Extra 300k British workers to be recruited after immigration clampdown

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Businesses will today be told they need to recruit an extra 300,000 British workers a year following a clampdown on immigration.

Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride will today unveil plans for a new push to train up the unemployed to take jobs in sectors that currently recruit heavily abroad, including hospitality, construction and care.

A new ministerial taskforce has been set up to oversee the development of recruitment initiatives for sectors that will be hit heavily by new restrictions designed to reduce soaring net migration figures.

In a speech in London today, Mr Stride will tell firms to put British workers first, saying: 'For too long we have relied on labour from abroad when there is great talent right here in the UK - I am determined to put that right.'

He will add: 'New visa rules brought in by the Home Secretary will mean around 300,000 people who arrived last year would not be able to under the new rules.

'I know this presents a recruitment challenge for some employers in certain sectors, particularly those that have relied more on migration in the past.

'But this is also a huge opportunity for the thousands of jobseekers within our domestic workforce to move into roles that have previously been filled by overseas workers.

'So my message to businesses is clear: our jobcentre teams stand ready to help you find the right candidate, and we want to work with you to overcome recruitment challenges.'

Ministers want to copy the model devised to deal with a shortage of HGV drivers in 2021. While some new drivers were recruited from abroad and hours were relaxed to allow them to work for longer, a number of other measures were put in place to encourage the recruitment of more British drivers.

These included funding for new 'skills bootcamps' to train up thousands of British drivers, a scheme to train up ex-offenders and subsidies for firms that took on apprentices.

Similar schemes will now be developed for five sectors that are heavily reliant on migrant labour.

Net migration figures have rocketed in recent years, hitting 745,000 in 2022. New figures this week are expected to show it was around 600,000 last year.

But ministers believe that a string of measures, such as clamping down on student visas and barring foreign care workers from bringing their families, will lead to a hug drop this year.

Brian Bell, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, said last week there was a 'fighting chance' the reforms already announced would slash net migration to pre-2019 levels, potentially cutting the total to as little as 150,000.

A Government source said businesses would be expected to look for British workers rather than demanding more visas for foreign workers as they have in the past.