Migrant workers face tougher test to work

[TinTinTin]

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... oughertest

Loads of info from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, below interested me !


1)strengthen the resident labour market test for tier 2 skilled jobs so that employers must advertise jobs to resident workers through JobCentre Plus before they can bring in a worker from outside Europe;
2)use each shortage occupation list to trigger skills reviews that focus on up-skilling resident workers for these occupations, which will make the United Kingdom less dependent on migration for the future; and
3)tighten new criteria against which highly skilled migrants seeking entry to the United Kingdom are judged, by raising the qualifications and salary required for tier 1 of the PBS to a Master's degree and a minimum salary of £20,000.

[GSOtodd]

at the idea of moving to the UK. I have NEVER seen anyone take the tabloids so seriously. Word to the wise (for Business people), stay clear of the UK, they don't deserve you.

What really nails is the fact that they always ALWAYS apply the rules retrospectively. They go after the wrong people. People who come in (lower skilled EU and non EU workers) seemed to be welcome whereas people who come in and work their fingers to the bone, set up house, take our loans so that they can live here and contribute, get the nasty finger pointed at them. Well, maybe it is time to think about leaving and moving to Ireland or New Zealand. One thing is for sure, the US and the UK are not for people who want to work hard and make a living for themselves.

[sakura]

On the other hand, I do think it is about time that the government/employers place a greater emphasis on adding to the skills set of the current labour force. I personally think it is a good idea that people should be able to obtain on the job training, rather than an employer simply dismissing their application because they short fall of a few necessary requirements.

How else can a country improve its skill set if employers bypass residents and keep hiring foreign nationals? Further (on the job) training is, I think, imperative for a country's economic growth and specialist skills.

Placing job adverts in the JobCentre should have been done long ago; doing it now is just not good enough. I remember going to the JC after finishing university and looking for work; it was embarrassing, not because people know you're unemployed (or on JSA) but because the jobs I saw had such low pay that they were depressing. Many were minimum wage, few were geared toward people with higher education qualifications, and they didn't seem to indicate that you can actually 'make' something of yourself. I can't imagine how they expect people to come off JSA and enter full-time working with such low pay and little chance to improve one's skills.

The staff, too, were, to be frank, pretty useless, not knowing much about any sector or how to get into it (although it isn't necessarily their fault; too many people to help, lowish pay and probably low morale).