A 21st century skills system for Wales: Challenges and opportunities

Wales is at the centre of a number of significant disruptions likely to bring long-term changes for its people and economy. Some of these are global in nature, such as automation and technological change. Some affect the whole UK – most obviously, the uncertainty around Brexit. Others come from within Wales, such as the rapid increases in its older population, which we will see expand over the coming years. For the people and economy of Wales to be ready for these very 21st century changes, we will need to see a 21st century skills system ready to equip Wales for the future. This report marks the first of two for this project on Wales, and follows our previous reports on the skills systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland. As a whole, the project aims to look at how to build a 21st century skills system in Wales, starting through this first report with a focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the skills system in Wales, before moving on to look at what needs to change and what needs to stay the same to prepare the skills system in Wales for the future.