PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

A constant theme of this column of the last few months has focused on skills and people and I make no apology for that given it is probably the most important issue facing our economy. Unfortunately, it is still not being taken seriously enough by politicians and policymakers within the UK Government or the devolved administrations with significant knock-on effects for the economy and the labour market. We know that vacancy rates remain high across the UK with more than 40% of employers finding it difficult to fill jobs. Yet, at the same time, 35% of workers feel they do not have the skills necessary to undertake their current role, never mind the jobs of the future.  Given this, it is no surprise that productivity rates remain shockingly low within the UK and that the economy is stagnating rather than growing. More importantly, with studies showing that as many as one out of every two jobs will need new skills due to digitalisation and automation, those economies that embrace chan...

Last week, the BBC’s Dragon’s Eye programme revealed that despite billions of pounds of European funding, West Wales and the Valleys have become poorer during the last decade. According to the programme, the latest official figures show that GDP per head in the region has fallen from 66.8 per cent of the EU average in 2000 to 64.4 per cent in 2008, the latest year for which figures are available. The only other parts of Europe to see a drop in their relative prosperity over this period are Malta, two regions of Portugal and four regions of southern Italy. Every other region that has received the highest level of European funding, including those in Greece, Latvia, Slovakia and Spain, have become wealthier over the same period. This is a shameful indictment of the use of this vital funding package to turn around the Welsh economy during the last decade. Defenders of the policies of successive Assembly Governments trot out the line that the first round of funding, known as Ob...

I am really pleased that a new article, "Entrepreneurship in Deprived Urban communities - the case of Wales "- has been accepted for publication in the Entrepreneurship Research Journal (ERJ) from the Berkeley Electronic Press. ERJ is an an international journal committed to publishing the very best scholarly research. It encourages a scholarly exchange between experts from all fields which demonstrate the vital role that entrepreneurship plays in determining the quality of lives, societies, and economies. The scope of the journal is unique in that it seeks to disseminate both theoretical and empirical evidence research that will facilitate the development of entrepreneurship as a field of study today, and in the future. A scholarly forum for new ideas that have the impact on broadening the traditional business model, the journal recognizes experts and their contributions from all fields including economics, business, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, ...