Wales has approximately 26,000 passenger transport employees, with the majority working in the bus and coach industry, followed by the taxi and private hire industry.  52% of employment is in the transport/machine operatives occupations.  There are nearly 1,000 companies in the sector.  The only operational airport in Wales is Cardiff.  Priority issues for Wales involve repairs and reconstructions to roads to improve safety.  The sector is key to developing the tourism industry and tackling social exclusion.

Recruitment difficulties are in engineering, maintenance and driver occupations.  The majority of companies reported no change in employee numbers (60%), 26% reported an increase in staff numbers and 14% reported a decrease.

Wales has the highest proportion of the workforce without qualifications compared to elsewhere in the UK.  Only a small proportion of the sector workforce in Wales has gained or is working towards a sector-specific qualification.  However, there are few industry specific qualifications and there is a need for IT training. 

Welsh companies report higher skills gaps compared to all sectors in Wales and across the UK.  Skills gaps are reported in: driving skills (12% of companies); customer service (6%); disability awareness (5%); and basic IT skills (5%).  Skills gaps are highest in customer/sales occupations. Companies reported that future skill needs will be for: driving instruction skills (23%); driving skills (13%); basic IT skills (7%); and vehicle engineering (6%).

Workforce statistics:

• 18% of the workforce work part-time
• 25% are self-employed
• 85% of the workforce are male
• average of the workforce is 44 years
• 5% of the workforce is under 25 years
• 20% of the workforce is aged 50 years and over
• the workforce is predominately white
• 40% of the workforce have an NVQ Level 2 or higher, compared to 54% in the UK
• 15% have no qualifications, compared to 12% for the UK

Employer statistics:

• 76% of companies are located in South Wales
• 27% of companies report vacancies, compared to 21% across Wales
• 47% of  companies report recruitment difficulties
• 8% of companies report retention problems 
• skills gaps are reported in driving skills and driving instruction
• 28% of companies provide training for their employees 
• 34% found that there was a lack of funding available for training 
• 26% report a lack of suitable courses in the local area

Source: GoSkills national fact sheet 2006, GoSkills Skills Needs Assessment (stage 1) 2006a and Futureskills Wales 2005

For more data on the Welsh passenger transport sector see: