ImmigrationU.K. high-tech industry wants more skilled immigrants to be allowed into Britain

The British tech industry is pushing for immigration reform that will help startups reach up to 500 million European Union customers and allow U.K. firms to attract a global talent pool. “The position on immigration needs to be smart and at the moment you could argue it’s dumb,” said Julian David CEO Julian David of techUK, an industry trade group. “We’re not talking about numbers here, we’re talking about getting the right skills needed to grow the economy, be they plumbers or be they tech entrepreneurs or be they experienced large company people.”

The tech industry is worth £100 billion to the U.K. economy, according to Tech City UK, but companies are increasingly unable to find sufficient talent to fill vacancies. Recruiter Robert Waltersreports that 72 percent of U.K. businesses are affected by a shortage of talent. A recent CompTIA survey showed 44 percent of 1,500 IT workers believe staff productivity is suffering because of the skills gap, with another 26 percent blaming it for a lack of innovation.

According to IT Pro, to help tackle the skills gap, British officials are investing in STEM education with the introduction of a new computing curriculum to schools and a pledge to train 17,500 math and physics teachers in the next five years. David still stresses that immigration must be addressed if the U.K. tech and start-up scene is ever going to develop a firm the size of Google or Facebook. “We need people with experience of growing a company fast, people who know how to do this — (which is) something that’s lacking in the U.K.,” he said. “It’s a good argument for more flexible immigration to attract those skills that exist in the U.S., for instance - we could bring them in here.”

The Home Office offers visas aimed at entrepreneurs, people with “exceptional talent,” and graduate entrepreneurs. Immigrants on an entrepreneur visa can stay in the country for a maximum five years, a graduate entrepreneur visa grants a one year stay, while exceptional talent visa holders may stay up to ten years. Additionally, immigrants seeking an entrepreneur visa must have £50,000 in investment funding. The Home Office has defended its policies and claimed sponsored visa applications for skilled workers rose 14 percent in 2014. Many of these workers were employed in the information and communication, professional, scientific and technical activities, and finance and insurance industries.

Recommendation from the government’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to add four IT job roles- senior developers, product managers, network security specialists, and data scientists- to the Shortage Occupation List in February has been accepted by the Home Office.

Another issue that worries the U.K. tech sector is the possibility that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, as conservative politicians have promised a referendum on European Union membership by 2017. The industry fears such a move would be bad for business, but David argues that “We live in a democracy, it’s up to the government and people to decide if they want a referendum so we’re not arguing with that. If you take the position of the government, which is that they’re looking for reform, then this could be a positive.” Removing the United Kingdom from the European Union, however, would reduce the country’s exposure to a market of up to 500 million people.

“There’s a 500 million-person market right on our doorstep which people don’t take advantage of to grow,” David said. “If you look at the impact of the US market on the ability and speed with which US companies can scale, it doesn’t happen here because the single market doesn’t actually operate at home yet.”