General election: Do young people need to leave Wales to work?

Huw Brassington, from Llandwrog, Gwynedd, is a senior mechanical engineer who himself relocated from Wales to Cumbria in order find a suitable job.

He now works with Tenet Consultants, which provides engineering designs for large-scale projects including nuclear and renewables.

The company recently opened an office on Anglesey, which he heads, and he says the company is focussed on providing well-paid jobs and encouraging skilled workers back to Wales.

The former lecturer said: “I understand the challenges faced by young engineers in north Wales firsthand.

“I witnessed many eager and talented students with limited opportunities. Despite their potential, only a handful secured apprenticeships.

“I have remained in contact with many of my former students and am now striving to recruit them.

“Many excel in their careers but often face long commutes or permanent relocation. One of my best former students, for example, commutes from Bala to Bristol weekly.”

Stopping brain-drain, he said, “requires a long-term strategy” to “start cultivating our engineers of the future”.