IoD press release Immigration strategy must more effectively link the skills and immigration systems
Responding to the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, Alex Hall-Chen (she/her), Principal Policy Advisor for Skills and Employment at the Institute of Directors, said:
“For the many employers already struggling to access the skills they need, today’s announcement may raise further concerns. The latest IoD research shows that more than 3 in 10 business leaders cite skills shortages as a major factor holding back their business.
“The government’s emphasis on investing in upskilling and reskilling the domestic labour force is welcome. However, the strategy announced today risks damaging already fragile economic growth by further limiting employers’ ability to fill urgent skills gaps. For this strategy to work, government must deliver on its pledge to more effectively link the skills and immigration systems, and incentivise employers to invest in training programmes for the domestic workforce.
“Reforms to the skills system must include the speeding up of the promised reform to the Apprenticeship Levy to enable employers to spend their levy funds on a wider range of courses in skills shortage areas. In addition, the government should allocate the full amount raised from the levy to the apprenticeship budget, before considering making any cuts to Level 7 apprenticeship funding. All funds raised by the increased Immigration Skills Charge should also be directly allocated to programmes which support employers to invest in the domestic labour market.”
