Welsh language skills needs in eight sectors

Key findings

• Just over a third of employers in the eight sectors covered in the research regarded having staff with Welsh language skills at their establishment as very (18%) or fairly important (17%). This was higher among employers in Childcare, Agrifood and Social Care. In contrast around two-fifths (39%) felt it not at all important to have staff with Welsh language skills at their site.
• Just under a third of all private sector employers felt that the Welsh language skills of their staff have some benefit to their bottom line, though relatively few (5%) considered it to have a very significant impact in this regard.
• Two-thirds of employers (66%) had any staff with Welsh language skills, and just over a third said that Welsh is used in their workplace (35%).
• Employers estimated that almost a quarter of all staff had some level of Welsh language skills, and 14% of all staff used Welsh at work. The latter was higher in Childcare, Creative and Agrifood (59%, 39% and 25% respectively).
• Over a quarter of establishments (28%) believed that it would benefit them to have more staff able to communicate in Welsh, or more staff with a higher level of Welsh language skills.
• Over the past 12 months, 4% of establishments had funded or arranged training specifically designed to develop Welsh language skills.
• 4% of employers had sought information, advice or support on issues regarding Welsh language in the workplace in the last 2-3 years. More than two-fifths (45%) of those that had not would not know where to go for this.
• 7% of establishments expected their need for Welsh language skills to increase in the next 2-3 years. This was higher among Childcare, Social care, Creative and Hospitality employers (28%, 15%, 12% and 10% respectively).