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Emigration and immigration

Labour's Immigration Plan Sparks Concerns Over Skills Shortages and Industry Disruption

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Labour's proposals to curb immigration, aimed at reducing the number of overseas workers in key sectors, have been met with widespread concerns from trade bodies and businesses. The plan, outlined by Labour leader Keir Starmer, could exacerbate skills shortages in industries that rely heavily on migrant labour. Social care, hospitality, health, universities, construction, and manufacturing are among the sectors that stand to be disproportionately affected. Labour's policy shift has sparked concerns that the restrictions will lead to a shortage of care workers, make it more challenging to recruit higher-paid staff in the hospitality sector, and disrupt the recruitment of foreign health workers. Industry leaders are calling for urgent measures to help businesses recruit and train UK residents to offset the impact of a tightening labour market.

Key Takeaways:

  • Social care is the sector most concerned about Labour's immigration policy, with thousands of older and disabled people relying on international workers for their care and support.
  • Almost a third of direct care workers in the UK are non-British, according to Skills for Care.
  • The Unison trade union has stated that it is "only the recruitment of workers from overseas that's stopped the system from falling over".
  • Hospitality non-UK citizen workforce accounts for less than 15% compared to about 25% pre-Covid, with much of the decline due to higher salary thresholds for skilled worker visas.
  • The hospitality sector has 84,000 vacancies, with the chief executive of UK Hospitality calling for an employment and skills strategy to drive domestic recruitment.
  • The NHS may not be included in the restrictions, but NHS leaders are concerned about the impact on hospital and GP surgery staff.
  • Universities are set to be hit by a levy on international student fees, which could deter overseas students from choosing the UK.
  • The construction industry needs migrant labour due to skills shortages and will require a continued level of immigration.
  • Manufacturers expressed concern that limits on immigration won't be accompanied by help for training for British workers.

Statistics:

  • Almost a third (32.7%) of direct care workers in the UK are non-British, according to Skills for Care (Source: Skills for Care).
  • The hospitality non-UK citizen workforce accounts for less than 15% of the workforce compared to about 25% pre-Covid (Source: UK Hospitality).
  • The hospitality sector has 84,000 vacancies (Source: UK Hospitality).
  • Migrant workers in construction fell to 9.8% in 2021 (Source: Construction Industry Training Board).
  • UK universities account for 51% of all postgraduate students who were international students in 2023/4 (Source: Universities UK).
  • 70% of students at the London School of Economics and Political Science come from overseas (Source: London School of Economics and Political Science).
  • 42% of students at Coventry University come from overseas (Source: Coventry University).

Sources:

  • Adass (Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) - Jess McGregor, President
  • Unison - Gavin Edwards, Head of Social Care
  • UK Hospitality - Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive
  • British Beer and Pub Association - Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive
  • NHS Employers - Danny Mortimer, Chief Executive
  • Royal College of Nursing - Prof Nicola Ranger, General Secretary
  • Universities UK - Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive
  • National Federation of Builders - Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy
  • Construction Industry Training Board (unattributed)

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