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“UK should relax immigration regulations” to tackle engineering shortages (14 October 2014)

Date: 14/10/2014
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, “UK should relax immigration regulations” to tackle engineering shortages

A report by industry journal The Engineer reveals that the UK is being forced to recruit qualified engineers from overseas because of a shortage of trained engineers in Britain.

Figures from the Home Office show that in 2012-2013, the UK recruited 859 engineers from overseas – this year (2013-2014) the figure has risen to 1,171.

Contractor services provider SJD Accountancy says that the number of qualified engineers coming to work in the UK has risen by 36% in the last year.

The SJD figure is based on the number of work permits issued to engineers from countries outside the EU under the Home Office National Shortage Occupation List.

The National Shortage Occupation List enables employers to fast-track work permits for skilled workers from non-EU countries. The scheme covers the engineering sector, including civil, mechanical and electrical engineers.

CEO of SJD Accountancy, Simon Curry, told The Engineer that, despite the severity of shortages in engineering in the UK, “little progress” was being made in addressing the issue.

“The recession provided some breathing space for employers and the government to address the chronic underproduction of engineering skills in the UK,” Mr Curry said.

“However, we are still seeing too many UK-trained engineers choosing other careers – or leaving the country after they have qualified.

“With the government determined to increase expenditure on major infrastructure projects, the holes in the UK’s engineering skills base are being brutally exposed.”

UK inventor and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has previously called on the Home Office to hand out work visas at graduation ceremonies to the brightest and best engineers who have trained at British universities, rather than let them train in the UK and then leave to take up engineering jobs overseas.

The UK government’s spending on infrastructure has increased in recent years, meaning more engineers are needed to complete projects. Between 2005 and 2010, Britain spent £41 billion annually on infrastructure projects requiring engineering skills.

In the period 2011 to 2013, this rose to £45bn annually.

In December 2013, the government’s National Infrastructure Plan proposed spending of £375bn on infrastructure projects between 2014 and 2030 onwards.

The Engineer is currently asking its readers to vote on whether the UK should train more homegrown engineers – or whether Britain “should lose its immigration regulations in order to attract the best talent”.

So far, just over one-third (34%) of those who have responded have agreed that Britain should concentrate on training more British engineers, rather than relax the existing immigration regulations.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors can advise migrants from EU member states and non-EU countries on a wide range of immigration matters, including right to work in the UK, fast-track work permits under the National Shortage Occupation List – and UK student visas or visa overstays.

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors and can also advise on asylum in the UK and asylum appeals – including issues such as working in the UK pending an asylum application and illegal entry to the UK.

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors also offer legal advice on working in the UK illegally as a result of being trafficked or as a victim of bonded slave labour in Britain.

For expert legal advice on UK immigration law, contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

For urgent help with immigration matters such as the Fast-Track Detention process or arrest for illegal entry to the UK, call the Duncan Lewis Emergency Hotline, where an immigration lawyer is available 24/7.

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