Event Round Up - techUK Wales Reception

In October, techUK hosted its first Wales Reception at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay, sponsored by HP, bringing together senior leaders from government, the Welsh public sector and the tech industry for an evening of networking and conversation. The event comes at an exciting time for Wales, which has a thriving tech sector: Welsh tech companies generate an estimated £9.1 billion in turnover, the compound semiconductor cluster alone supports around £436 million in GVA, and two new AI Growth Zones in North and South Wales are set to bring billions in investment and over 8,000 jobs. With a new Welsh Government in place following May’s Senedd election, there is a real opportunity to build on these strengths and use technology to drive economic growth and transform public services across Wales.

The event brought together attendees from across government and the tech and public sector ecosystem, including Members of the Senedd from Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and the Conservatives, senior leaders from organisations such as the Welsh Local Government Association, Ofcom, the FCA and NHS Wales, and techUK members from across the industry. Over the course of the evening, guests heard from three speakers.

Matthew Evans, COO and Director of Markets at techUK, opened the evening by highlighting the tech sector’s contribution to Wales and how techUK’s Devolved Government Manifesto aims to build on this success by driving economic growth, supporting a thriving tech sector and embedding digital at the heart of public services. Published ahead of May’s election, the manifesto outlines practical recommendations to help create the conditions for innovation, investment and effective digital delivery across Wales.

Ruth Patterson, Managing Director at HP UK and Ireland, highlighted the potential for AI to drive transformation and growth across the Welsh economy. She pointed out that an AI strategy must focus on adoption as well as infrastructure to unlock the technology’s full potential. Hybrid approaches such as AI at the edge can help the technology reach classrooms, small businesses and public services across Wales. Skills, confidence and trust must sit under all of this so that the benefits of adoption and diffusion can reach every community. This is what HP wants to help deliver, working in partnership with government, educators and industry across Wales.

Finally, Dafydd Trystan Davies MS, Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution, gave the keynote for the evening. The Minister spoke on the importance of technology and data in driving good decision-making and public service delivery at every level of government across the country. He touched on the new government’s One Welsh Public Service approach, which aims to bring public bodies across Wales together around shared values and a common purpose, with technology playing a key role through a digitally enabled Cabinet Office, greater use of data and AI to improve services, and a public dashboard to track delivery on the government’s priorities.

The Minister also highlighted the government’s work to deliver a new national economic development and innovation agency, which will focus on helping Welsh businesses to scale and accelerating the spread of innovation across the country.

It came through clearly that technology will play a crucial role in Wales’ future, helping the government to deliver better public services and drive economic growth that benefits communities right across Wales.

techUK and its members are committed to helping the government and public sector organisations across Wales deliver on these ambitions. Our Devolved Government Manifesto sets out six priorities, from supporting scale-ups and digitising public services to boosting digital adoption, skills, infrastructure and R&D. Meanwhile, our new flagship report, Economy 2030: An Agenda for Tech-Enabled Growth, shows how many of these same levers can drive growth in every nation and region across the UK.

Our programme teams across techUK work closely with the tech sector and government at all levels to create connections and drive positive transformation for businesses, public services and communities across the country. If you want to hear more or get involved, please do get in touch.