One in five skilled jobs in the UK is now filled by an immigrant because of a lack of skilled British graduates.
Companies are obliged to hire foreign-born workers in a range of “strategically important” areas because children in Britain continue to shun maths and science studies, according to a review commissioned by the government.
The shortage of skilled British workers comes at a time when nearly one million young people between 16 and 24 years have no job.
With a paucity of skilled British graduates, migrants now fill 20% of the workforce in areas such as oil and gas extraction, aerospace manufacturing, and computer, electronic and optical engineering.
The report warns that half of the 119 occupations listed on the Government’s “shortage occupation list” – which gives firms special dispensation to employ overseas staff – require engineering skills.
Another 20% involve closely related scientific and technical roles.
The shortage is so severe that universities have taken to accepting foreign students to fill up classes. A third of places in engineering and technology subjects are taken by non-British students, the report states.
The report, tallying with repeated warnings by business leaders of an acute shortage of qualified British graduates, calls for drastic action to meet the “substantial demand” for engineers.
It says more must be done to encourage British students, especially girls, to study physics and engineering. Currently, fewer than one in 10 people working in engineering in Britain are women, less than any other European nation, the study adds.
In response, the Government today announces a £30 million fund for employers to train staff and an £18 million investment in a new elite training facility at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry.
