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Amid record-high job vacancy numbers in the UK, leading business groups are urging the British government to overhaul the immigration system and introduce new UK visas to enable companies to recruit the highly skilled foreign workers they need.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have specifically asked for sector-specific expansions of the UK’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which would make it easier to hire overseas talent.
The calls come following new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which shows that in the quarter to last month, the total number of UK job vacancies hit a record high 1.3 million. This is despite the number of people on company payrolls rising to a new high in May of 29.6 million.
Coronavirus pandemic
The record high vacancy numbers in the last quarter are understood to be 500,000 more than prior to the coronavirus outbreak.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said: “The stats show our jobs market remains robust with redundancies at an all-time low. Helping people into work is the best way to support families in the long-term, and we are continuing to support people into new and better jobs.”
However, leading business groups argue that the Tory government must ‘do more’ to address skills shortages plaguing the UK economy.
The director for people and skills at the CBI, Matthew Percival, said that the government needs to show ‘more urgency’ in order to build confidence among employers and the general public, and to reduce the risk of a full-blown recession.
Apprenticeship levy
Percival said: “Not being able to hire the people they need is a major drag on business confidence, so the government should immediately allow firms to use their Apprenticeship Levy to tackle shortages and update the Shortage Occupation List.”
The head of people policy at the BCC, Jane Gratton, argued that the labour market is currently being squeezed, making it more difficult for employers to fill job vacancies, which impacts their ability to operate as normal and retain the skills they need across the business.
Gratton said: “The further rise in the employment rate, together with a drop in the unemployment rate, are good news but they also reflect how little room for manoeuvre there is for unfilled vacancies on the ground.”
“We need to find ways to bring people back into the UK labour market. Flexible working practices, rapid re-training opportunities and a focus on workplace health can support many economically inactive people to return to the workplace.
“But for some roles, where there is clear evidence of a national shortage of skills and labour, firms need access to people, at all skill levels, from outside the UK. As well as issuing temporary and seasonal visas, the UK government needs to urgently review the Shortage Occupation List,” she added.
Labour market approaching breaking point
Meanwhile, the CEO of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), Ann Swain, claimed that the UK’s labour market is approaching ‘breaking point’. Her claim comes following APSCo’s own survey, which highlighted growing skills shortages.
Swain said: “In recent months we’ve seen record-breaking vacancy numbers reported by the ONS and the first ever instance where there are more jobs than people out of work. In a post-Brexit and COVID-hit economy, the strength of the labour market will be paramount to the UK’s ability to become and remain a global powerhouse.”
“If this is to be achieved, the country’s policy-makers need to implement an international approach and bolster global opportunities. This includes creating an attractive entry route into the country for highly skilled, self-employed professionals and re-focusing international trade deals on skills, the workforce and the mutual recognition of services and professional qualifications, as well as tariffs and goods,” she added.
UK’s economic growth stunted
The chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Neil Carberry, warned that the UK’s economic growth would be stunted if the government doesn’t do more to tackle the growing number of people not actively looking for work.
Carberry said: “We have to improve our activation programmes to help Job Centres get people into work quickly, and radically reform the skills system to help fill some of the gaps. And we also need an UK immigration system that is flexible enough to address the really sharp shortages we’re seeing in some parts.”
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