Latest news with #skilledworkers
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
I'm a skilled immigrant who's paid my £37K in taxes. Labour's new visa plans could send me packing
Tariq*, a 35-year-old software engineer from southern Asia, has invested £22,000 of his money on visas and NHS charges so he could build a life in London. He arrived in 2020 as a masters' degree student, attracted by the UK's post-Brexit message to the world that it needs skilled migrants and welcome talent. 'I believed that promise,' he says. After completing his postgraduate degree, in 2022 Tariq found a job as a senior software engineer in the world-leading tech sector that prime minister Keir Starmer is pegging plans for economic growth upon. He moved on to a five-year skilled work visa - a route to obtaining indefinite leave to remain - and his wife and young daughter joined him. Now, the family's future is in disarray - and he's not alone. Tariq fears he could be forced to leave the country by the government's sudden overhaul in immigration policy, which has left those already here on skilled work visas fearing they will have to wait a full decade to secure the right to remain permanently. The working visa gives employees just 60 days to find a new job if they are made redundant - an impossible demand for young families. 'My nine-year-old daughter, who started school here and came at the age of four, speaks only English and has no cultural or linguistic connection to our home country. If we are forced to leave because of a change that did not exist when we applied, the trauma for her and for children like her would be unimaginable,' he says. 'My family and I have invested our savings, trust, and lives into building a future here. I came in good faith, under clearly written government rules that stated we would be eligible to apply for ILR after five continuous years. We feel stranded, in limbo. What many people don't realise is that we can't rewind our lives, we can't go back in time and undo the decisions we made when we first entered the system.' Also feeling trapped is tech product manager Giang*, a high-skilled and highly-paid employee who is almost at the end of his five-year wait to obtain residency after moving from a previous tech position in Singapore. He has paid more than £37,000 in income tax in the last year alone, and together with his wife has invested more than £30,000 in the UK stock market. 'We bought an apartment just recently, we are expecting a baby and we are preparing to launch our own business in the UK,' he says. The family is 'living in limbo' waiting to discover their fate since the immigration white paper dropped. 'I want to make plans for my family but there is no information for me,' Giang says. 'I've paid a lot of tax and really feel unwelcome and feel prevented from integrating into the community because if I lose my job I have to pack up and leave the country within 60 days.' If he had known that extending the qualification period was a possibility, Giang says he would have opted to pursue his career in the US or another European country. He is now considering moving his family back to his home nation. 'I'd take a 20-30% pay cut, but my net income and purchasing power would be much better. I want to stay in the UK for the job market and tech industry opportunities. It's a big sunk cost for us, but it would be a bigger risk continuing to invest for five more years knowing I might lose the job,' he says. 'If they can move the goalposts now, I'm really concerned that in the next couple of years they could move again so that settlement is always a dangling carrot for us and we never get it.' Both men agreed to speak to Yahoo if we protected their identity, due to fears that their jobs or families could be at risk if they were seen to be speaking out. Yahoo has seen documents that verify their identities and UK tax commitments. Experts warn that the new immigration policy is destroying the global reputation of the UK's tech sector as a place where high-skilled talent is welcomed and can thrive - putting plans for rapid economic growth at risk. There are 54,000 skilled migrants working in UK tech, and the number is rising each year. When the white paper on immigration was first published in May, including plans to move to a 10-year settlement period for new arrivals, the industry's leaders warned it could cause problems. Antony Walker, deputy CEO of TechUK, said: 'As the demand for skilled workers in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, and quantum continues to grow, it is crucial that the UK grants and maintains immigration pathways that enable tech companies to access the talent they need. A well-designed and fairly priced visa system is essential to maintaining the UK's global competitiveness.' Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra, reader in political economy and entrepreneurship at King's College London and an expert in start-ups, told Yahoo that UK tech was already suffering under existing 'innovator' visa rules, which grant migrant entrepreneurs just three years to establish a business - too short, according to experts. Now the industry is in danger of losing its highly skilled workforce too. 'The overall sentiment or narrative that's been projected outside of the UK is one of, do I want to go to the UK in the first place? It's logically inconsistent to say we want the UK to be a world leader in these areas but then when people with families, with lives, try to bring their skillset to the UK, they're then met with a reality that doesn't fulfil that ambition," she says. Sir Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Manchester Business School, says talented migrants should not worry; the UK will create exceptions to the rules to protect their investment in British industry. But that alone will not change a dangerous perception of Britain that is now being spread outside the UK. 'It's not about rationality, it's about emotion. The vast majority have nothing to worry about even if they lose a job, but that's not the reality experienced by these people who are emotionally worried that, if they lose their job, their visa will expire. The government should be thinking about this and they should be aware that it's a problem,' Professor Cooper says. 'I'm more worried about what message the UK is sending out, about what people who are currently in the UK in the high-tech industries are saying to people back in the countries they came from.' Tanmay Datta, a 30-year-old software engineer originally from India who now works in British fintech, says he is now dealing with stress and anxiety as a result of the uncertainty. He was due to achieve residency in 2026, and is paying around £35,000 a year in income tax - higher than the salary thresholds for some migrant visas to the UK. His partner, who his visa states as his dependent in the UK, is also a higher-rate taxpayer. 'We have had to put all our major life plans on hold. We feel unable to make significant decisions, such as starting a family or moving house,' he says. In the last week, the government has confirmed that some workers will be able to qualify for settlement earlier than 10 years, but has not clarified how its proposed 'earned status' will operate. There is currently no fixed timescale for implementation of the proposals set out in the immigration white paper.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Saint John, N.B., refinery undergoing $100M upgrade
Storage tanks are seen at the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. The Saint John, N.B., refinery is undergoing a $100-million upgrade to its fluid catalytic cracking unit. Irving Oil, which operates the refinery, says the cracking unit refines crude oil to produce products like gasoline and diesel. The privately-funded upgrade project will bring in roughly 675 skilled workers, primarily from Atlantic Canada, Irving claims. 'Work will be completed in a phased approach over the summer and fall, beginning this month,' a news release from Irving says. 'During this time, the additional tradespeople supporting the project at the refinery, including labourers, scaffolders, pipefitters, boilermakers and insulators will generate direct and indirect benefits to the regional economy – an estimated $3.5 million in economic spinoffs in New Brunswick – by providing boosts to accommodations, recreation services, restaurants, as well as retail and other sectors. 'In addition, the total workforce hours on the project represent the equivalent of more than 140 annualized jobs.' The refinery, which is the largest in Canada, was established in 1960. Refinery Storage tanks are seen at the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B. on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (Andrew Vaughan) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
The Green Transition Needs More Workers
By and Akshat Rathi Save The US and UK governments say they want more skilled workers, but today's newsletter explains they're doing everything they can to push them away. You can read and share the full story with your friends and followers on For unlimited access to climate and energy news, please subscribe. Help us improve Bloomberg newsletters: Take a quick survey to share your thoughts on your signup experience and what you'd like to see in the future.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Labor Shortages Are Holding Back Desperately Needed Electrification
By , Olivia Rudgard, and Oscar Boyd Save Western economies need to electrify and fast, but where are all the skilled workers going to come from to install the heat pumps, solar panels and batteries needed? This week on the Zero podcast, Akshat Rathi talks with Olivia Rudgard about the shortage of labor in electrification industries, and why some experts are calling it an 'existential' crisis. This is the second episode in Bottlenecks, a new series exploring the lesser known obstacles standing in the way of our electrified future.
Bloomberg
04-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Zero: Labor Shortages Are Holding Back Electrification
Western economies need to electrify and fast, but where are all the skilled workers going to come from to install the heat pumps, solar panels and batteries needed? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Olivia Rudgard about the shortage of labor in electrification industries, and why some experts are calling it an 'existential' crisis. This is the second episode in Bottlenecks, a new series exploring the lesser known obstacles standing in the way of our electrified future.
