Nathan Bowles, Chief executive, Smart Solutions Recruitment
“Growing the UK economy is at the top of the agenda for all the political parties. Encouraging and facilitating inward investment, especially in key areas such as new energy and waste, will attract employers to the UK and ensure businesses that are already operating here remain. Unnecessary employment legislation relating to flexible workers is only going to hamper the UK market as businesses will not be able to react to demand quickly and will therefore make us less competitive in comparison to our European counterparts.”

Rafe Easter WorkPermitConsultants.com
“Gordon Brown has pledged his continued backing of the points-based immigration system as a means to support the economic recovery. This will ensure a vital supply of engineers and IT workers for the recruitment industry. Brown claims the number of Tier 2 migrant workers has fallen over the past three years partly due to IT training and local job advertising, although it is more likely due to the exodus of migrant workers as the recession took hold and prospects for employment worsened. The value of skilled overseas workers should not be underestimated by agencies, particularly if they are having difficulty resourcing rare skills that are lacking in the local market or competing with other agencies for the same candidates.”

Martin Hallworth Interim recruitment manager, supply chain, The Co-operative Group
“They should make UK plc an inviting prospect for investors and implement a tax system that encourages job creation/investment - not one that will cost employers an extra £7bn a year. Government should consult with us and value our £22bn a year industry, not shackle it with EU employment legislation costing employers £25bn a year. Invest in education and vocational training to develop tomorrow’s competitive workforce. We need engineers, mathematicians and scientists. We have to export something and that will be our people and their expertise. And to fund this and reduce debt? Cut waste in public spending: the public sector shrinks, the private sector expands.”