Government kicks off consultation process that could make it easier for overseas workers to obtain highly skilled engineering jobs in areas with shortages
The UK Home Office has published a consultation document detailing plans to implement a system of managed workforce migration and invited the aerospace industry to comment on it.
It could mean it would be easier for overseas workers to get highly skilled engineering jobs within the UK – although larger manufacturers already recruit for hard-to-find skills from overseas, this would mean smaller companies could find it easier to do the same.
Ministers believe the system will help the UK attract skilled labour in areas where there are current or potential skills shortages in the UK, such as health, education and, most importantly for aerospace, engineering.
Aerospace, as well as other engineering-based industries such as automotive, is suffering shortages in some necessary technical skills – mostly high-level expertise in emerging technologies, such as software systems modelling, advanced materials engineering and diagnostic and prognostic techniques. There is also a specific shortage of licensed engineers.
A sector skills agreement addressing these and other skills needs has been drafted and is being acted on to try and rectify the problem internally, via re-training of existing workers and increased graduate recruitment, among other techniques.
“We have shortages now and if we are going to remain competitive in a global sense, we will need to look at this,” says Ged Leahy, Rolls-Royce director of UK resourcing services and member of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) People Management Board. “The supply chain is coming to realise this is about being globally competitive rather than being a bespoke supplier to a UK aerospace company, because that isn’t going to be sustainable.”
In the short term, however, Leahy believes the government’s new managed migration proposals may help.
“If all these skills were available on our doorstep, we would take them, but the fact is they are not,” he says. “Some of the actions that need to be taken may take time for their effects to filter through and therefore this might help alleviate some of the short-term need.”
The proposed system would include a five-tier rating system for individuals, ranging from highly skilled individuals in Tier 1 to lower-skilled individuals further down the scale.
“Certainly Tier 1 and 2 individuals would be of interest to the aerospace industry,” says Leahy. “Some of the larger players in the sector are already recruiting on a global basis. We are already seeing more diversity and global content in our graduate schemes. Rolls-Royce, for example, has partners all over the world – Spain, Germany and Asia, to name a few – and we do look within those companies for specific skills capabilities.”
As one of the industries with potentially the most to gain from a properly managed labour migration programme, the government has specifically asked the aerospace industry for its views on the approach. Those interested in commenting should see the full document on the Immigration & Nationality Directorate website (www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk).
- flight.workingweek@rbi.co.uk
Source: Flight International
