Oil & Gas UK: Migrant cap now fits
24 Nov 2010
London – Oil & Gas UK has now cautiously welcoming the Government’s 23 Nov announcement on migration limit as broadly positive, having previously expressed dismay at the idea.
The change of heart followed news that skilled migrants entering the UK as intra company transfers will be excluded from the Government’s cap on migrants entering the UK to work.
Malcolm Webb, Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, said: “We still await the full details of the new policy but we were pleased to hear that intra company transfers (ICTs) for skilled migrants will be excluded from the cap.
“This route is particularly important for the oil and gas sector as companies rely on the flexibility to bring their highly skilled people with specialist expertise, usually for a fixed period, to work in teams here in the UK.”
Jessica Burton, Oil & Gas UK’s manager, special projects, meanwhile, welcomed the introduction of an ’exceptional talent’ route into the UK, under Tier 1. The move, she said, will prioritise the migration of gifted and talented academics and scientists.
Burton added: “While we welcome the fact that the Government has today demonstrated a prioritisation of Tier 2 migrants over those entering without a firm job offer under Tier 1, we urge the Government to exercise caution in their continued drive towards reducing migration levels.
“Any reduction target should not be met to the detriment of the UK’s competitiveness as a global centre of excellence for business and technology, and further cuts to the number of highly skilled migrants entering the UK would be very damaging.”
Oil & Gas UK, recently, reacted angrily to proposals by the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) to introduce a cap on skilled migration into the UK.
“We are dismayed therefore to see that the MAC is proposing that the Government should cap the number of people coming to the UK from outside the EU to take up posts which cannot be filled by UK residents,” said Webb.
“The temporary cap on skilled migration is already causing delays to major UK offshore oil and gas projects on which, paradoxically, hundreds of jobs for UK residents depend.”
