that can create fintech-as-a-service, hybrid cloud platforms, embedded finance and greater customer experience.
The sector also appears to be falling behind on diversity – with females representing less than a quarter of the global fintech talent, in stark contrast to growing female representation in technology and financial services, which now stands at over a third of the working population in those sectors. San Francisco fintech’s appear to have the most gender diverse teams, with 28% female representation – the UK sitting in 6th place at 22%.
Wales STEM Awards launched for 2022
With skill shortages in Fintech – and tech in general – rarely out of the headlines, it’s heartening to see the launch of the Wales STEM Awards for 2022, to highlight the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) to Wales and the world.
Following the success of the inaugural awards, the 2022 event will shine a spotlight on the organisations and individuals making a difference to the STEM agenda in Wales – with the ceremony taking place on 28th October at City Hall in Cardiff.
The closing date for entries is 9th September, for fourteen categories that celebrate the key figures leading the sector in Wales, the innovative businesses making a positive impact on the Welsh economy, the pioneers addressing the STEM diversity gap – and the thought leaders who are inspiring and raising the aspirations of the next generation.
Last year’s awards saw CGI IT UK take home STEM Company of the Year (251+ employees), Louise O’Shea from Confused.com win STEM Leader of the Year and Hazel Thorpe from the IPO recognised as STEM Woman of the Year.
Coadec and Tramshed Tech to improve the Tech Startup landscape in Wales
The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an independent policy organisation advocating for startups and scaleups across the UK, have recently taken a regional focus and turned their attention to Wales – joining forces with Tramshed Tech to undertake a 5-month research project into the Welsh technology ecosystem, outlining how local policy makers can improve the environment for tech startups and scaleups in our region.
Coadec will leverage Tramshed Tech’s community of startups and scaling businesses to better understand the challenges faced across the tech ecosystem in Wales, with particular focus on access to talent, together with access to finance and creating technology regulation that facilitates growth, under the new COADEC WALES brand.
Tramshed Tech plays a strategic role in the Welsh tech sector as founding members of the UK Tech Cluster Group, Tech Wales Advocates and Tech Spark Wales – while Coadec has successfully established the Future Fund and expanded the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa.
Cambrian expands Waste Management Training to South Wales
With Sustainability such a key driver of the CCR mission, we welcomed the news that award-winning Cambrian Training Company has expanded its sustainable resource management team to cover the whole of Wales.
The company already delivers apprenticeships for waste management companies across North, Mid and West Wales – and now brings its training offer to companies, councils and other enterprises involved in waste management and recycling across our region.
The specialist training provider’s waste management qualifications are delivered through the WAMITAB awarding body, enabling organisations to upskill their workforces in sustainable resource management – one of Welsh Government’s priority routes for apprenticeships that educate people in the impact of recycling and sustainability on the environment.
Cambrian supports many learners who didn’t do that well in school and have additional learning needs – providing one-to-one support that adapts the learning to the individual needs of both the learner and the employer.
South Wales Police invest in innovative Future Leaders training
South Wales Police is working with Welsh-based training company, Call of the Wild, on a series of innovative online and in-person training courses, as part of its investment in developing senior managers and future leaders.
The police force has already put several of its most promising leaders through an extensive training programme with the Brecon Beacons-based training company – on a seven-module course designed to improve leadership, team building and people management skills, as well as addressing strategies to improve mental resilience in challenging situations.
Call of the Wild’s training has always been rooted in the stunning surroundings of the Brecon Beacons, but the company was quick to pivot its offering when lockdown measures were introduced in March 2020.
Adapting imaginatively to an online training environment, the business has developed new and unique ways of delivering courses to ensure they continue to be an immersive and challenging experience – even when completed virtually.
The company continues to utilise the incredible landscape and geography around its headquarters by bringing the ruggedness of its outdoor pursuits to the screen – filming various scenarios and allowing participants to decide on different outcomes.
As an example, one virtual training session, called ‘Behind Enemy Lines’, uses footage of real geographical features and the physical challenges they present – including rivers, rapids, caves and cliffs – to offer participants scenario-based exercises that replicate the experience of actually being in the world-famous Mid-Wales wilderness.
Through this virtual world, participants need to work as a team to journey across the wild landscape, while simultaneously completing challenges – such as leading a team searching for a downed plane, with the task of finding the pilot and rescuing him from the mountains as quickly as possible.
This inspired training programme has enabled South Wales Police to invest in employee development without spending excessive time travelling to and from a training venue – and delivered measurable outcomes that achieve the desired return on investment.
For more news and updates on Skills & Talent across Southeast Wales and beyond, go to www.venturewales.org
