Proposals from London First, the business group, acknowledge that employers must do more to help train local workers to meet skills gaps. But the group is calling for a long “transition phase” of up to six years after the UK leaves the EU to allow a sufficient number of overseas workers to fill jobs in industries with skills shortages, such as engineering. London First’s immigration manifesto comes ahead of the UK government’s promised immigration bill, which will set out the new visa regime for EU migrants after the UK has left the bloc. Once the white paper has been presented to MPs, the government’s Migration Advisory Committee will be asked to provide expert guidance on the future immigration regime. [...]
The proposals reflect a growing anxiety among chief executives about the supply of workers in the UK post-Brexit. EU nationals make up 12 per cent of London’s total workforce, and represent 15 per cent of employees in financial services, a third of construction workers and more than one in ten NHS doctors.Mark Reynolds, chief executive of Mace, the construction company, said he was “very aware” that employers needed to invest more in skills, but warned that since one in five UK construction workers were forecast to retire over the next five years, and the industry relied on large numbers of EU staff, he would face a “significant challenge” in finding enough people to meet his business needs in the years ahead. [...]
While London First is “agnostic” about whether EU migrants should be subject to the same visa rules as those from outside the EU, other business groups have said preferential treatment for Europeans will be essential. [...]
© Financial Times
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