The government’s migrant cap is hindering Dyson’s recruitment drive at its Malmesbury plant, according to a company spokesperson.

Last year, the electrical manufacturer announced it was to double its engineering team from 350 to 700 at the plant.

Earlier this week, Sir James Dyson told The Daily Telegraph that difficulties in recruiting the necessary engineering talent could see the firm move abroad.

A Dyson spokesperson told Recruiter that the government’s cap on the number of skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area allowed into the UK was not helping matters.

“It affects some of our more specific roles, like those in our motors team, and means that it can take longer to fill roles. It should be easier for promising graduates with good degrees in STEM subjects to stay in the UK through the post-study work route.

“In 2010 we recruited 200 engineers, taking our engineering headcount to 550. We do all our recruitment in house, we advertise for the jobs and visit university degree shows to find nimble young minds.

“We find that there is a shortage of high-calibre graduates in the UK – finding the right person for a role isn’t always easy.

“We look for problem solvers, people who are unafraid to tackle a problem from an oblique angle to find a better way of solving it. We have a team made up of engineers from a vast number of disciplines, so there are lots of opportunities for people to find their niche.”