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Cardiff, the Capital City of Wales, is an international City with a high quality of life and a modern, diverse economy. The City is home to the National Assembly (the seat of Government for Wales) and is the administrative and commercial heart of the region.
The City has particular strengths in financial services, media, telecommunications and commercial services, whilst a large number of high tech and electrical manufacturing facilities are located in the surrounding area.
The population of the City, currently approximately 324,000, is forecast to grow by 10% between 1998 and 2016. 2.5 million people live within an hours drive of the City, over 1.7 million of whom are of working age.
Approximately 80% of the UK population can be reached by road within four hours. London can be reached by car or train in two hours, whilst Cardiff International Airport offers scheduled flights to a range of national and international destinations.
Cardiff Bay, Europe's most ambitious urban redevelopment project, has created a superb panoramic waterfront, attracted approximately £1 billion of private sector investment, and helped create 15,000 jobs.
ECONOMY & THE LABOUR MARKET
Labour Market
Cardiff is at the heart of a growing and dynamic region. Almost 750,000 people live within thirty minutes drive time and over 2.5 million within one hour drive time. In contrast to other urban areas in the UK, Cardiff is a growing city with a population predicted to increase by 10% between 1996 and 2016. Its current population stands at 320,900.
One of the primary strengths of Cardiff as an investment location is the presence of a large, expanding and well-trained labour force in the City and surrounding region. The labour force within the 15 minute catchment area alone is expected to grow from its 1991 level of 160,000 to 178,000 by 2007 (BSL Ltd).
TRAINING
A 1996 WDA Labour Force survey shows the percentage of the Cardiff labour force receiving Job related training as 19.5% compared with an overall UK average of 13.1%. Cardiff has a large, expanding education and training sector. It comprises of two Universities (University of Wales, Cardiff and University Institute of Wales, Cardiff) and a medical college with over 25,000 undergraduate students, an FE College (Coleg Glan Hafren) with over 6,000 students following vocational courses and the largest Council administered Local Training and Enterprise Service in Wales. Finally, there are a number of highly effective training companies dedicated to providing vocational training tailored to the needs of the private sector.
EMPLOYMENT
The economy of Cardiff is predominately service based, with the sector accounting for over 85% of employment, compared to a GB average of approximately 82%. As a regional centre for Government, telecommunications, multimedia, financial services, medicines, food and tourism, a wide range of commercial and administrative services are concentrated in Cardiff.
Currently the largest employment sectors are -Public Administartion, Education & Health with 46,000 workers (30.3% of Cardiff's employment total), and - Banking, Finance & Insurance - with 32,550 ( or 21.4% of the total).
UNEMPLOYMENT
A high degree of flexibility is present in the labour market. Although unemployment rates in Cardiff are now at or below the UK average, reflecting the significant economic growth of recent years, significant pockets of high unemployment remain in Valleys communities within easy commuting reach. InFebruary 2001, Cardiff had an overall unemployment rate of 3.6% (6,286 people), compared to the overall Welsh and UK rates of, respectively, 4.8% and 3.7%
KEY SECTORS
Financial Services
Cardiff has experienced particular success in attracting financial services over the past few years . Financial Services Companies with UK headquarters in Cardiff include NCM Credit Insurance and Chartered Trust.
Call Centres
In addition to housing the regional headquarters for BT and NTL, Cardiff is already one of the most successful locations for Call Centres in the UK. There are now well over 25 call centre operations in Cardiff, employing in excess of 5,000 people. Major employers include First Plus, Halifax, Admiral Insurance and Legal and General.
Manufacturing
Although manufacturing accounts for a relatively small proportion of the Cardiff economy, the City is host to the European manufacturing headquarters of Matsushita (Panasonic) and Nippon Electric Glass as well as the UK manufacturing headquarters of Ascom. Between them, these three companies employ over 4,000 people. Wales has the third highest levels of manufacturing productivity (defined as a combination of manufacturing productivity and wages & salaries) in the UK - 8.6% above the national average.
Sport
The City was recently host to the 1999 Rugby World Cup, centred on the newly constructed 72,000 seat millennium stadium which is located in the heart of the City. An international sports village is planned in the Cardiff Bay area. Proposed by a consortium including Cardiff County Council, HBG Construction, Philips and Capital and Regional Properties, the £240 million project will include an ice rink and a snowdome as well as significant retail, housing and office elements.
Culture
Cardiff is the base for a range of cultural organisations and venues including the world-renowned Welsh National Opera and the 4,500 seat Cardiff International Arena. The lottery funded £70 million Wales Millennium Centre, which will consist of an 2000 seat auditorium and a permanent home for a range of Arts organisations, is expected to open in 2002.
COMMUNICATIONS
Whilst Cardiff's location on the M4 allows 80% of the UK population to be reached within four hours, regional communications, following on the river valleys, naturally converge on the coastal area of Cardiff.
With these excellent road and rail connections to the catchment area in place, a journey to work survey has shown that nearly half (43%) of employees originated from outside the city. Results also demonstrated that over a third of city centre employees complete their journey within 20 minutes and almost two thirds of commuters reach their destination within half an hour.
Cardiff International Airport offers direct scheduled flights to a range of national and international destinations, whilst the City also benefits from one of the most modern heliports in Europe.
QUALITY OF LIFE
One of the key advantages of Cardiff is the quality of life enjoyed by the city's residents. Although Cardiff is a relatively small city, it benefits from the full range of amenities expected of a Capital.
The City alone benefits from 3000 acres of parkland, several historic landmark buildings, including its own castle and Edwardian Civic Centre, and a mix of shopping, leisure and cultural facilities located in the compact city centre. It is the main shopping focus for South Wales, combining out of town retail parks with a city centre characterised by pedestrianised streets, modern precincts, markets and Victorian and Edwardian arcades.
Located on the M4, the City is 45 minutes of the Brecon Beacons National Park and within two hours from London.
