UK needs more immigrants to fill IT skills gap, says report

The UK must attract more highly skilled migrant workers to support the knowledge economy, says the Work Foundation.

In a report, the foundation says the UK will need to attract highly skilled workers from the European Union and outside it in order to secure the future of "high technology, knowledge-intensive industries".

The report says a combination of increasing demand for knowledge workers - especially in IT, science, healthcare and technology fields - skill shortages among employers, and an ageing population means that policy-makers must do more to ensure the UK remains an attractive place for highly skilled migrants to come to.

A climate of hostility towards immigration in general has the potential to harm the ability of firms to attract skilled, talented people from abroad, the report warns.