Tech in Rural Wales: How Innovation Is Fueling Local Job Growth

You wouldn’t think rural Wales and Silicon Valley have much in common. One’s full of sheep, ancient castles, and villages where everyone knows your business. But something interesting is happening in those Welsh valleys. Getting fast internet was like trying to thread a needle while riding a horse. Now there’s access to online platforms with super fast internet like in the big cities but how can internet and innovation in general fuel local job growth?

Focus on renewable energy

Internet in it self will no create new jobs but the possibilities the internet brings can. The rural areas of Wales are a mix of beautiful valleys and green fields. Said in another way there is a lot space that can be used by companies and government that are looking into investing in renewable energy. Windmills are big and noisy and they just don’t work in the cities. In the rural areas they will bother less people and even if the locals aren’t always open to this, many are convinced when they realize that it could provide much cheaper electricity.

The weather in the rural areas is also more capable of running windmills as there are no big buildings that can shield them from the wind. The large empty areas can also create a space for the use of solar energy. In the same way as with windmills not everyone is open to selling land so a company can build solar parks but the cheaper electricity and heat, can be a motivating factor in the same way as with windmills. If the communities play their cards right it is even a possibility, that they can negotiate free energy for their villages if giving up land.

How is this affecting the job growth?

The fact that Wales has set a goal of generating 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2035 new jobs our bound to follow. Even if the government are promoting local ownership there will still be a need of people to take care of the systems in place. This will often be done by the companies, but with the goal of generating 100% renewable electricity the demand for employees will be massive. This will both benefit the people in the rural areas and the country, but the development of facilities will boost the local job growth.

How this will affect the local communities in the rural areas is still not clear. Facilities has to be build and infrastructur too. This can not be done without the use of local contractors and employees of the same. We are 10 years away from the deadline and a lot of things has already been done both onshore and offshore, but to hit the 100% mark there is still a lot of work to be done. This will continue to create opportunities for local businesses and create a demand for new employees from the same areas as it will be easier than having to transport people out from the cities everyday. The future for rural Wales looks green indeed.

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