UK announces move to limit overseas hiring of tech and engineering workers

After asking its independent advisors on migration to examine the sectors’ dependence on skilled worker visas, Sir Keir’s Starmer government signaled that it wanted to curtail overseas hiring by companies in technology and engineering.

Yvette Cooper on Wednesday requested that the Migration Advisory Committee investigate which tech and engineering roles were experiencing shortages. She also asked if pay, conditions, and training accounted for any shortfalls.

The government is “extremely grateful” for the contributions that people from around the globe make to our economy. . . The system must be controlled and managed”, wrote the Home Secretary in a letter addressed to the MAC.

Cooper said that the high levels of recruitment from abroad reflected the persistent shortages and weaknesses in the UK’s labour market. “The system as it is currently operating does not serve the national interest”, Cooper concluded.

Cooper asked that the MAC report in nine months how employers could “use the immigration system more effectively” by focusing on domestic recruitment. She said that the MAC could make changes to lower salary thresholds for certain key roles that are experiencing shortages.

Cooper’s focus of recruitment in two highly-skilled, relatively-well-paid areas is a departure to the Conservative government’s post Brexit approach to immigration, which prohibited employers from sponsoring visas for work that was low-skilled but placed few restrictions on high-earners.

The Tories increased the salary threshold for skilled workers last year. They must now earn the median wage for their occupation. This is in an effort to reduce immigration, which had reached a record high of 745,000.

The main focus of their clampdown has been on the care sector. While overseas hiring was high, a ban on migrants bringing family members with them led to a sharp decline in new arrivals.

Labour has promised to further cut immigration, including through employment-related routes. It also wants to strengthen the links between its newly formed Skills England body and the MAC to develop a pipeline of local talent for jobs that have been chronically in shortage.

According to Home Office statistics, the demand for IT analysts and programmers is particularly high.

The number of visas for engineers is lower, but the manufacturers claim that there are certain key roles in which they have difficulty filling within the UK. They have also lobbied for visa rules for technicians with less skills to be relaxed.

The Home Office issued 67,703 visas for skilled workers in the year up to March 2024. This is a 2 percent decrease from the previous year.

Verity Davidge is the director of policy for the manufacturers’ group Make UK. She said that the MAC review was “a cause for concern” in a sector where there are 62,000 vacancies, and with no way to quickly train replacements for retiring experienced workers.

“We need a new administration to open up the talent pool.” She said that she was worried about a possible tightening in restrictions.

Cooper stated that the MAC would be able to consider “a variety of options”, such as rules tailored for different regions or occupations. However, “these must also be balanced with the risk of undercutting wages of British workers” and “overcomplicating the systems”.

Nimmi Patel is the head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at TechUK. She said that the trade body was pleased with the emphasis on building a pipeline of domestic talent.

She added that the MAC would be presented with evidence on the persistent shortage of skills that affects data centres, cyber-security, telecoms, spectrum policy, and in particular. And that migrants are “an addition to native skills.” . . “That is a really nice thing to have”.