I was pleased to hear that the government is willing to re-examine its plans for an immigration cap. There is no doubt that businesses need to be able to bring in the specific skills and expertise that they need to drive growth, regardless of geography or nationality, if the UK’s economic recovery is to continue.

Within every business or industry there are specific critical roles, where having the best talent in place can be a crucial differentiator in terms of both economic growth and job creation. It is these critical positions that should be the main concern of any immigration system. The government needs to enable identification of the areas where these critical skills are most in demand and, if they are simply not available in the UK, help employers to bring in the very best talent from overseas.

Of course, in order for the government’s system to work we will need to develop a much clearer picture of the UK’s talent landscape. All too often employers do not know what skills they have within their own workforce, leading to unnecessary expenditure as they seek to bring in new talent rather than developing or redeploying the people already within the business.

Scale this up to a national level and the challenges are even greater. For the government’s immigration cap to work effectively, businesses need to provide accurate, up-to-date information on the skills gaps within British industry, the talent that is available within the workforce and the areas where we simply do not have the skills required.

Chris Phillips, vice-president, international marketing, Taleo

• See also News analysis, p12