Migration cuts could impact negatively on UK recruitment to fix the skills gap, says a recruitment company. According to Hays, The proposals put forward by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) could cut the number of jobs open to skilled migrant workers by 270,000.

The skills shortage in the UK still continues and during the recession, the desire to preserve British jobs for British people could get in the way of recruiting the best for the job. Hays, the UK’s leading specialist recruitment company, warned that the recession should not be an opportunity for complacency in addressing the UK’s skill shortages. According to the government’s skill shortage list, the biggest gaps are in currently in sectors such as social care, teaching and healthcare, where workers have often come from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Tim Cook, Managing Director of Hays UK and Ireland, comments: ”The skills shortages shown in the government’s list generally reinforce the trends in the UK employment market that we’re seeing right now – most notably a serious shortage of teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals. We need to be careful that we aren’t too quick to limit the number of overseas workers in these core areas.” 

Quantity surveyors and construction workers have been removed from the shortage list for now, although an upturn in the economy is likely to reveal skills shortages again, and it is essential to maintain training, especially new skills needed in sectors like rapidly-changing construction, where environmental regulations are introducing new building methods. Tim adds: “It is important that businesses prepare for the inevitable upturn, whenever that may be.”

Hays has also warns that removing maths and science teachers from the list – which will come under scrutiny in September – would create less awareness about the high number of vacancies that exist and emphasised that it is too early to suggest that City and finance workers can successfully cover the gaps, as training and recruiting is not a fast or easy process.