Cardiff Capital Region bids to attract investors with lower graduate pay boast

The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) group, made up of ten councils in south east Wales, talked up the area’s “competitive operating costs” for businesses in its latest Investors’ Prospectus, highlighting that university graduates in Cardiff make less money than those living in other major cities like Glasgow, London or Birmingham.

The document, aimed at attracting private companies to set up shop in the area, describes Cardiff as a “low risk, high reward location” which provides “clear cost advantages” compared with other major UK cities.

Under a section titled Salaries, the document reads: “Our workforce is distinctly younger than the UK average, well-educated and diverse, supported by three highly regarded universities.

“Salary costs across the region are very competitive.”

It then provides a list of average graduate salaries by city, highlighting that graduates in Cardiff are paid around £6,000 less per year than those in Glasgow.

This, the CCR argues, makes Cardiff “an extremely attractive proposition.”

Becky Ricketts, President of the National Union of Students in Wales, says that the CCR’s comments suggest that authorities aren’t serious about keeping young talent in Wales.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that at a time when students and graduates are facing a historic cost-of-living crisis, councils and businesses are prioritising profits ahead of people,” she told the Argus' sister paper The National.

“If the government and local authorities are serious about retaining young people in Wales and stopping the brain drain, they need to ensure graduates are seen as more than just cheap labour.”

The so-called “brain drain” problem in Wales – in which talented young people seek to move out of the country in pursuit of better jobs and opportunities elsewhere – has been much discussed since last summer’s Senedd elections.

The Welsh Government estimates that 16 to 64-year-olds could be just 58 percent of the population by 2043, as young people move away and retirees settle in popular coastal resort towns.

In a speech last year, economy minister Vaughan Gething insisted that “you don't have to get out to get on” in Wales, adding: “we need to have a future for the Welsh economy that means that people can see a way to be successful here, and to invest in that talent."

At the same time, rising living costs across the country continue to push young people towards hardship.

Economy minister Vaughan Gething last year warned that Wales is a "net importer" of older people. (Picture: Huw Evans Agency)

According to a recent analysis by letting agent Hamptons, households in Wales typically spend 37 percent of their after-tax income on rent.

In Cardiff, house prices are thought to have risen twice as fast as wages in the past 15 years.

The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) covers the ten local authority areas of south east Wales - Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, and the Vale of Glamorgan. 

Seven of the ten most deprived areas in Wales – as measured in 2019’s Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation – are located within the CCR, including St James in Caerphilly, and Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Source: Welsh Government

CCR argues that their brochure actually aims to raise wages in the city by attracting investors.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Capital Region said: "This messaging is underpinning our aim to increase wages by developing and attracting more quality jobs.

"By highlighting that salaries are currently competitive we aim to leverage further investment to raise wages across the city-region.

"Only those cities with higher average salaries are listed in the infographic.

"Cardiff is equivalent or higher than some other core cities, and coupled with quality of life and cost of living, Cardiff city-region is a highly desirable place to live and work."

This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.