Written by Zac Marley
Wales is a proud nation of around 3.19 million living in a sizable area of 20,779 sq. km (8,023 sq miles). Major cities within Wales’ borders are Cardiff, Swansea & Newport with other areas also bearing importance. Its capital, Cardiff, is the main economic centre and financial services are one of the most important sectors. But Wales is not defined purely by its cities. There are many exciting industries hosted in Wales. Check them out:
- Leisure and Tourism
Wales has a significant amount of geographical beauty. About an hour away from the Prince of Wales bridge is the Brecon Beacons. Here you can enjoy a range of countryside-based activities with a delightful view. As a national park, the Brecon’s hosts a range of walks that can be enjoyed by a range of walking abilities. These walks are graded by difficulty, making it easy to decide how much of an excursion you want to take on that day.
Away from the countryside and cities are the gorgeous coastal towns and villages in Wales. In both the South of Wales and North of Wales, there are places to enjoy the seaside. In the north is Anglesey, a small island connected by a bridge to the mainland. There is more fun to be had here, including heritage sites, festivals and birdwatching. Down south, the county of Pembrokeshire can be found. This is more seaside orientated where you can surf, swim and take part in other water sports.
- Media Production
While not at the forefront of everyone’s minds, media production is becoming hosted more and more in Wales. One indicator of this and possibly the Jewel in the crown of Welsh media production is the BBC Crymu building. Costing a cool £120,000,000 to build, it is one of the new big buildings being erected in the central area of Cardiff.
On the other side of the coin, many smaller media production companies are rising up in Wales. An example of this is Buffoon Media. For a range of clients, they create and stream content. Their HQ is based in Port-Talbot but they have teams in London, Manchester and Anglesey. Buffoon Media works with clients such as Unilever, Tata Steel, Nectar Card, UK Government and the NHS. They may not be on the same scale as the BBC but they are certainly playing their part in the Welsh Economy.
- Fintech
Overall, the UK has a healthy Fintech industry. Wales is no outlier in its contribution to the industry with its tech sector being worth an estimated £8.2 Billion to the Welsh economy. This growing sector employs around 44,000 people within the digital economy. This is due to the range of infrastructure facilitating this type of industry. Wales hosts a number of start-up workspaces which enables small businesses to get the ball rolling without high start-up costs.
On top of having the infrastructure, Cardiff itself hosts 3 prestigious universities with there being other universities throughout the country which produce excellent minds and people to contribute to the welsh economy.
- Construction & Property
Within the actual construction industry, there is a significant demand for more workers which is a key indicator of the speed of growth in an industry. The most in-demand trades are bricklayers, electrical trades and plumbing and HVAC trades.
The facilitator of this demand on workers? Property and new builds in general seem to be a significant contributor to the demand. Housing repair and maintenance accounts for 23% of total output in this sector and the public non-housing sector accounted for 13% of output in 2021. The housing sector is set to be a major focus for Wales in the next 5 years. If you’re somebody that’s unsure where to take their career next, the trades mentioned in the first paragraph of this section would be a smart move.
- Renewable energy
The energy and environment sector is another giant in the Welsh economy. As it employs over 58,000 people and generates £4.8 billion in revenue. Specifically, the Welsh energy and environment sector specialises in waste management, treating water and monitoring the environment.
Being such a topical and important sector in the modern-day world, innovation is key to its development. Many of the deep sea ports in Wales are equipped to support sustainable and renewable energy projects such as marine energy initiatives and low carbon projects.
The importance of this industry cannot be underestimated which makes it such a feather in the cap of the Welsh economy.
To summarise, Wales is a land of hard workers and success. With many exciting and developing industries, it continues to strive for more and more success. There is an intangible and difficult to describe culture in Wales that props up the economy within it. Ranging from rugby matches to developing start-ups, almost every Welsh person is proud to be Welsh.
About the author
This article was written by Zac Marley on behalf of Buffoon Media, a bilingual media production company.