CHEMICAL science contributed £1.9bn to the Welsh economy in 2023, according to a new report which warns that skills shortages and pressure on universities could put future growth at risk.

The Royal Society of Chemistry says the sector is one of Wales’ most productive, generating £99,500 in Gross Value Added per worker. That compares with £73,300 per worker across the wider UK workforce and places Wales among the strongest-performing parts of the UK for chemistry-related economic output.

The findings are contained in The Contribution of Chemistry, a report commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry and carried out by Metro Dynamics. It examines the role of chemistry in economic activity, workforce development, research, innovation and regional growth.

The report says chemistry is often “hidden” within wider economic statistics, despite being embedded across major industries such as clean energy, advanced materials, healthcare, food and drink, construction, agriculture and manufacturing.

Across the UK, nearly half of chemistry-using professionals work in government priority growth sectors, compared with just over a quarter of the wider workforce. The RSC says this shows how important chemistry is to industrial strategy, local prosperity and high-value employment.

However, the report also warns that the skills pipeline is under pressure. Universities are described as playing a critical role in supplying graduates, supporting businesses and helping research move into commercial use. The RSC says funding pressures in higher education could make it harder for Wales and the wider UK to maintain access to the talent and facilities needed for future growth.

Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said the figures showed the “enormous significance” of the sector.

She said: “With chemistry injecting nearly £2bn in GVA contribution to the Welsh economy, our report underlines the enormous significance of our sector to both Wales and the UK.

“As more and more universities across the country face funding cuts, it’s more important than ever that both the Welsh and the UK governments recognise how central chemistry is to the economy within wider innovation and skills strategies and ensure opportunities to study chemistry do not fall away.”

The report also highlights the value of chemistry graduates to the labour market, saying 83% go into high-skilled roles. It says maintaining that pipeline will depend on stronger links between schools, colleges, universities, technical training and employers.

For Wales, the issue is not only about university departments, but also about the businesses and local economies that depend on chemistry skills. The report argues that sectors relying on chemical science can be affected if there are shortages in skilled workers, research capacity, laboratory space or scale-up support.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is calling on local, devolved and UK governments to make chemistry a core part of economic, science, industrial, innovation and skills strategies. It also wants reforms to higher education and research funding to recognise the cost and importance of chemistry teaching and research, including the need for laboratories, equipment, specialist staff and consumables.

The report says chemical sciences GVA across the UK grew by 18% between 2019 and 2023, but warns that growth could be held back without better access to lab space, pilot facilities and support for businesses trying to scale up new products and technologies.

Ms Pain added: “Chemistry is critical to many local growth ambitions, straddling sectors ranging from clean energy and advanced materials to healthcare and manufacturing.

“A sustainable chemicals and materials sector is vital for national resilience and local growth, providing both the everyday products we need and vital supply chains for many more economic sectors.”

Fiona Tuck, Director at Metro Dynamics, said the report showed why leaders needed to look beyond traditional sector labels when planning for growth.

She said: “Now more than ever, leaders need to understand what really underpins growth in places. Too often, the capabilities that matter most are not the easiest to count.

“Chemistry shows why this matters: it is woven through our research base, industrial supply chains and priority sectors, but its contribution can be hidden when we look only through traditional sector lenses, or at technology alone.”

Dr Alexander Reip, Chair of Enterprise Oxfordshire, trustee of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a member of the project steering group, said chemistry should be treated as essential economic infrastructure.

He said: “Chemistry’s contribution to the UK economy is substantial, and this report finally puts hard numbers to what many in the sector have long understood.

“Chemistry-intensive activity runs through the industrial base of communities across the UK, underpinning jobs, supply chains and innovation capacity in ways that rarely get the visibility they deserve.”

He added that local and devolved governments needed to support the education pathways, laboratory facilities and commercialisation support that allow research to become real economic activity.

The report says supporting chemistry-based businesses at the scale-up stage is particularly important, because promising innovations can fail to reach commercial success without the right facilities, finance and skilled workforce.

The Royal Society of Chemistry says the sector has a major role to play in future challenges including clean energy, healthcare, environmental protection, secure food and water supplies, and resilient manufacturing.

The full report can be found on the Royal Society of Chemistry website.

SCHOOL leaders have called for greater funding and support for Relationships and Sexuality Education in Wales after a new Estyn report found that provision is helping pupils feel safe and respected, but is not yet consistent across schools.

The report looked at how schools are delivering RSE under the Curriculum for Wales, where it is a statutory part of learning for pupils aged 3 to 16.

RSE is intended to help children and young people understand healthy relationships, personal safety, respect, rights and wellbeing in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development.

However, the subject has also been one of the more controversial parts of the new curriculum, with some parents and campaigners raising concerns about transparency, age-appropriateness and the removal of the parental right to withdraw children from lessons.

Supporters argue that high-quality RSE helps pupils recognise healthy and unhealthy behaviour, challenge bullying and harassment, and build respect for others. Schools and unions say the difficulty is not the principle of the subject, but the uneven level of support available to staff expected to deliver it.

Responding to Estyn’s findings, Laura Doel, national secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said the report highlighted both strong practice and areas where improvement was still needed.

She said: “We welcome the spotlight Estyn has shone on RSE in Wales, including both the examples of really positive practice and areas for improvement.

“One of the issues is that many schools are left to develop their own practice and programmes due to a lack of funding and investment in effective professional learning or collaborative work for local clusters of primary and secondary schools.

“At a time when schools are facing unprecedented financial shortfalls, it feels as though areas like this in the school curriculum have not been prioritised, and we urge the new Welsh Government to put this right.”

NAHT Cymru said schools need more investment in training, resources and collaborative working so that pupils receive high-quality RSE regardless of where they live or which school they attend.

The union’s comments come as schools continue to face wider pressures, including budget shortfalls, staff workload, additional learning needs reform and post-pandemic challenges around pupil wellbeing and attendance.

The Welsh Government has previously said RSE must be developmentally appropriate and delivered in line with statutory guidance. It says the aim is to support learners to form and maintain healthy relationships, understand their rights and responsibilities, and stay safe.

Estyn’s findings are likely to increase pressure on ministers to ensure schools are not left to interpret the curriculum alone, particularly in an area where public concern and political debate remain high.

The Herald has approached the Welsh Government for comment.

FOLLOWING a recent Church in Wales legal threat against Pembrokeshire’s council over plans to remove church status from Cilgerran’s school, Wales Humanists has supported the council plans.

The Humanist support comes after the Church in Wales issued a formal notice that it will take legal action against Pembrokeshire County Council if it presses ahead with plans to remove church status from Cilgerran Voluntary Controlled Primary School.

Back in May, the council voted to remove the Voluntary Controlled status of the Welsh-speaking rural school and to establish it as a 3-11 community school despite 97 per cent of the responses to a consultation about its potential discontinuation opposing it.

That consultation followed a review which “considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population,” the council has previously said.

Hundreds opposed the proposed changes, with a petition on the council’s own website gaining 391 signatures.

During the consultation, 203 responses were received; 97 per cent (197 responses) against the proposal, with just 1.5 per cent (three) in favour.

Following this, a letter was sent to council officers on behalf of the Diocese of St Davids and the Church in Wales saying that, if the council persists with this course, the Church will take legal action on the grounds of claims of “public misrepresentation and unqualified legal assertions made by Pembrokeshire County Council officers,” and “discrimination against faith schooling”.

The letter also says that, if the council removes VC status from the school, the Church will not make the site available for a successor school, which it says will render “the case on which the proposed removal of VC status is based untenable”.

The legal warning described “the gratuitous attack on the church status of Ysgol Cilgerran” as amounting to “a targeted assault on the inclusive Christian education which Church in Wales schools have provided to their communities for generations”.

Since then, Wales Humanists has welcomed the move, which would remove church status from Cilgerran Voluntary Controlled Primary School, and has written to Pembrokeshire County Council expressing its support for the proposal “on behalf of the area’s substantial non-religious community”.

It says, according to the 2021 Census, almost half of people in Pembrokeshire identified as having no religion.

Kathy Riddick, Campaigns and Policy Manager for Wales Humanists, said: “Schools should exist to serve their whole community. Where publicly funded schools no longer reflect the beliefs of the communities they serve, it is entirely appropriate for local authorities to consider whether they should continue to have a religious character.

“The question is whether publicly funded schools should continue to be legally designated as belonging to one particular religion when they serve increasingly diverse communities.

“We believe education should be equally welcoming to every child, regardless of their religion or belief, and call on local authorities across Wales to keep the religious character of maintained schools under review so that school organisation reflects local demographics and the needs of modern communities.”