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Cardiff University Report Finds Welsh Semiconductor Jobs Rose 14% in 2025

The growth is concentrated around Newport and the M4 corridor, where AI data-center hardware is creating a demand signal—but policymakers say technological change will still leave workers needing support.

By 2 min read
Cardiff University Report Finds Welsh Semiconductor Jobs Rose 14% in 2025
Cardiff University Report Finds Welsh Semiconductor Jobs Rose 14% in 2025

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Wales’s compound-semiconductor sector supported 3,140 jobs in 2025, a 14 percent increase from the year before. That is the clearest sign yet that AI infrastructure is creating a regional hardware demand signal around Newport and the wider M4 corridor. But the headline number needs unpacking: Cardiff University’s independent report counted 1,914 direct jobs in the industry, with the rest classified as supported roles. Average sector pay was about £66,000. The connection to artificial intelligence is happening below the software layer. Newport-based IQE supplies chips that form part of the physical architecture of AI data centers. Those components help underpin computing systems; they are not the chatbot algorithms themselves. IQE says it has been hiring more people connected to and supporting AI, after investors recognized its role in data-center computing power. Wales is also trying to build a local talent pipeline. Bassaleg School in Newport offers a semiconductor qualification to students, described as one of the first of its kind in the UK. The UK’s AI minister says the cluster pays roughly 40 to 50 percent more than many local sectors, while warning that technological change will still require support for workers whose jobs are affected. So the key question is not just whether AI-linked factories add jobs, but whether training and worker support can keep pace as the hardware cluster grows.

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Wales’s compound-semiconductor cluster is expanding alongside AI infrastructure demand, but the headline employment figure includes indirect and supported roles. Cardiff University counted 3,140 supported jobs in 2025, versus 1,914 direct industry positions, with average pay near £66,000. Newport-based IQE links its hiring growth to data-center demand, while a new school qualification aims to build the local talent...

  1. 01

    Supported employment rose 14% year over year, from 2,748 to 3,140 jobs.

  2. 02

    Direct semiconductor employment was 1,914, concentrated around Newport and the wider M4 corridor.

  3. 03

    Average sector salaries were approximately £66,000, according to the report.

Wales’s compound-semiconductor sector supported 3,140 jobs in 2025, up from 2,748 a year earlier, according to an independent Cardiff University report for industry group CSconnected. The increase offers a fresh measure of an industry clustered around Newport as AI data centers raise demand for computing hardware.

The sector-wide total is distinct from direct employment. The report counted 1,914 direct jobs in the compound-semiconductor industry, concentrated around Newport and the wider M4 corridor, and put average sector salaries at about £66,000.

The reported employment increase
2,748Supported jobs

The report found a 14% increase in jobs supported by Wales’s compound-semiconductor sector from 2024 to 2025.

AI demand reaches the hardware layer

IQE says its chips form part of the physical architecture of AI data centers. They sit in the computer hardware that underpins AI operations, rather than in the chatbot algorithms people interact with. That distinction puts the Newport company in the supply chain behind AI services without making it a model developer.

For IQE, that connection has become a company-specific hiring story. Chief executive Jutta Meier said the company is growing jobs connected to and supporting AI. IQE says it began hiring more staff after investors recognized its role in data-center computing power.

A student solders a circuit board during a school lesson.
Bassaleg School in Newport offers a semiconductor qualification to students. Source: bbc.com.

A local pipeline for a growing cluster

Bassaleg School in Newport offers students a semiconductor qualification, described as one of the first such offerings in the UK. The course gives students a route into an industry operating close to their school.

UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said the semiconductor cluster was paying 40% to 50% more than many local sectors. He also argued that Wales should use its manufacturing heritage to create AI-related manufacturing jobs while supporting people affected by technological change.

The report records growth in a hardware workforce, while the minister’s warning points to a wider test for the region. New AI-linked factory jobs may be valuable, but job creation does not remove the need to help people whose work changes elsewhere.

Sources

  1. bbc.comArtificial intelligence 'creating, not cutting' jobs in Newport

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