The
Home Office is looking to allow more foreign workers come to the UK in an
effort to alleviate skills shortages.
The
Government is looking to extend two existing schemes for foreign workers to ease
recruitment difficulties and meet the demand for short-term or seasonal staff.
It
wants to widen the Working Holidaymakers Scheme (WHS), which allows up to
40,000 young people to work as part of their holiday, and make it more
representative of all the Commonwealth. The Home Office hopes to build on the
scheme by relaxing restrictions on the type of work people they can do and
allowing them to come to the UK more than once.
The
Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme may also be expanded to other parts of the
sector and have other restrictions lifted.
Home
Office Minister Lord Rooker commented: "We are an open, trading nation and
we need properly managed migration to ensure we have the people we need so that
our economy can continue to flourish in the global marketplace," he said.
Bill
Morris, T&G general secretary, welcomed the consultation: "The T&G
welcomes the Government’ s cautious first steps towards a policy for managing
migration. A system that makes legal entry into this country near impossible
for low-skilled workers serves only to keep the traffickers in business.
Further, it creates problems for industries seeking to address short-term
labour shortages and, therefore, demands to be reassessed.
"The
economic and social case for managing migration has been made. Those who come
to our shores should be allowed to make an honest living and contribute to our
society."
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
