How Industry Can Speak With One Voice in Wales

In a small country like Wales, influence is a precious currency. With devolved powers shaping economic, infrastructure and energy decisions, and with new UK-wide industrial strategies taking shape, the ability to speak clearly and with purpose has never been more important.

But too often, Wales’s industrial sectors – aerospace, automotive, energy, technology, and advanced manufacturing – speak with different voices. Each has its own language, its own challenges, its own lobbying power. The result? A patchwork of policy influence, scattered priorities, and missed opportunities.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The cost of fragmentation

When industry speaks in silos, it dilutes its power. Government hears conflicting messages. Funding bodies find it hard to identify clear priorities. International investors – who may only glance at Wales once – don’t always hear a compelling, joined-up story.

And in today’s economy, that story matters. Policymakers want evidence of long-term alignment. Funders want scalable, system-wide impact. Investors want certainty. Businesses that cluster together around shared priorities are far more likely to attract attention and backing than those who stand alone.

The solution isn’t to erase differences between sectors – far from it. Wales thrives on the diversity of its industrial base. But that diversity must be brought together around shared priorities: Net Zero. Skills. Supply chain resilience. Innovation. Export growth.

These are not sector-specific challenges – they are national imperatives. And they require coordinated responses.

A forum for common ground

That’s where Industry Wales plays a vital role. As a strategic convenor of industrial forums, it provides a neutral platform for sector leaders to align their messaging, identify common objectives, and speak directly to government with a unified voice.

Each forum – from energy and net zero to aerospace, automotive, and emerging technologies – brings deep expertise from across Wales. But it’s in the connections between them that real value is created.

Take skills, for example. The aerospace sector needs high-precision engineering talent. So does automotive. So does offshore wind. By working together, these sectors can shape training provision that serves all of them – not just one. The same applies to infrastructure planning, digital transformation, and investment zones.

By pooling insight and aligning asks, Welsh industry can present a joined-up case that is harder to ignore.

Influence, not just input

A united voice doesn’t mean speaking louder – it means speaking smarter.

Forums like those under the Industry Wales umbrella allow for constructive challenge, honest brokerage, and strategic alignment. That creates more than just consensus. It creates momentum.

Recent successes show what’s possible:

• Joint positioning on the need for energy infrastructure reform, backed by multiple industrial sectors.

• Coordinated input to the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy 2025 consultation.

• Cross-sector agreement on priority investment areas for future skills and innovation.

This is the kind of joined-up influence that gets noticed in Westminster and Cardiff Bay. It’s not about echo chambers. It’s about intelligent collaboration.

What businesses can do

If you're a business leader in Wales – whether you run an SME or a multinational – you have a role to play.

1. Join a forum.
Industry Wales forums are open to Welsh-based companies that want to shape the future of their sector. It’s not just about attending meetings – it’s about helping to define strategic priorities for your industry and the nation.

2. Share insight.
Real-world experience matters. Forums rely on hearing directly from businesses about the challenges you face – and the solutions you’ve found. That evidence strengthens our collective case to government.

3. Align where possible.
Your business will always have its own unique challenges, but many of your priorities will be shared with others. Look for where your goals overlap with others – and build partnerships accordingly.

4. Advocate together.
When it comes to influencing policy or securing investment, there is power in numbers. By aligning with other voices in your sector or region, you make it easier for decision-makers to act.

A new industrial mindset

Speaking with one voice doesn’t mean silencing individual views. It means elevating them – and embedding them within a wider vision for Wales.

Wales has deep industrial roots. But its future depends on more than tradition. It depends on bold, joined-up action that sets out a compelling vision for how Welsh industry can lead – in decarbonisation, digital transformation, and global competitiveness.

That’s what policymakers want to see. That’s what investors respond to. And that’s what Welsh businesses can deliver – if we work together.

Ready to help shape the agenda?

Whether you’re in advanced manufacturing, digital, energy, automotive, or aerospace – or if you’re in the supply chain that supports them – now is the time to step forward.

Industry Wales is here to convene, connect, and champion. But we can’t do it without you.

Together, we can ensure Welsh industry speaks with a voice that is strategic, influential, and impossible to ignore.

*Blog created with assistance from AI tools.