Cardiff: PWC to create 1,000 new tech jobs in Wales

The expansion of a professional services company will see 1,000 new jobs created in Wales by 2028.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is expanding its 500-strong Cardiff team with new digital and technology-focused jobs.

The news comes after a period of high-profile job losses across Wales and as UK pay growth rose above inflation for the first time in two years.

John-Paul Barker, of PWC, said he believed the conditions were "right in Wales for these types of jobs".

The global company, which provides specialist services for businesses and the public sector, said the new jobs meant an investment of tens of millions of pounds into the Welsh economy, including leasing and fitting out a new office.

Mr Barker, its head in Wales and the west of England, said the new roles would be "future-oriented, digital-first jobs in areas like cyber and ethical hacking".

"The demand for those skills is only going up, and this is a great opportunity for Wales to make sure we are at the forefront of the next industrial revolution," he said.

"We are creating jobs where people right here in the Cardiff office will be serving clients all over the world."

The Welsh government is also spending £2m to form a "partnership" with PWC, which it said would prioritise jobs for people from disadvantages backgrounds.

Hamed Amiri, a senior manager at PWC in Cardiff, hoped his story would inspire others to apply for one of the new jobs.

Mr Amiri, a refugee who came to the UK after his family fled from Afghanistan, said he is supporting PWC's ambition to recruit people from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds.

"It allows people from all types of communities to know that there is a role here for you," he said.

"I want to create a loop back, where we go back to our communities and say, 'Look, I was that kid in Cathays who never thought I would have that role as a senior manager'.

"It's possible for you too. And I want that to be a continuous cycle."

Recent employment data showed Wales had a relatively low rate of unemployment compared with previous years, and businesses who are recruiting are facing challenges filling roles.

"There are enough jobs to be found, for those who are looking for work," said Nerys Fuller-Love, a lecturer at Aberystwyth University's business school.

Ms Fuller-Love said said unemployment was low by historical standards, and that work was readily available for those without jobs.

"You can see that some shops are struggling to recruit. If you walk around Aberystwyth, for example, there are job adverts everywhere.

"However, the jobs that people want aren't necessarily available, that seems to be the problem.

"But there are enough jobs out there, if people are willing to do anything," Ms Fuller-Love said.