The government of UK said that they had concerns about the shortage of skilled workers in the UK, but on the other hand their policies are making the situation worse as it is getting more difficult for employing the high skilled citizens from outside of the EU. The new charges that are being levied by the government for the businesses are not going to improve the situation.
On 8th July 2015, in the budget announcement, UK chancellor told about the ‘apprenticeship levy’. Followed by the announcement from James Brokenshire, UK Immigration Minister that there would be a charge for immigration skills.
This immigration skills charge will bring more burdens in the businesses. The UK Chancellor told that the purpose of the charge is to encourage the businesses of the UK to fill the vacancies using the market of resident labour. The aim is to decrease the burden of immigration system of the UK on the nation’s taxpayers.
The charge will be applicable for those employers who sponsor workers from non EU countries under the Tier 2 visa points based system. The move will further deter employers from recruiting the overseas nationals given the cost for whole process, including applying for the license of Tier 2 sponsorship, applying for the certificates of sponsorship under Tier 2 and then applying for the tier 2 visa.
The immigration department is making the process much more difficult by refusing more applications and making it a burden for applying. It is expected that the earnings from the charges of immigration skills will be used for funding the apprenticeships and training.
