CBI responds to United Kingdom immigration reform plans; organization supports targeted migration approach while emphasizing domestic workforce development and skills-based policies

Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Executive, CBI said:

“Following months of speculation, businesses now have important clarity on how the government plans to change immigration rules.

“Many of the principles running through the Prime Minister’s speech will be supported by businesses, including taking a targeted approach to legal migration and resisting an arbitrary target. Employers will welcome a stronger link between skills and immigration policies because their preference is to recruit and train from the domestic workforce whenever they can. Key to this will be delivering promised reform of the Apprenticeship Levy to unlock much-needed investment in a wider range of quality, non-apprenticeship training.

“Businesses should not be long-term reliant on immigration to deliver growth, but immigration policy is preventing businesses from accessing critical skills to deliver investment, putting at risk growth and jobs in the rest of their workforce.

“The reality for businesses is that it is more expensive and difficult to fill a vacancy with immigration than if they could hire locally or train workers. Work visas already require higher pay than most domestic workers get for the same job. When considered alongside the large fees and accompanying charges, foreign workers are simply not the ‘easy’ or ‘cheap’ alternative.

“Universities are centres of growth, innovation and opportunities. Policy changes that risk making the UK a less attractive place to study or increase costs confronting universities will have knock-on impacts for the competitive strength of UK Higher Education as a growth export, and young people’s ability to access degree-level education at home. These trade-offs need to be considered if the government is serious about developing domestic talent and driving growth.

“Businesses will also carefully consider the detail of proposals to limit visas for skilled jobs below degree level. Labour shortages can’t be solved by training alone. With the UK’s workforce set to shrink in the future as our population ages, it’s more important than ever that we support the business investment needed to underpin tech adoption and training.

“Addressing the increasing cost of doing business and finding the right landing zone for policies like the Employment Rights Bill will be vital to ensure businesses have the headroom to invest in skills and training.”