27 May THE Government has been criticised for not doing enough to address the skills shortage in the economy.
THE Government has been criticised for not doing enough to address the skills shortage in the economy.
Speaking to GB News, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade Nick Thomas-Symonds said businesses were “crying out for a better strategy from Number Ten”.
He said: “We do need to end a system whereby for many occupations employers on the shortage occupation lists, recruiters are able to recruit from overseas and pay 20% less than they’re actually being paid if you were to recruit them from here in the UK.
“That’s an unfairness that should end. The Migration Advisory Committee, which advises the government on which occupation to put on that shortage occupation list for overseas recruitment, should be linking that to skills bodies here in the UK.
So that whenever a recruiter, on a short term basis, which is what it should be, has to recruit from overseas then the government has to link it to upskilling our workforce here in the UK.
“It’s absolutely vital they do it and by the way, businesses up and down the country, I meet them regularly in my own role, the Shadow International Trade Secretary training for skills strategy from the government. The government’s been promising to act on this for years but just hasn’t done it. And that’s why we’re in a situation where we’re having to recruit a quarter million workers from overseas.”
