MAC reform could open floodgates to foreign graduates, says APSCo
Proposed reforms from the Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) regarding the new points based immigration system could lead to a glut of non-EU IT graduates coming to the UK, according
Proposed reforms from the Home Office’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) regarding the new points based immigration system could lead to a glut of non-EU IT graduates coming to the UK, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).
The Committee’s recommendations call for graduates to become eligible for intra-company transfers (ICTs), a type of work permit that allows companies to transfer workers from overseas offices without having to advertise vacancies in the UK first.
Under the proposals, graduates would be eligible for transfer to the UK after just three months of employment with the sponsoring company, while other workers will require 12 months’ continuous employment with the same employer before being eligible for transfer to the UK.
Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo, says: “While the ICT system might not be exploited in the financial and legal sectors, there is evidence that it is being exploited in the IT sector. Nearly six times as many IT workers entered the UK last year on ICTs than workers in the entire financial services and legal sectors combined.
“The whole point of the ICT is to bring in senior staff with specialist knowledge or expertise not readily available in the UK. Using the system to bring in graduates would be wrong-headed and illogical.
“While graduate secondments can be a useful way for companies to train staff, these proposals could lead to a significant increase in non-EU IT graduates coming to the UK at a time when there are plenty of UK IT graduates out of work.
“Most of the non-EU IT workers coming to the UK are working for Indian software companies. India produces enormous numbers of IT graduates every year, so there is a real concern many could head to the UK on intra-company work permits if this proposal is adopted.
“The irony is that while graduate level IT jobs are being outsourced to India it is now being proposed that it should be easier for Indian IT graduates to work in the UK at a time when there are few if any skill shortages at that level.”
