It is estimated that the number of skilled IT workers entering the UK from outside of the EU increased by 13% last year.
This surge is attributed to an increasing reliance on foreign skills due to a historic problem of underproduction of IT skills in the UK which has led to firms seeking foreign talents for IT jobs such as business analysts, architects and systems designers, programmers and software developers, web design and development specialists. Many of these jobs are currently on the National List of shortage occupations.
The number of people entering ICT apprenticeships in the UK has dropped to its lowest level in three years and therefore the skills required for an economy which is becoming increasingly reliant on information technology are becoming increasingly difficult to find at home.
Higher skilled work visas have seen a much higher increase than any other type of work related visa. This influx of non-EU workers has meant that the cap introduced by the coalition government in 2011 has now been hit and so highly sought professionals in areas such as IT, the medical profession and teachers are currently experiencing refusal.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has also announced plans to make it harder to bring in skilled staff from outside the EU. This is in an effort to force companies to hire locally, but with the current skills shortages being experienced in the UK there are fears for how this will affect its long term economy.
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