Ministers have acted to reduce the bureaucracy preventing overseas
IT workers filling jobs in the UK. Bill Goodwin outlines what the
changes will mean for UK firms hit by a high-tech skills
shortage
IT departments should find it much easier to recruit skilled
staff from abroad following a series of far-reaching relaxations to
the UK's work permit regulations.
Ministers, faced with the realisation that there is no quick
solution to the UK's high-tech skills shortage, plan to sweep away
the bureaucratic obstacles that have, until now, made hiring
overseas workers difficult and time-consuming.
Employment secretary David Blunkett said last week that the aim
is to create one of the world's most flexible work permit systems.
"We need to ensure that employers can quickly fill key posts where
shortages exist," he said.
The relaxations are the fruit of a year of discussions between
the Government's Overseas Labour Service (OLS) and employers'
bodies, particularly the IT suppliers group the Computing Services
and Software Association (CSSA).
Employers in the UK are increasingly going to have to compete
with employers in the US, Germany and the Netherlands for IT
workers, said Tony Lewis, the CSSA's executive director.
The US has been steadily increasing the annual quota of visas
offered to overseas workers in response to lobbying by the US
software industry. Germany has announced plans to open its borders
to IT professionals. The Netherlands and Austria are also
recruiting more IT staff from the UK.
The most sought after skills, perhaps not surprisingly, include
Java, networking and other Internet and e-commerce skills. But,
according to immigration specialists, demand for overseas
professionals with expertise in Windows NT, Oracle and SAP is also
strong.
In the past, bureaucratic hurdles have meant that UK firms have
had to wait months before they can bring suitable overseas
candidates into the UK. This has resulted in companies having to
delay important IT projects, which can put businesses at a serious
competitive disadvantage, said Lewis. "In this day and age with
e-commerce projects, a 12 to 16-week delay can feel like a
lifetime."
British companies using overseas IT services firms have also run
into difficulties. Offshore consultants often have to wait weeks
for permission to visit the UK to assess, cost and plan software
projects.
The Government's reforms are already beginning to remove some of
these obstacles. The most important change is that companies no
longer have to prove that they are unable to find suitable staff in
the UK before they look overseas for employees. This exemption
applies only to workers with skills the OLS recognises are in short
supply.
The fast-track list includes IT managers, business analysts and
network specialists. Analyst programmers, software engineers and
database experts may also be eligible if they have the right
specialisms. The categories will be updated quarterly based on
research supplied by the CSSA, the IT National Training
Organisation, the British Computer Society and similar bodies.
The second major change is a promise to cut the processing time
for work permit renewals by up to three months. Rather than having
to make separate approaches to the Home Office, for passport
stamping, and the OLS, for work permits, employers will be able to
do everything through the OLS. The aim is to cut down the
processing time to one week for 80% of applications by March
2001.
"The target for processing applications within a week is
laudable and ambitious," said James Dunlop, director of IT
immigration specialist Workpermit.com. "The impact of that,
combined with taking the Home Office out of the equation, is likely
to save more than 80% of the time taken for many applications. It
is a real step forward."
Further relaxations will follow between now and the autumn.
These include:
- Multi-national employers will pilot a programme that will allow
them to "self-certify" employees transferring from overseas
branches to the UK. The programme could cut red tape and reduce
delays
- Overseas workers will be offered "season ticket" work permits,
allowing them to make short visits to the UK. The permits could be
taken up by overseas IT consultants, reducing delays for employers
that outsource software development to India.
- Overseas students in the UK will be able to obtain work permits
without having to leave the country. The move will make it easier
for employers to offer positions to overseas IT
graduates.
- A pilot scheme will allow individuals of "outstanding ability"
to apply for work permits in the UK, whether or not they have jobs
to go to. The details of this scheme have yet to be worked out. But
if the Government includes IT skills within its definition of
"outstanding abilities" the scheme could create a new supply of IT
contractors for British firms.
- There will be a revision of the skills criteria needed for work
permit applications. This could remove the anachronistic
requirements for overseas IT staff to have a degree and a minimum
of two years' experience.
- Work permits will be extended from four to five
years.
These changes could help companies like Energis, which is
looking to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to find its IT
and telecoms specialists. The group began looking abroad at the
start of the year following a disappointing response from
recruitment advertising in the UK. Some vacancies had been unfilled
for two years.
For many, though, the Government's plans to open up the UK to
overseas IT workers sit uneasily with some of its other policies.
The Government's imposition of IR35, a tax regime that will hit
computer contractors, could, it is feared, drive UK IT freelancers
abroad, negating the impact of the work permit relaxations.
Opposition MPs claim that the Government has tried to divert
attention from IR35 by announcing its work permit relaxations
several times since the original announcement in the March
budget.
"Not only is this the umpteenth reannouncement of the same
policy, but the Government is trying to address a skills shortage
of its own creation," said shadow paymaster-general Richard
Ottaway. "Labour is in the absurd position of seeking to bring
foreign IT experts to Britain at the same time as its stealth taxes
are driving our home-grown talent overseas."
Whatever happens, it is clear that hiring overseas IT workers
can only be a short-term solution. In the longer term, employers
will need to do their bit to attract good quality staff into the IT
profession. This will mean working closely with universities and
making heavy investments in training.