Foreign workers should be encouraged to find employment in the North East of England, according to a thinktank.
Attracting foreign workers to areas with high skills shortages should be encouraged, the Institute for Public Policy Research said.
“Research shows that one in 40 jobs across the North East remains unfilled and that as many as one in 20 jobs in computing, hotels and catering in the region are unfilled,” a report by the institute said.
The report said drawing migrant workers to the region was therefore “an important part of the region’s successful development”.
Similar schemes offering a “regional dimension” to immigration have been successfully introduced in other countries, such as Australia and Canada, according to the institute.
The North East has the lowest number of foreign-born nationals in the UK.
