The Cogent sector employs 24,700 employees which is 2.3% of the country’s workforce and 4% of the UK Cogent sector workforce. Employment levels are expected to increase slightly by 1,000 betweem 2009 and 2014.

The sector contributed 5.6% to Wales’ Gross Value Added (GVA) of £19,671 million. There are 1,100 employers in Wales, 71% of which have 1-10 employees.

Each of the sector’s industries are active in the country. There are refineries in South West supporting a supply chain of chemical and polymer employers. In Gwynedd, Trawsfynydd Power Station is a decommissioned reactor and in Anglesey Wylfa Power Station is still in operation. In North East Wales the upstream oil and gas industry employs both an onshore and offshore workforce at Billiton and in Liverpool Bay respectively.

In the South West, there will be an increased workforce demand as work on the new LNG terminals starts in 2007.

There is limited data available of the workforce profile and some of it is unreliable as numbers are low so some caution is required for the following data:

• a greater proportion of the workforce is aged 25-44 years
• 73% of the sector workforce is male, compared to 53% of the country’s workforce
• 95% of the workforce is white, compared to 98% of the country’s workforce
• the proportion of the workforce with higher level qualifications (42%) is lower than that of Wales overall (49%) and the UK (53%)

The occupational profile of the sector in Wales will change over the next ten years:

• managers and senior officials will increase from 11% to 14%
• operators and technicians will decline from 27% to 24%

Replacement demand is projected to be highest for operative occupations.  Net demand for workforce across the sector in Wales over the period 2004–2014 is projected to be in the region of 10,000 employees.

15% of establishments in the Cogent sector reported vacancies, which is 6% lower than the figure for Wales. 3% of establishments are reporting skills shortage vacancies. Technical and practical skills are lacking the most, with some employers reporting lack of understanding of instrument equipment.

20% of establishments reported skills gaps which are most likely to occur amongst skilled trades, transport and machine operatives and professional occupations. These gaps related to: problem-solving skills; other technical and practical skills; and communication skills.

54% of establishments offer off-the-job training. 81% of employers in the sector did not provide training because employees are sufficiently skilled. Time constraints, the cost of training and a lack of money to fund training are identified as barriers to training.

Source: Cogent Sector Skill Needs Assessment 2006