London businesses are struggling to recruit workers with the skills they need. Access to a diverse, skilled workforce is essential for London to function as a leading global city. Whilst the long term solution to closing the UK's skills gap must include upskilling the resident labour force, London businesses must also have access to overseas workers with the skills their businesses need to grow and succeed.
http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/lcc_public/article.asp?aid=7726
The situation at present
Average London Business workforce composition:
UK – 85%
EU – 11%
Non-EU - 4%
Reasons London businesses employ non-EU migrant workers?
They have a better work ethic than UK citizens -25%
They are more productive than UK citizens – 25%
They are cheaper to employ - 24%
For their foreign language skills -21%
A short supply of UK applicants with required experience – 21%
The quality or their qualification – 20%
A short supply of UK applicants with required skills - 20%
their innovative ideas – 20%
Wanting to develop markets outside the uk – 20%
Their positive influence on other workers’ productivity levels – 15%
This clearly shows the percentage of Non-EU nationals is low yet they are sought after and essential for business.
A suggestion from London Chambers:
Seek government approval for a third party sponsorship route (London Visa) for established sector specific organisations to support non-EEA worker visas on behalf of recognised small businesses
Without sufficient skills in the domestic labour force, businesses are looking overseas to plug skills gaps. LCCI's 2015 report, http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/DocImages/13696.pdf , found that London businesses report difficulty in recruiting employees not only with subject-specific abilities, such as the ability to speak a foreign language, but also soft skills and relevant work experience. Small businesses and start-ups looking overseas to find the skilled workers can, however, lack the resources and experience necessary to easily navigate the visa system. The next Mayor should lobby central government to establish a third party sponsorship route, which would enable business groups to hold a Certificate of Sponsorship to support small businesses by sponsoring non-EEA worker visas on their behalf.
With a potential 'hard' Brexit looming and the skills gaps set to widen further the need to for Non-EU talent will surely increase. Businesses and government should be more accommodating to aid the economy. For more information regarding sponsorship and considering a career with sponsorship do contact consult@mavisas.co.uk.
Thanks for reading
Mason Alexander