Cable calls for lifting visa restrictions for some nationalities in London
25 February 2015
London needs visa restrictions for certain nationalities to be lifted if it is to continue to function as an international hub for business, according to the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills Vince Cable.
Wed, 25 Feb 2015 | By Graham Simons
London needs visa restrictions for certain nationalities to be lifted if it is to continue to function as an international hub for business, according to the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills Vince Cable.
Addressing the pre-election hot topic of immigration at Business Connections, an event organised by London newspaper The Evening Standard and attended by Recruiter, Cable told an audience of entrepreneurs that one the biggest issues the capital is facing at the moment is visa restrictions on who can and cannot come to London to work.
“We cannot function in London unless we have a liberal visa system so we can bring in Americans, Dutch and Nigerians into the UK,” he said.
Cable continued referencing Department for Business, Innovation & Skills research, published yesterday [25 February], which showed the benefits of hiring people in from abroad. BIS spoke to 80 companies and according to Cable in almost every case the companies that hired international workers saw a “very substantial net benefit”.
“There is a cost involved such as language training but the benefits in terms of skill acquisition outweigh that,” he said.
“What was more important was it was not so much the mechanical skills as the networks for companies who were trying to export to India or China. Having someone in the company who spoke the language, who had contacts and knew their way around was of inestimable value.”
Cable gave the example of a visual arts company who said they would only be one 10th of their current size if they could not hire from abroad, while an IT company, which could not find the talent it required in the UK, managed to bring people in from Spain and “massively” expand their operations.
“We’re not arguing for unrestricted immigration but I do argue we need an outward-looking system,” Cable added.
“I do believe if we are going to achieve our aim of being an entrepreneurial country we have got to be open to international talent.”
Addressing the pre-election hot topic of immigration at Business Connections, an event organised by London newspaper The Evening Standard and attended by Recruiter, Cable told an audience of entrepreneurs that one the biggest issues the capital is facing at the moment is visa restrictions on who can and cannot come to London to work.
“We cannot function in London unless we have a liberal visa system so we can bring in Americans, Dutch and Nigerians into the UK,” he said.
Cable continued referencing Department for Business, Innovation & Skills research, published yesterday [25 February], which showed the benefits of hiring people in from abroad. BIS spoke to 80 companies and according to Cable in almost every case the companies that hired international workers saw a “very substantial net benefit”.
“There is a cost involved such as language training but the benefits in terms of skill acquisition outweigh that,” he said.
“What was more important was it was not so much the mechanical skills as the networks for companies who were trying to export to India or China. Having someone in the company who spoke the language, who had contacts and knew their way around was of inestimable value.”
Cable gave the example of a visual arts company who said they would only be one 10th of their current size if they could not hire from abroad, while an IT company, which could not find the talent it required in the UK, managed to bring people in from Spain and “massively” expand their operations.
“We’re not arguing for unrestricted immigration but I do argue we need an outward-looking system,” Cable added.
“I do believe if we are going to achieve our aim of being an entrepreneurial country we have got to be open to international talent.”
- What do you think? Do you agree with Vince Cable? Should this apply to other areas or cities in the UK? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
