Are design graduates or today's design professionals equipped with the skills needed for the future? It's a fast changing world, how do we keep up?

A good point of reference is the Besquare podcast from @markboulton in which he mentions how his successful company is founded on a team of traditionally taught graphic designers: besquare.me Before you can jump into a new realm of design you must ensure the foundations are in place, university's like UWIC provide a good understanding of design principles and theory. It is then up to individuals to learn more and agencies to invest in their team by allocating designated time for training or conferences or simply buying associated publications.

With less students going to university, does this mean there will be less designers?

If UWIC, the Atrium and Newport were to amalgamate then yes I assume there would be less traditionally taught graphic designers output by South Wales unversities. Is that a good thing? In my humble opinion, yes as the region can't cope with the 120+ students who qualify from these 3 institutions plus Swansea each year. This figure also doesn't take into account other courses eg new media, advertising etc etc.