Demonstrating Gwynedd has good quality career opportunities in the ICT sector as well as excellent lifestyle opportunities.
The aim of the project was to demonstrate that Gwynedd has the following:
- Good quality career opportunities in the ICT sector.
- Can offer excellent lifestyle opportunities
- Produces good calibre workforce that can respond to opportunities in the ICT sector.
Gwynedd has an increasingly successful ICT sector and a cluster has developed in Parc Menai, Bangor. Businesses involved in this sector are represented on the Gwynedd Digital Forum that is administered by Gwynedd Council. A key challenge they are facing is recruiting suitable employees to work in the sector, and some of the companies are considering relocation in order to access employees. This challenge fits with the Arloesi Local Development strategy as retaining young people in the area is a key priority.
Therefore, Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig has worked with the Gwynedd Digital Forum, which also includes representatives from the Bangor and Aberystwyth Universities and Gwynedd Council, in order to develop a pilot project. The project sought to accomplish the following: Provide a high profile and aspirational opportunity for under-graduates to experience life and work in Gwynedd; and tell the world about it.
Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig recruited and employed 4 undergraduates from Gwynedd and arranged work placements with 4 ICT businesses in Parc Menai namely NMi Gaming, Simulity, FundTECh and Megni. There were two elements to the work experience, namely working individually with the businesses and also working as a group with the other undergraduates. It was important that the work was meaningful and interesting as we were trying to use the experience to market opportunities.
Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig also appointed a mentor working with the group on responding to the challenge “How do we raise the profile of the opportunities available in the ICT sector in Parc Menai?”. It was expected that the group would identify what the employment opportunities were in the wider ICT sector (beyond the 4 businesses), and develop a strategy and an implementation plan. There was an event at the end of the project to pre-sent their findings to relevant stakeholders e.g. businesses, young people, colleges, young people’s organizations.
The students were also provided with “life” opportunities which included lobster fishing in Pen Llyn, climbing in Snowdonia and tasting local ales in a local brewery. The aim was to highlight everything the area had to offer.
