With the UK government’s recent White Paper looking at ways to reduce net migration and increase the recruitment of local talent, now is the perfect time to consider why hiring immigrant workers can still be a valid and even preferable approach in certain situations.
To Address a Skill Shortage
The White Paper, titled ‘Restoring Control Over the Immigration System,’ examines how to reduce the UK’s net migration while ensuring that the benefits offered by migrants remain accessible. One of the measures mentioned in the document is to increase the threshold for skilled worker visas, to ensure that lower-skilled migration numbers are reduced.
This fits with one of the key benefits of employing migrant workers, which is to fill skill shortages that can’t be dealt with using local talent alone. At the moment, this is particularly notable in certain industries, such as healthcare. Close to 20% of all NHS staff in England since at least 2023 have been non-British, with Asian workers making up the biggest percentage of migrants. With this in mind, the White Paper also covers the need to boost the English language requirements for visas, to limit the effects of communication barriers in these industries.
The legal issues surrounding the issuing of visas and citizenship vary according to the individual case. Complex situations are often referred to experts, and there are a number of different immigration solicitors London and other major city dwellers can contact, assisting migrants in a variety of circumstances. These services are sometimes used by high-net-worth individuals who want to be sure that they don’t run into any issues when moving abroad. But they can also be used by companies to ensure a smoother recruitment process. As legislation in government changes, services like these could see increased usage by employers and workers alike.
Better Understanding of Global Markets and Ways to Expand
With an increasingly global market changing the way we do business, the idea of bringing in foreign workers can prove to be a decisive factor. This is a way of quickly scaling up a company to deal with international expansion, adding the language skills and local knowledge needed to make an impact in different parts of the world.
This can be as simple as having a customer service team that can deal effectively with enquiries from their home countries and regions. While outsourcing these tasks to overseas workers is an option that is currently available and widely used, many companies prefer to build a team in their open offices to allow more effective training and team building.
A Look Ahead
The percentage of foreign-born workers in the UK rose from 12% in 2014 to about 20% of the working population last year, which is about 7 million people, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). While the government’s White Paper pinpoints areas where the market should be improved to ensure future growth and sustainability, it can’t be denied that this increase in migrant workers has led to a more vibrant and diverse workforce that has helped British companies view the global market in a new way.
If the proposed changes go ahead, it could lead to a better future where the skills of migrants are used effectively to help the UK continue to grow and meet the challenges of the modern business world.
