Figures seen by Sky News show how firms are recruiting from outside Europe to provide the skills they need, with India in particular providing staff to fill key vacancies.
A growing number of skilled workers from Africa and Asia are moving to Britain to fill crippling staff shortages, according to new figures which reveal the changing picture of migration.
Business benefits from new post-Brexit migration system to attract IT professionals, nurses and accountants.
From January 2021, the new system has made it easier for non-European workers to enter the UK, although the fees for businesses are high.
Nurses and carers dominate the skilled visa scheme. File photo
Although the number of European migrants has declined in recent years, this has been more than offset by large increases in migrants from other parts of the world.
Contrary to some initial expectations, post-Brexit Britain experienced a surge in migration. Official figures released this week could show that net migration has reached close to one million, making it a new record.
India South Africa and Ghana are among the countries having success with the new skilled visa route.
Figures obtained by law firm Eversheds Sutherland show that 5,133 visas were granted to skilled workers from Ghana between 2019 and 2022. Their numbers are growing at a steady pace, as are Nigerians who were granted 20,468 visas in same period.
The number of skilled migrants granted visas from South Africa jumped to 6,784, but at 116,301, Indians dominated the skilled visa route.
The healthcare sector has benefited greatly from the scheme, but software engineers are also in particular demand across the economy. More than 35,000 IT professionals have come to the UK under the new system.
A further 5,368 skilled visas have been granted to chefs since January 2021. The figure for chartered accountants is 9,147. However, nurses and carers dominated the scheme with 53,820 and 35,494 visas issued respectively.
The first skilled visas have also been granted for clergy and group 9 nurses. In the last three months of last year, 274 clergymen and women arrived in the UK on skilled visas.
A small but growing number of hairdressers, tailors and therapists have also used this route, as have gardeners and librarians.
For hairdressers and salon managers, they rose to 34 in the last quarter of last year.
Skills shortages in the country’s food supply chains are also being filled by migrants. During this period, 2,458 visas were granted to butchers, while the number for bakers was 115. A total of 104 farmers came to the UK under the scheme from January 2021.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that firms are willing to shoulder the cost of sponsorship to secure the talent they need, although the fees charged by the Home Office are high.
It comes at a time when many businesses are struggling to hire local workers. Although beginning to ease, Britain’s labor market is still tight and levels of economic inactivity are high.
There are still 282,000 more job vacancies in the UK than before the pandemic, although the latest official figures show they fell by 55,000 in the three months to April. The same is true for the number of inactive workers, which fell by 156,000 in this three-month period but is still relatively high.
A recent survey by the Small Business Federation found that 80% of small businesses struggle to hire candidates with the right skills.
The figures will disappoint Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who recently urged businesses to train workers in Britain before bringing in workers from abroad.
“Highly skilled workers support economic growth. Fact,” she said in a speech at the National Conservative Conference.
“But we have to reduce the total number of immigration and we must not forget how to do things for ourselves.”
“It is not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing supply, services and community relations.”
Louisa Cole, managing partner at Eversheds Sutherland, said: “Since the UK came out of lockdown, we have seen a marked skills shortage and businesses are looking overseas for talented workers to fill the gaps… We knew that UK businesses rely on international talent but since leaving the EU many have looked beyond the EU as freedom of movement has ended.
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