The UK implemented an innovative points-based immigration system two years ago that contains a variety of “bolt-ons”:—tailored programs that bring in’medium’ and ‘low’-skill employees, such as agricultural workers, truck drivers, and nurses—to assist in meeting the needs of the UK labor market and to guarantee the UK economy is operating.
We aim to provide suggestions for the agriculture, nursing, and green technology sectors as to how they can best take advantage of the opportunities presented by hiring migrants, while promoting global development, in a new paper that was released today by CGD and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
What advantages might these plans have?
When properly planned, migration can result in significant gains for the immigrant, their destination country, and their home country, or a “triple win.”
By working overseas, enhancing their wellbeing, investing in learning and up-skilling, and helping their families at home, migrants can obtain greater wages.In their countries of destination, they fill labor market gaps at all levels, boosting the local economy, bringing in new jobs, and raising tax income. Additionally, they stimulate cultural variety, trade, and investment, as well as the exchange of ideas, talents, and expertise.
If migrants are successfully assimilated and the costs of migration stay low, they can send money home in the form of remittances, which will boost productivity, improve health and educational outcomes, and give their families access to financing in their home countries.
Migration, along with the advantages it can bring to the economies of the countries of origin, can enhance the stability and security of these nations, consequently enhancing the security and stability of the entire world. Additionally, immigration can support and strengthen the UK’s commercial links and alliances with nations of origin in terms of international policy.
Migration can produce a pool of competent and talented employees in the countries of origin, which can help meet labor demands in the UK and benefit both the economies of the origin and destination nations. By doing so, it can assist the UK in recovering from COVID-19 (by providing nurses and care workers) and meeting its goals for the green transition.
What can the UK do if it wants to support global development through its unique programs?
1. Encourage moral hiring practices for immigrants
Poorer development results are a result of practices in recruitment and placement of migrants. For instance, migrants participating in the Seasonal Worker Pilot are required to pay for their own travel, health insurance, and visa costs, which results in unsustainable borrowing and lowers the potential for remittances.
2. Give remittance and skill transfers top priority
The UK government should place the utmost priority on making sure migrants avoid debt slavery, send more money to family members back home, and bring increased skills back given the positive effects that remittances have on nations and communities of origin.
This can be accomplished through lowering the expense of remittances, working with diaspora organizations to test out programs like diaspora bonds, and exploring ways to lower the overall cost of migration. Pilots like the one run by the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand can teach us valuable lessons.
3. Designs that take into account various demographic profiles
The demands of migrants differ according to their gender, age, or expertise. For instance, if the UK’s nursing pathways are mostly drawing women, it is important to make sure that family members are allowed on visas and that the country develops expertise that these women would like to use in their communities at home.
The UK should design customized programs to meet the unique demands of the target immigrant demography if it wants to receive the best results.
4. Specify certain countries of origin
Despite the fact that the UK’s points-based immigration system does not favor certain nations over others, customised programmes give people the chance to do precisely that. Such targeting may have a greater potential impact on development.
There are a variety of reasons why the UK could seek to promote immigration from a specific place of origin, such as enhancing commerce, investment, and ties with other countries’ foreign policies or promoting mobility from countries that are climate-vulnerable.
5. Focus on developing skills in native nations when there is a worldwide shortage
There are several industries that are experiencing a global labor shortage, especially those with “medium” and “low” skill levels. The UK has a rare chance to invest in developing these skills through these programs and to encourage the relocation of select trainees.
This Global Skill Partnership strategy would enhance investment, trade, and foreign policy ties while advancing global economic development and supplying the UK and countries of birth with a trained and sustainable talent pipeline.
6. Consistently monitor, evaluate, and learn
It is expensive, time-consuming, and might not fall under the purview of the leading government department to monitor, evaluate, and learn from customized programs. However, the UK won’t be able to comprehend the effects of these programs and how they may be improved until it invests in such processes. Although there are undoubtedly numerous further enhancements that may be suggested, our new research only suggests few of these.