Reducing foreign staffing reliance is pointless unless more Brits are encouraged into manual roles

Ongoing initiatives to reduce the number of foreign workers in the UK could be highly damaging for sectors that are suffering skills shortages unless more Brits are encouraged into these sectors, according to One Way.

The specialist construction and rail recruitment firm has called this attack on foreign skills ‘pointless’ as there are currently not enough home-grown skills in the UK. This comes following the announcement – and subsequent withdrawal – by Theresa May of plans to make employers ‘name and shame’ foreign workers. Such proposals were designed to reduce the reliance on foreign skills that many industries, including construction, have developed in recent years.

However, One Way has condemned these proposals due to the limited number of Brits actively seeking a career in construction. Paul Payne, Managing Director of the firm, explains:

“It’s a simple fact that in construction there has been a heavy dependence on overseas employees as there is a greater desire from these professionals to work in the manual roles that need to be filled. In the UK, there are less individuals choosing this career path as it’s just not encouraged as a popular career of choice in schools and colleges.

“If companies are encouraged to hire less foreign workers the skills gap that is already prevalent in this arena will only widen, which will, in turn, cause delays on projects that are vital for the UK’s economy. If we really want to get more Brits into the industry then we need to see an increase in those actually wanting to be employed in this line of work.”

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