date: 7 February 2008

embargo: 00.01hrs Friday 8 February 2008

UK businesses missing out on migrant workers' skills

A report commissioned by the TUC and published today (Friday) reveals a huge gap between the present contribution migrant workers make to the UK economy, and the contribution they could make if their skills and qualifications were recognised by employers.

'Migrant workers in the labour market' reveals how many migrant workers are trapped in low-skill, low-pay jobs with poor conditions that do not use their skills and experience gained back home. Too often they find themselves working well below their capabilities on the bottom of the jobs ladder, while British workers with similar skills and qualifications are much more senior.

The research highlights a disturbing lack of awareness among employers about the skills and qualifications migrant workers can offer them, and a systematic failure to employ migrants in jobs that allow them both to use their existing skills and learn news ones to enable their careers to progress.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'For too long the skills and qualifications of migrant workers have been desperately undervalued.

'Unions are working hard to develop learning and training strategies to persuade employers to recognise the qualifications of migrant workers, and employers need to wake up to the skills and potential these workers can offer. Trained migrant workers coming to the UK can fill gaps in our labour market, but business is failing to use their true skills.

'It's clear unions, employers and the Government need to open up new routes to jobs for all those migrant workers our system has been failing. If we can make that difference, our economy will reap the benefits of a better qualified workforce.'

The evidence in 'Migrant workers in the labour market' shows that - with the exception of the construction industry - employers are failing to seek advice from the National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) on the comparability of international qualifications. The agency provides information on qualifications from 183 countries and can help employers recruit migrant workers into jobs that reflect their skills. However, 75 per cent of the sector skills councils and regional chambers of commerce interviewed for the TUC report were making little use of the service.

Some highly qualified migrant workers find it difficult to get even unskilled jobs because of a poor grasp of English. Free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes used to help these workers, but the Government has recently changed the rules so there is no more universal access to ESOL, further limiting the labour mobility of higher skilled migrant workers.

The TUC report recommends:

Raising awareness of migrant skills by paying greater attention to the training needs of migrant workers, reversing Government changes to the funding of ESOL courses, and by investing more funds in language training.

Coordinating the regulation of qualifications. Organisations involved in learning and qualifications relating to employment need to work together to ensure information about qualifications is both accurate and accessible.

Encouraging sector skills councils and unions to develop a unified approach to migration, ESOL and inclusion issues.

Supporting the development of learning promoted by unions: The TUC's learning arm, unionlearn, should develop materials for inclusion in union learning rep training courses highlighting the position of migrant workers and raising awareness about the services offered by national organisations such as NARIC.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The full report can be downloaded from: http://www.unionlearn.org.uk/files/publications/documents/123.pdf

- This research was commissioned by the TUC to inform its policy on migrant workers. A project team led by Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio of Manchester University Business School undertook the research, which was focused on the migrant workers who had come to work in the UK in the following sectors - food and beverage manufacture/processing, cleaning services, health and construction. It took the form of in-depth interviews with migrant workers, as well as representatives from the sector skills councils, regional chambers of commerce and government departments and agencies.

- Anonymous case study: 'I'll be very overqualified for the job, I think, but you have to get your foot on the ladder at some point and unfortunately that rung is going to be right at the bottom... I do feel slightly aggrieved, as I should be paid according to my skills, not where I come from, but I suppose I just have to accept that that's the way it is.'

- There are examples of union-led learning projects on migrant workers in London,the North East, Southampton, Bournemouth, Yeovil, Wiltshire and Wales. Please contact the press office for more details.

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet: a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk

Press release (900 words) issued 8 Feb 2008