Amicus – the largest private sector union in the UK - supports a policy of managed migration. In principle, it is recognised that where it is not possible to find the necessary IT skills in the UK, then it is appropriate to seek to obtain those skills from outside the UK.

At the same time, employers should not treat the scheme as an opportunity to put short-term profits before investment. They should use the time that they employ work permit holders as a period in which they are able to train UK resident personnel.

Work permit scheme

However we have seen a huge increase in the number of work permits granted for IT occupations over recent years. In 2005, 30,000 overseas IT workers came into the UK via the work permits system, compared with 1,800 ten years earlier in 1995. Between 2001 and 2004, some 110,000 work permits were issued in total for IT occupations, representing no less than 20 per cent of the total work permits issued for all occupations, despite the fact that IT occupations represent only 3.5 per cent of the workforce.

Pay rates

From pay data information available to Amicus, 66 per cent of IT work permit holders are paid less than the equivalent of £30,000 per year. Given that the average salary of an IT professional is £32,500 in the UK, on the face of it the majority of IT work permit holders would appear to be paid less than the industry average salary.

Effect on IT professionals

The question which needs to be asked is whether the skills represented in these figures are not available in the UK, which would be a justifiable use of the work permit system, or whether these companies are bringing in non-resident work permit holders at below going pay rates in the UK, which would not.

The need for investment in skills and learning

While the work permits route is readily available and can be used to bring in required skills, there will be less incentive for UK employers to provide the necessary longer-term investment in skills development and learning. This will have serious long-term consequences for the IT industry, as the necessary skills are not available or in short supply, and overseas competitors’ staff are trained in new technologies, which in turn serves to reinforce the process of international outsourcing (offshoring) by moving IT projects beyond the UK. The result is that resident staff are not trained in new technologies, and the UK skills base is undermined and eroded.