INTERNET entrepreneurs and other assorted bright sparks gathered at the Celtic Manor earlier today to share inspiration about digital businesses.

As traditional industries like coal and steel decline and die out in Wales, some believe the next giant opportunity for Wales is in hi-tech companies.

Indeed, several have already started in Newport and are set to be big employers - if enough people learn the skills needed to thrive in a digital world.

Bringing together more than 1,300 people, the Argus-sponsored annual Digital 2015 conference put on by the Welsh Government aims to get people sharing skills and ideas. In the three years the conference has run there has been an 87 per cent growth in the number of new digital companies in South Wales.

Opening the conference, Ian Livingstone said it was vital children started learning about computers at an early age, using their creativity to build basic games and websites which would make the skills fun.

Teachers should be forward looking and prepare children for jobs that don’t exist yet, rather than for jobs that probably won’t exist in future due to workplaces’ digital overhaul, he said.

Guests divided into groups to discuss areas ranging from cyber crime to what digital skills are needed to succeed in business.

Dave Coplin, from Microsoft, spoke about why workers in the UK are busier than ever but producing less, claiming we need to revolutionise the workplace to empower employees who often are not enthusiastic about their jobs.

“Email is where knowledge goes to die”, he said, quoting Bill French, claiming hours of time are clogged up replying to emails which may not be vital and viewing the ‘electronic mail’ box as an example of our lack of vision in developing new technology.

Instead of creating something entirely new we just replicated the old, he said, suggesting that if there is no reason for confidentiality we could “unbox the inbox” and make email public.

Other talks focused on the ‘internet of things’, a concept set to gain widespread traction. Essentially it means giving more objects than simply computers internet access, so that ‘things’ such as fridges, kettles, traffic lights and electricity meters are connected using sensors. For example, your fridge could alert you when it is time to buy milk.

There could be a dark side to this, however, such as if hackers found out when you would be out of the house from data about when you used your kettle, and broke in.

Anthony Vanky, from MIT, will give the keynote speech tomorrow about how the internet can change how we experience cities. As one example, developers are currently working on a bicycle wheel which can store energy when you ride downhill and can give you a motorised boost when you go uphill, and even alert you where air pollution is particularly high so you can cycle around that area.

Argus editor Kevin Ward chaired a panel discussion about the digital workplace. Introducing the discussion, he said: “Newport is a city on the rise. We are a super connected city. We are going to talk about how digital works in an everyday scenario and what it can mean in terms of improving productivity and collaboration between staff.”

Summing up, he said that innovation will be key and people should be ready to create totally new ideas. People graduating and entering the workforce will be willing and able to use digital skills, and there is also increased potential for flexible working with technology allowing, for example, conference calls.

The conference continues tomorrow.