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Overseas organisations are exploiting the government’s “leaky” visa system by using inter company transfers to fast-track cheap IT labour into the UK at an increasing rate. More and more multinationals are hiring staff in low cost markets just to transfer them to their subsidiaries in high cost markets, like the UK, to work in mid-level IT jobs. In fact, the number of foreign tech workers entering the UK workforce has leapt 14% in the last year to 38,450, representing a 209% increase over the last five years. The overwhelming majority came in on inter company transfers, and more than 80% originated from India, where cheaper English-speaking workers are often well-educated. “Organisations have been offshoring UK IT jobs in order to cut costs, but now they are exploiting the leaky visa system to import cheap labour from abroad,” said Ann Swain, chief executive of ATSCo, which obtained the Home Office figures under the Freedom of Information Act. “There was a fear that support functions would be the thin edge of the wedge and that mid-level IT roles would go offshore next, but what is happening is quite different. Foreign IT workers are actually coming to the UK to take these mid-level roles.” Such organisations should advertise their vacancies broadly in the UK before importing foreign IT staff, but “this requirement is very difficult for the government to enforce,” ATSCo said. “With the Home Office inundated with applications, the concern is that some organisations are only paying lip service to the legal requirement to thoroughly search for candidates within the UK,” Ms Swain explained. “The IT skills shortage issue is nowhere near as acute as during the dot com boom, so why is it that more than 10 times more foreign IT workers are entering the country now than then?” “Our concern is that the British IT workforce is being bypassed and that this is damaging the long-term competitiveness of the UK IT industry.” The process of companies relocating IT staff between offices in different countries also exerts downward pressure on pay rates, particularly for the (mid-tier) IT jobs being targeted. ATSCo said that UK-facing organisations which rely on foreign IT workers to meet their staffing needs via onshore offshoring are being “short-sighted.” With the government, such organisations were advised to look at the bigger long-term picture by investing in IT training and promoting tech careers to a wider audience in the UK. Mar 14, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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