REC welcomes home office proposals for a new Migration Advisory Committee

The REC has today responded positively to the Home Officeís proposals for a new advisory body to help inform UK immigration policy. The official consultation, which closes this week, outlines the rationale behind the proposed Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

Commenting on the Governmentís proposals, REC Director of External Relations Tom Hadley says:

ìImmigration is an extremely sensitive and politicised issue. There is a definite need for rational debate based on the real needs of the UK labour market and ways of addressing related issues such as effective enforcement of illegal working legislation. The Migration Advisory Committee can play a useful role by collating regular labour market data as well as feedback from organisations in the front line of the UK labour marketî.

Ongoing skills shortages in a number of key sectors have been well documented. For example, The RECís monthly Report on Jobs ñ published in conjunction with KPMG and NTC Research ñ shows that the demand for staff in sectors such as engineering, IT and construction has continued to increase for just under three years. In addition, the latest annual recruitment industry survey conducted by the REC in conjunction with Ernst and Young confirmed that the shortage of candidates was one of the major concerns for UK recruitment professionals. The REC has argued that the new Committee should also focus on shortages of lower-skilled workers

It is also crucial that any new Committee looks at the bigger picture and is able to comment on whether the Governmentís skills agenda is starting to make a difference. This will clearly have an impact on immigration policy and on the need to bring workers in from beyond the EU. Tom Hadley concludes:

ìManaged migration is only one part of the solution for addressing the UKís labour market needs. However, in an increasingly competitive global economy, employers need the right people in the right place at the right time and these immediate needs will continue to be met in part through managed migration. The proposed Migration Advisory Committee can make a positive contribution to this debate as long as the composition and remit of the new body means that it is able to provide regular and practical updates from the sharp end of the UK labour market. Within this context, recruitment professionals have a key role to play by highlighting where demand from employers is not being met by available candidates and on the skills and attributes that companies in different sectors are looking forî.