Immigration Solicitors

Inventor Sir James Dyson has said that immigration rules are “killing” engineering in the UK.

The inventor of the world famous Dyson vacuum cleaner has threatened to leave Britain because without immigration it is becoming harder to fill crucial vacancies in the engineering sector.

In recent generations, more school pupils have opted to study so-called “soft” subjects at university, rather than science and engineering.

This has led to a skills shortage in Britain, with migrants coming to the UK to study engineering and fill jobs in the engineering sector.

However, Sir James estimates that, in 2014, a total of 61,000 engineering vacancies will be left vacant in the UK because of a shortage of home-grown engineering talent – and the fact foreign students who come to the UK to study engineering are subject to stringent immigration procedures if they wish to remain and work in the UK after graduating.

Dyson believes that tough visa regulations and more red tape and paperwork involved in the immigration service means many British-trained engineers from overseas are leaving the UK after qualifying – and are taking up engineering jobs elsewhere in the world.

Writing in the Financial Times, Sir James issued a warning to Prime Minister David Cameron and immigration minister Mark Harper about how this is affecting engineering in the UK:

“Foreign engineering students are clearly Anglophiles and they are clearly bright. So let us use their brains to our advantage,” he said.

"The reason these engineers go home is because we do everything we can to make them unwelcome. They must find work within a few weeks of completing their studies or we revoke their visas.”

Sir James went on to say that when British-trained engineers from overseas were offered employment in the UK, it was usually only on a fixed-contract basis.

The lack of job security in engineering for foreign-born British-trained engineers means many opt for employment opportunities elsewhere rather than remain in the UK when they qualify.

Sir James also added that when companies employ British-trained engineers from overseas, they “face high fees and an avalanche of paperwork”.

“These are the world’s most promising engineers,” said Sir James. “We ought to be encouraging them to stay, not waving them goodbye.”

He added that the solution to filling Britain’s engineering skills gap and enabling foreign-born engineers to work in the UK after studying and qualifying in Britain was “easy to see”:

“Politicians needed to find the mettle to implement it,” he warned.

“Otherwise, we and others will be forced to leave for countries where engineers are made – and made welcome."

Sir James is recommending that the education system in Britain be reformed to offer “financial incentives to encourage the brightest students towards areas of vital national interest”, such as engineering. He pointed out that as engineering attracts higher salaries than most other disciplines, engineering graduates would also pay more taxes.

Sir James is also calling for engineering students to be awarded grants to cover the cost of tuition fees – and is also calling for visas to be handed out at graduation ceremonies to make sure the brightest engineering students remain in the UK.

“Let them learn the skills we need to build Britain’s future power stations, high-speed railways and exportable technologies,” he said. “We will quickly recoup the cost.”

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of immigration solicitors and can advise on student visas, right to work in the UK and British citizenship.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on asylum in the UK and asylum appeals.

For expert legal advice on immigration law and right to work in the UK, contact Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.