We live and work in the best city in the world. That position has been built over decades by attracting world-class companies and talent. However, just as the economy shows more signs of recovering, we are running the risk of losing that talent to other cities and countries by getting trapped in a catch-all debate about immigration.

What the UK must do is define different strategies for highly skilled migration versus unskilled immigration, because the two are very different issues. I can’t recall the last time I heard a senior politician differentiate between the two. However, the reality is they have enormously different consequences for people seeking jobs in the UK.

The headline problems often associated with immigration are closely linked to levels of unskilled migration. These problems are real and should be addressed. Skilled migrants, however, make a very real contribution to the UK economy. They are net contributors to the Treasury and they fill roles that would otherwise remain vacant. As a result they enable their employers to grow faster and their work often leads to the creation of more jobs for the local labour force.

The City is an excellent example of the UK’s ability to build a global hub for financial services. This has been achieved in the face of intense global competition, because international companies have traditionally found it straightforward to find talent in London, local or international. However, as soon as companies find it difficult or restrictive to find the highly skilled people they need, they will look elsewhere. The same dynamics hold true for the industries we are pinning our future prosperity on, including technology, engineering and software.

You might think that if the UK can already attract leading multinational companies, little needs to change on skilled migration. In reality, our research shows that this country has one of the worst talent mismatches in Europe and skills shortages are becoming more acute as the economy starts to grow again. Despite the fact there are more than two million people out of work, companies looking for people with skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) cannot find enough talent to fulfil their ambitions. These roles either go unfilled or the business establishes them overseas, at which point the UK may lose them for ever.

The solution to Britain’s talent gap is to educate and train more people in the skills our industries need so that we become more self-sufficient. This means closer collaboration between education and business to create the courses and funding required. However, it also requires incentives to motivate young people to pursue studies in skills shortage areas, such as cutting tuition fees in STEM courses.

But even if we start now, it will be at least 10 years before we produce sufficient numbers of the qualified and experienced talent that our businesses require. In the meantime, skilled migration is the only real option to fill the roles industry is already creating.

If we are serious about remaining a winner, we must attract and build world-class businesses here. By definition, those businesses need world-class talent. Skilled migration has enabled our industries to achieve this to date and is the only available route to continue this success over the next few years.