Trade and investment hub could create 100 jobs in city
THE Department for International Trade (DIT) is setting up a new trade and investment hub in Wales, creating up to 100 jobs.
As part of the UK Government’s strategy of moving civil service jobs out of London, the DIT is establishing a new hub in Cardiff to support Welsh firms to grow exports as well as supporting efforts to attract more inward investment.
While export and inward investment is a devolved function of the Welsh Government, both governments aim to work together collaboratively.
The DIT has not confirmed a location for the hub. However, a strong contender is the 270,000sq ft Ty William Morgan office building at Central Square in the centre of Cardiff.
The building has provided a new Wales HQ for HMRC, but was designed to accommodate other UK Government functions. The Wales Office has already committed moving its current offices at Caspian Point in Cardiff Bay into the new building.
It is not clear at this stage how many existing DIT staff will opt to relocate to the new Cardiff hub, the outcome of which will determine how many new staff it could need to recruit.
The UK Government said that as well as Cardiff, it is also creating new trade and investment hubs in Edinburgh, Belfast and Darlington.
In total they will house 750 staff by
2030, with 500 expected to be present by 2030. Cardiff is expected to be home to between 75 and 100 staff.
The DIT, which includes UK Export Finance, employs 5,100 staff, of whom 1,500 are based in 119 overseas countries. It currently doesn’t have an office presence in Wales.
The DIT said its trade hubs will be home to teams of export and investment specialists, who can provide businesses with expert support and advice to help them:
Maximise their export potential and boost their trade in new markets overseas;
Better access major trade markets like India, the US and Japan; and
Feed directly into DIT’s free trade agreements programme.
The launch of the trade hubs marks the start of a major export drive, which will see DIT focused on promoting British exports from all parts of the UK.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “I’m determined to use UK trade policy to benefit every part of the UK.
“These trade and investment hubs will help this country to an export and jobsled recovery.
“They will mean we can channel investment into all corners of the country, and that exporters – whether they’re selling Scotch beef, Welsh lamb or cars made in the north of England – have access to the expertise they need to sell into the fastestgrowing markets.”
Around 74% of all export-linked jobs were outside London in 2016, with 196,000 in Wales.