The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has published its interim update on its investigation into the impact of EEA workers in the UK labour market. The update sets out a summary of the views expressed by the private sector, public sector and various charities.
In July 2017, the Home Secretary commissioned the MAC to assess the impact on the UK labour market of the UK’s exit from the EU and how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The final MAC report will provide the evidence base for UK migration after the implementation period in 2021.
The update shows that employers are concerned about potential restrictions on the ability to recruit EEA migrants. In particular, employers in higher-skilled sectors that use the Tier 2 system to recruit non-EEA migrant workers expressed mostly negative views of the system. Many felt that it was time consuming, costly and overly complex to secure work visas. In general, employers were against the rules and caps in the Tier 2 system being applied to EEA migrants in future.
Employers also acknowledged that while training UK-born workers to fill skills shortages may be a strategy in the longer term, EEA migrants to fill the gap.
In its response to the MAC consultation, TIGA argued that the video games industry must have easy access to highly-skilled employees from the UK, the EEA and beyond after Brexit. It suggested the following proposals:
- reciprocal freedom of movement rights for workers in the video games industry;
- negotiate a general reciprocal freedom of movement rights for workers with a job offer;
- provide approximately 1,500 Work Permits per annum for the UK video games industry;
- add roles (e.g. Games Analyst and Engine Programmer) to the Shortage Occupation List where there is a specific skills shortage so that employers can recruit the employees they need without undue delay;
- ensure that any new immigration arrangements are not complex or costly for business; and
- introduce a fast track visa programme for roles on the Shortage Occupation List.
The final report will be published in September 2018.
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, Chief Executive Officer of TIGA, said:
“TIGA will continue campaigning to ensure that the video games industry has easy access to the best and brightest talent from the EU, EEA and beyond. It cannot become harder to recruit workers with the skills we need following Brexit. To compete on a global level, we need access to global talent.
“It is good news that employers are on the same page when it comes to being able to recruit talented workers from the EU and EEA. The responses underline the fact that businesses across the UK depend on the ability to recruit workers from abroad with a minimum of cost and red tape. We await the final MAC report
