Migration policy will hit engineering, says Sheerin – Daily Business

An industry chief says Sir Keir Starmer’s immigration policy is likely to undermine the recruitment of vital workers needed to grow the economy.

Paul Sheerin, chief executive of trade group Scottish Engineering, said skilled staff cannot be trained “overnight” to replace those from other countries who could be denied entry under new migration rules.

“I found the UK Government’s latest pronouncements on immigration disappointing,” he writes in the group’s latest quarterly review.

“Whilst I recognise that this is a contentious political issue across the UK for a whole range of reasons, in engineering and manufacturing in Scotland the reality is that immigration is a vital source of skills and experience that cannot be replaced overnight. 

“These skills levels take years to build – and we should be building them – but closing off the supply before putting in place the actions to do that is another example of an action that will challenge the stated ambition of growing our economy.”

He adds that elements of the proposals will hit engineering particularly hard. 

“Raising minimum qualification levels from Higher equivalents to Degree level would leave out the skilled trades and crafts roles where we are already in shortest supply:  welders, fabricators, electricians, pipefitters, CNC machinists to name a few. 

“The shortening of the Graduate visa scheme reducing the right to work from two years to eighteen months after graduating will not only hit our education sector but also reduce the attractiveness of the scheme for companies who will have a shorter timeline to decide whether to invest in the process to extend the visa of the employee.

“Scotland and the wider UK – are in competition with countries around the globe.  So, when we make statements that feel less than welcoming, we detrimentally impact the ability for our companies to compete to attract those skills, and so support our goal to grow our economy.”

The Q2 report reveals that hiring and training intentions remain weak, driven by small companies where the cash impact of the budget changes demands an urgent response to ensure businesses remain sustainable.

Small companies’ approach to training has shown a negative response for the first time in four and a half years. 

The shows a net -1%, described as “starker change than it first appears” as  the average intent to train for this group since January 2021 was just above +26%, and in the first quarter remained at +18%. 

“It’s not hard to see that against the need to balance the books, every spend must be looked at, even where short term savings may be detrimental to the long term health of a business, and more broadly the long-term health of our economy,” says Mr Sheerin.

See also:

No appetite for Scottish immigration visa, says minister