The
CBI has responded to the Government’s White paper, Immigration, Asylum and
Citizenship, after consulting its members on the paper.
In
an official response to the issue, the CBI states it is particularly interested
in sections dealing with the reform of current entry routes for economic
migrants wishing to work in the UK and measures to tackle the problem of
illegal working.
It
confirmed that it views migrant workers as an integral part of the UK workforce
and believes a carefully managed migration policy can bring further benefits to
the UK.
"Immigration
has an important role to play in alleviating current skill and labour shortages
in specific sectors. A well targeted and managed migration policy has an
important role to play in supporting and complementing the domestic skills
agenda," states the response.
However,
it added that the priority must be to invest in and develop the skills and
abilities of the existing population: "Immigration is not an alternative
to upskilling the domestic workforce and ensuring that young people leave
education employable.
"Nor
should immigration be seen as negating the need for effective active labour
market policies and measures to tackle the problem of economic inactivity.
These policies are crucial domestic means of tackling skill and labour
shortages," it states.
