UK Government Warns Against Cutting Skilled Emigrants

UK government advisers have now warned that the UK should not make significant cuts in the number of skilled emigrant workers that are coming in from outside Europe. The idea of restricting skilled workers as a way to deal with turmoil in the labor market during this economic downturn has been rejected by the government's emigrant advisory committee.

The chair of the committee, Professor David Metclaf, went on to say that selective emigration, favoring the ones with skills, was very vital for Britain. He points out that its vital for Britain to ensure that its still a good place to invest, do business and study.

Of course, Professor David Metclaf also goes on to add that the rules needed to be tightened to make sure that British workers were not being displaced or undercut. These comments come following a request in February from Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, to investigate whether skilled emigrants should be restricted to jobs where there was a shortage of labor.

The UK has already seen a decrease in the number of skilled workers that are coming from overseas. Already, more than 60 percent of them come via transfers of staff by multinational companies. Only about 8 percent involved jobs in occupations with a shortfall of skilled labor.

Professor Metclaf went on to suggest that the rules on skilled emigration should be tightened without a doubt. Some measurements suggested by Metclaf include closing off any route to British citizenship for emigrants, requiring that those working for multinational companies have been with the company for at least 12 months, rather than the current requirement of six months.