The project provided a high profile and aspirational opportunity for young people with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills to experience life and work in Gwynedd and Anglesey; and tell the world about it.

This project built on the Byw a Bod (Digital) project delivered by Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig in 2016.

A key challenge faced by ICT companies in Gwynedd and Anglesey is the recruitment of suitable workers to work in the sector, and some of the companies are considering relocating to access employees. This challenge is in line with the Arloesi Local Development plan strategy as keeping young people in the area is a key priority.

Therefore, Arloesi has worked with the Digital Gwynedd Forum, which also includes representatives from Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities and Gwynedd Council and we have been in contact with the economic department at Anglesey Council to develop this pilot project. The project will seek to achieve the following:

It should be emphasised that the target audience for this project is young people aged 17 – 25 in Gwynedd and Anglesey who make career choices, rather than people from outside.

Recruiting businesses

Businesses were invited to participate through an open call process.   The Open Call encouraged interest from 7 growth businesses, followed by 9 high quality candidates studying STEM subjects, to take part in the 10-week pilot.

Recruiting students

Students were encouraged to apply following an advert placed on lleol.net and the link was widely shared on social media, in local colleges, and universities across Wales. Business and student recruitment took place during April 2017 with the placement start date on 26th June.

Hacking sessions

The first three days were a ‘hacking session’ style event where the whole team of businesses/ students/ AM had an opportunity to get to know each other, learn about the businesses and, most importantly, ensure that students actually understood the brief, and ensure that Gwynedd and Anglesey are seen as a great place to live and work.

All students took part in sharing their stories through social media on a weekly basis.

Life experience

The students took part in a number of activities, to show what a great area it is to live in. These activities included a walk up Snowdon, paddle boarding at Llanddwyn and climbing.

Work experience

They also worked with their employers to identify the anticipated recruitment opportunities over the next 5 years, what opportunities the areas would offer, what the employers were looking for when recruiting, and what skills they were looking for when recruiting.

Group work

Arloesi appointed Geraint Hughes as a mentor for the group throughout the 10 weeks. The group met every Monday afternoon to share their experiences and plan for the final event.  The challenge set for the groups was “ICT companies in Gwynedd and Anglesey are struggling to recruit local skills, and young people with ICT qualifications claim that there are not many opportunities in Gwynedd and Anglesey. How can both sides be more aware of each other?”

Information Sharing and Promotion

• A Byw and Bod EXPO event was organised and held to share information at Bangor University’s new arts and innovation centre, Pontio, on 1st September at 10am and 1pm.
• The group facilitated the event and had opportunities to share their experiences and lessons learned with other businesses and organisations in the area.
• 60 registered at the bright link event with 46 people attending on the day.
• The event was streamed live on AM and AGW’s FB.
• Social Media followed the individual stories throughout the 10-week placement
• Several short films have also been created to raise the profile and get the message across.
• The project was also promoted through public media in local newspapers and vlogs.

Project’s success

• 2 full time posts were created as a direct result of the project. One of the students secured a job with CADARN Consulting, and the other secured an apprenticeship with Horizon.
• 1 student secured a full-time job as an engineer at Denis Ferranti in Bangor.
• A directory of growth businesses was created and it was shown that 25 potential high paid jobs could be created in Gwynedd and Anglesey over the next 5 years.

Byw a Bod Evaluation Dec 21