UK needs business visa reform to attract top-level skilled employees

LATEST figures on UK immigration have highlighted the need for visa reform, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) maintained.

Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy director at APSCo, the professional recruitment sector’s trade association, conceded that there were “clear concerns” regarding immigration levels.

“But we can’t overlook the fact that the UK does still desperately need skills to support economic growth and these skills must come from international experts,” Bowers said, explaining that the government had missed out on an opportunity to introduce short-term business visas for top-level and highly skilled contractors.

“This would alleviate some of the resourcing challenges facing the UK, without impacting immigration on a longer-term basis,” the APSCo director claimed.

Other countries including Denmark and Germany were already adapting to this requirement, and the UK needed to play catch-up in that respect, Bowers pointed out. “Aside from the positive impact that this would have on immigration numbers, it would also strengthen the attractiveness of the county for highly skilled contractors.

“Access to short-term visas appealed to those working in the flexible labour market,” she said. “As other countries introduce more adaptable working routes, the UK will continue to lose its competitive advantage for attracting key skills.”