Priti Patel’s immigration policies mean the UK will run out of skilled labour by 2030, report finds British businesses will run out of university graduates who can become highly skilled workers if the policies go ahead

By 2030, British businesses will run out of university graduates who can become highly skilled workers, should the Government’s new immigration policies be put into practice, a report has found.

Research carried out by German business intelligence firm Statista suggests that the UK will have a shortfall of 250,000 highly skilled workers within the next decade.

In its report, Labour Shortage: Workers with a Higher Education, Statista suggests that as the overall average age grows, there will be an increasing number of retirees who need to be replaced, estimated at five million in the next decade.

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Researchers also say that innovation and digitisation are driving a demand for skilled labour, as is a structural change within the UK’s economy to favour the service sector; and by 2030, a third of lower-skilled workers will have left their current occupation due to automation.

Innovation and digitisation

The report also warns that with a proportion of UK workers being born overseas, there is likely to be a shortfall in available labour by 2030.

“While the UK, Germany and Canada will all have run out of highly skilled personnel, countries like Italy and Mexico will be experiencing an already growing oversupply,” according to the authors of the report.

“Worker’s mobility will become one of the most effective ways to tackle a shortage of workforce. And increased migration rates for highly needed professions will be needed to outweigh the missing manpower from within the country.

“With the recent restrictive policies on worker immigration, the UK might be getting in its own way.”

“World-class talent”

Alistair Cox, chief executive of the recruitment firm Hays, says that the Government’s immigration overhaul will allow firms to attract “world-class talent” from around the globe.

He added that it is right that EU and non-EU citizens coming to the UK would be treated equally once free movement between the UK and Europe ends on 31 December 2020.

Mr Cox said that if firms cannot rely on low-paid workers from the EU, they will have to think about investing in their workforce and re-skilling employees as technology and automation comes to the fore.

He said: “To build a world-class economy, our businesses need access to world-class talent and not just originating from elsewhere in the EU. It’s wrong to differentiate between world-class people from, say, Canada and those in France. I welcome the changes.”