Putting Welsh at the heart of Wales’ STEM future

Alun Jones, Regional Lead for Infrastructure and PMO, Buildings and Places, AECOM

Shwmae Su’mae Day is an opportunity to celebrate something that makes Wales distinctive: our language and the communities that keep it alive.

But as another Welsh Language Day passes, I find myself thinking less about how we celebrate Cymraeg for one day and more about the place it will have in the Wales we are building for the next generation.

As a Welsh speaker living on Anglesey and working in infrastructure, this is both a personal and professional question. Wales is entering a period of significant economic opportunity, with investment in energy and technology promising to reshape communities across the country.

The question is how we ensure those opportunities help the Welsh language thrive.

An opportunity to shape Wales’ future

From AI Growth Zones and the Anglesey and Celtic Freeports to major energy infrastructure projects such as Gwyndod Power Station and renewable energy developments such as Awel y Môr and Erebus, Wales has the potential to become a leader in industries that will define the coming decades.

These developments could create demand for engineers, digital specialists, project managers and a whole range of other skilled roles.

For young people growing up in Wales, that should be an exciting prospect. Careers that might once have required moving away could increasingly be available closer to home, but investment alone does not guarantee that outcome.

We need to think carefully about how local people will access these opportunities and whether the benefits will be felt by the communities closest to them.

For Welsh-speaking communities, this matters enormously because a language is sustained not simply through education or cultural celebration, but through everyday life. It needs a place in the workplaces and businesses that allow people to build a future in the communities where they grew up.

If young people feel they must leave Wales to pursue rewarding careers, we risk losing far more than their skills. We also risk weakening the communities where Welsh is spoken every day.

Understanding the importance of place

Major infrastructure projects are often discussed in terms of national priorities and economic growth, but their success depends just as much on understanding the people who live alongside them.

Communities should not simply accommodate major investment but have a say in what it means for their future.

On Anglesey, where Welsh is part of everyday life, that means ensuring local people can access the careers these developments create without having to leave their language behind.

Connecting classrooms with careers

The Welsh Government has made important commitments to strengthening Welsh-medium education and increasing the number of people who use the language, but we need to pay just as much attention to what happens when young people leave school.

A student might study science or mathematics through Welsh, only to find that their next step, whether an apprenticeship or a graduate role, offers little opportunity to continue using it.

Indeed, when I was at school, I made the difficult decision to switch to studying mathematics and physics in English at A-level because I believed it would better prepare me for university, which I would likely attend in England, and for future career opportunities.

If Welsh-medium education is to deliver the lasting benefits the government is seeking, we need clearer pathways into the careers that will shape Wales’ economic future.

There are encouraging signs, with Ofgem looking to strengthen its Welsh-language capabilities as its work in Wales expands, while National Grid is helping to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and the energy sector.

There is also an opportunity to build stronger connections between employers, schools and colleges to help show young people what careers are available locally and how they can get into them.

That could mean more bilingual apprenticeships, opportunities to undertake technical training through Welsh or simply giving young Welsh speakers the chance to meet people who use the language in their professional lives.

Not every technical role will require fluent Welsh, nor should it, but the ambition should be to create genuine choice, so that speaking Welsh is seen as an asset rather than something people leave behind when they enter the workplace.

Building a legacy that lasts

The infrastructure being planned across Wales will shape our economy for decades, and we will rightly judge these projects on whether they deliver reliable energy, better connectivity and economic growth. But I believe we should also judge them on what they mean for the people living nearby.

As we reflect on another Shwmae Su’mae Day, the true value of investment in Wales’ infrastructure won’t just be measured by what we build, but by how it helps people create the lives they want in the places they call home, with the Welsh language continuing to play an important part in that future.

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