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Cylfaa · Tŵr Fflach · Fflach's Tower

DigidolDigital

This is the digital home of Cylfaa. It is for employers taking digital and tech into a classroom, schools planning careers sessions, and students who want to know what the jobs are really like.

Fflach · Fflach's name means "spark". He is the digital owl, and he turns up in every other home in the village too.

Pack coming this term

The skills gap

The gap Fflach is closing

Current figures for Wales, and North Wales where they exist. Every number links to where it came from.

3,450Jobs expected from North Wales AI Growth Zone
More

Based at Prosperity Parc, Anglesey and Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd. Building jobs through to well-paid AI research roles, plus £5m for local AI skills.

Source: UK Government press release, Nov 2025

2,618Tech job adverts in Wales in three months
More

April to June 2025, up 16% on the three months before. Welsh employers keep hiring people with tech skills.

Source: CompTIA, Sep 2025

6,000Jobs planned in Flintshire & Wrexham zone
More

The Investment Zone aims for 6,000 jobs from 2025 to 2035. Digital technology is one of its three focus areas.

Source: North Wales Skills and Employment Plan 2026-2028, July 2026

Where employers are short

Jobs and pay

What the jobs pay

Six real roles, from a first apprenticeship to a degree route. Salaries are typical yearly pay, with the usual range.

IT Support

Entry Level

£29.5k

Typical range £26,000–£45,000

College course or Level 3 apprenticeship

Source: ITJobsWatch, Oct 2026

Cyber Security

Digital Role

£45k

Typical range £31,250–£80,000

Cyber degree or degree apprenticeship

Source: ITJobsWatch, Oct 2026

Developer

Degree Route

£55k

Typical range £40,000–£70,000

Degree or software degree apprenticeship

Source: ITJobsWatch, Oct 2026

Data Engineer

Degree Route

£60k

Typical range £50,000–£80,000

Data science degree or apprenticeship

Source: ITJobsWatch, Sep 2026

Digital Marketer

Digital Role

£35k

Typical range £31,250–£35,975

College, apprenticeship or degree

Source: ITJobsWatch, Oct 2026

Through every Byd

Green and digital in digital

Green and digital skills are changing every job in Wales, so every pack has a slide for each, written for this Byd.

Lliw's green path

Greener Tech Is Powering Net Zero.

Read more

Every app, video and AI tool runs on power-hungry data centres. Green IT people make code, chips and cooling use less energy, and use data to cut carbon everywhere.

  • 1.5%Of world power used by data centres

    In 2024 data centres used about 415 TWh. Smarter code and cooling can bring that down.

    Source: IEA, 2025

  • x2Data centre power demand by 2030

    Use is set to more than double to around 945 TWh, so new sites like North Wales's AI Growth Zone need clean power.

    Source: IEA, 2025

  • 5%Energy emissions AI could cut

    Using today's AI tools widely could cut energy-related emissions by about 5% by 2035, for example on smarter grids.

    Source: IEA, 2025

Fflach's digital spark

Digital Shows Up in Every Byd.

Read more

This whole pack is digital, but coding and data are now part of building, farming, making and caring too. Whatever Byd you choose, digital skills travel with you.

  • BIM in construction

    Building Information Modelling lets Codi's builders plan a whole building in 3D and spot clashes before a brick is laid.

  • Precision farming

    GPS-guided tractors, drones and sensors help Arad's farmers use less fertiliser and water and keep track of every animal.

  • Factory data at Airbus

    Digital apprentices at Airbus Broughton analyse factory data and build AI tools to help make aircraft wings better.

  • Digital care records

    Care staff use electronic records and apps. The North Wales skills plan flags digital gaps in care systems.

Gemau Cylfaa · The Cylfaa Games

Play in Tŵr Fflach

Free games for students, families and classes. Presenters: they make a good last five minutes.

All the Cylfaa games

Routes in

Four ways in

Real courses and schemes at North Wales colleges, universities and employers.

  1. Apprenticeship

    Coleg Cambria runs IT Professional, Digital Application Support and Digital Infrastructure Engineer apprenticeships from Level 2 up to Level 4, working with local employers.

  2. College

    Coleg Cambria (Yale, Wrexham) offers Level 3 Computer Science and Games Development and IT. Grŵp Llandrillo Menai offers Level 3 IT and 3D Animation and Games Development.

  3. University Degree

    Wrexham University offers cyber security, software engineering and games degrees. Grŵp Llandrillo Menai runs FdSc Computing (Software Development) and 3D Art and Games.

  4. Higher / Degree Apprenticeship

    Bangor University BSc Applied Software Engineering, Cyber Security or Data Science, with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai or Coleg Cambria. No fees. Airbus Broughton uses this route.

Employers in this Byd
  • AirbusBroughton, Flintshire
  • MoneypennyWrexham
  • M-SParc (Menai Science Park)Gaerwen, Anglesey
  • OpTIC Technology CentreSt Asaph, Denbighshire
  • Bangor UniversityBangor, Gwynedd
  • Stena LineHolyhead, Anglesey
  • Rocket Science GroupCardiff

The pack · for employers

Walk into a classroom ready.

The digital pack is being built now and is coming this term. This is what will be in it.

What's in the pack
  • The full deck with speaker notes · scripted, timed and ready to present
  • A clean deck · the same slides without notes, for the screen
  • A 25-minute version · for a tight assembly slot or form time
  • Printables · role cards, myth busters, guess the salary, and activity sheets for Explorer (Years 7 to 8), Investigator (Years 9 to 10) and Strategist (Years 11 to 12)
  • A run sheet and a feedback form · so you know what happens when, and the school can tell you how it went

Built for Welsh classrooms. Mapped to Curriculum for Wales and the Four Purposes, with Gatsby Benchmarks evidenced. Bilingual, Welsh and English. Neurodiverse-friendly by design. From September 2026, careers and work-related experiences are a legal requirement under Curriculum for Wales.

Log each session in Owl Impact® and it becomes verified social value evidence.

Register interest. Be first when it's ready.

Leave your details and we'll tell you the moment the pack is ready.

We'll be in touch within 2 working days · hello@owl.wales · Privacy policy

Cae'r Her · The Cylfaa Challenge: young people solve Wales's skills gaps themselves, and the winning idea gets funded and built for real.

Bring the Challenge to your school

For students and parents

Which Byd are you?

Real Welsh jobs in digital and tech, what they pay and how to get in. The student pages for every Byd live here.

Explore your future

Find your Byd

Byd is Welsh for "world". Every home in Cylfaa is a Byd: a world of work. Join your school's team for the Cylfaa Challenge and send your Gofyn, your ask, to the Cylfaa panel.

Sources

Where the figures come from

Every figure on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 2026.

See all sources
  1. UK Government: AI Growth Zone confirmed for North Wales · 13 Nov 2025
  2. North Wales Skills and Employment Plan 2026-2028 (Appendix 1) · July 2026
  3. North Wales Skills and Employment Plan 2026-2028: committee report · 17 Jul 2026
  4. CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce UK 2025 · 30 Sep 2025
  5. DSIT Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2026 · 29 Sep 2026
  6. DSIT Cyber security sectoral analysis 2026 · 12 May 2026
  7. BCS Women in Tech Report 2026 · 2026 (2025 data)
  8. ITJobsWatch Wales: Cybersecurity · 6 months to 15 Oct 2026
  9. ITJobsWatch Wales: IT Support · 6 months to 15 Oct 2026
  10. ITJobsWatch Wales: Developer · 6 months to 15 Oct 2026
  11. ITJobsWatch Wales: Data Engineer · 6 months to 14 Sep 2026
  12. ITJobsWatch Wales: Digital Marketing · 6 months to 15 Oct 2026
  13. Airbus DTS Plant Degree Apprenticeship, Broughton 2027 · Open to 26 Oct 2026
  14. Acas: Pay for apprentices · Updated 11 Jun 2026
  15. FE Week: Apprentice minimum wage to rise to £8 from April 2026 · 25 Nov 2025
  16. IEA Energy and AI · 2025
  17. Bangor University: degree apprenticeships · Accessed Oct 2026
  18. Bangor University welcomes North Wales AI Growth Zone · 14 Nov 2025
  19. Coleg Cambria: Digital Technologies, Computing & IT (16-18) · Accessed Oct 2026
  20. Coleg Cambria: Digital and IT apprenticeships · Accessed Oct 2026
  21. Grŵp Llandrillo Menai: Computing & Digital Technologies · Accessed Oct 2026
  22. Creative Wales Games brochure (Wrexham University games degrees; Rocket Science Group) · Nov 2025
  23. Development Bank of Wales: Welsh tech ecosystem guide (M-SParc, OpTIC) · Updated 27 Apr 2026
  24. Deeside.com: Space Enterprise Lab opens at OpTIC · 3 Mar 2024
  25. Moneypenny Group (Wikipedia) · Accessed Oct 2026
  26. Wrexham University courses (StudentCrowd listings: Cyber Security BSc, Software Engineering BSc) · Accessed Oct 2026
  27. National Careers Service job profiles (UK salaries for role cards) · Accessed Oct 2026