Tuesday, June 29, 2021
CBI weighs in on staff shortages
As Brexit and the government's immigration policies continue to suppress much economic activity it was inevitable that Ministers would come under pressure to try and sort it out. The latest organisation to lobby for change is the CBI.
As the Guardian reports, the UK’s biggest business lobby group has called on the government to relax post-Brexit immigration rules to help companies struggling with staff shortages to hire more workers from overseas.
The paper says that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believes the government needed to immediately update its “shortage occupations list” to include several areas where employers are finding it difficult to recruit staff, including butchers, bricklayers and welders:
Warning that there was a “perfect storm” of staff shortages as Covid-19 restrictions are gradually removed, it said failure to take action would put the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic at risk.
The country’s foremost business lobby group, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 firms of all sizes and sectors, said employers needed to take greater responsibility to address labour shortages by investing in the skills of the domestic workforce, and by taking a chance on jobseekers who might otherwise be overlooked.
However, it said the government urgently needed to look again at its post-Brexit immigration policy to prevent chronic skills shortages from undermining the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19.
Pressure is mounting on hauliers, hospitality venues and the food and drink industry in particular, with companies scrambling to hire staff as pandemic restrictions are relaxed and demand for goods and services returns. Logistics organisations have warned that chilled food will struggle to reach some shops this summer because of a lack of drivers and production workers.
The CBI said ministers needed to act on advice from the government’s migration advisory committee published in September, which recommended that certain roles – including butchers, bricklayers and welders – be added to the UK’s shortage occupation list.
The list is an official record of skilled occupations where there are not enough resident workers to fill vacancies. Under the government’s post-Brexit points-based immigration system, visa applicants in these roles get 20 additional points towards the 70-point minimum required to work in the UK.
It is estimated that as many as 1.3 million non-UK workers have left the UK since late 2019, as many returned to their country of birth to see out the pandemic at home. Since then Covid travel controls, new Brexit immigration rules, continuing pandemic risks and people reassessing their job priorities are contributing to labour shortages. It is time the government addressed this issue urgently.
As the Guardian reports, the UK’s biggest business lobby group has called on the government to relax post-Brexit immigration rules to help companies struggling with staff shortages to hire more workers from overseas.
The paper says that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believes the government needed to immediately update its “shortage occupations list” to include several areas where employers are finding it difficult to recruit staff, including butchers, bricklayers and welders:
Warning that there was a “perfect storm” of staff shortages as Covid-19 restrictions are gradually removed, it said failure to take action would put the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic at risk.
The country’s foremost business lobby group, which speaks on behalf of 190,000 firms of all sizes and sectors, said employers needed to take greater responsibility to address labour shortages by investing in the skills of the domestic workforce, and by taking a chance on jobseekers who might otherwise be overlooked.
However, it said the government urgently needed to look again at its post-Brexit immigration policy to prevent chronic skills shortages from undermining the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19.
Pressure is mounting on hauliers, hospitality venues and the food and drink industry in particular, with companies scrambling to hire staff as pandemic restrictions are relaxed and demand for goods and services returns. Logistics organisations have warned that chilled food will struggle to reach some shops this summer because of a lack of drivers and production workers.
The CBI said ministers needed to act on advice from the government’s migration advisory committee published in September, which recommended that certain roles – including butchers, bricklayers and welders – be added to the UK’s shortage occupation list.
The list is an official record of skilled occupations where there are not enough resident workers to fill vacancies. Under the government’s post-Brexit points-based immigration system, visa applicants in these roles get 20 additional points towards the 70-point minimum required to work in the UK.
It is estimated that as many as 1.3 million non-UK workers have left the UK since late 2019, as many returned to their country of birth to see out the pandemic at home. Since then Covid travel controls, new Brexit immigration rules, continuing pandemic risks and people reassessing their job priorities are contributing to labour shortages. It is time the government addressed this issue urgently.
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I have a brother who has a HG1 drivers license and was in the haulage 'game' because that is what it was/and probably still is. The working conditions were (and probably still are) awful leading to a leakage of qualified drivers. Employers need to up their game and give HG1 drivers the respect that they deserve - they do a very important job, but often treated like scum. (I gather something about this issue is/was raised by a government minister or similar). (PS My bro switched to driving a bus, often stressful, but no where near as stressful as doing deliveries via an agency.)
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