Home secretary Amber Rudd has announced plans to stop migrants ‘taking jobs British people should do’ in her speech at the Conservative national convention.
The government will toughen a test which companies have to pass before they can begin hiring foreign workers, potentially forcing British firms to prove they have done all they can to find a British worker to fill the role.
High skilled workers from within the EU will likely be allowed to work in the UK, with lower skilled workers having to obtain a work permit.
Rudd said: “The test should ensure people coming here are filling gaps in the labour market, not taking jobs British people could do.
“But it’s become a tick box exercise, allowing some firms to get away with not training local people. We won’t win in the world if we don’t do more to upskill our own workforce.”
During her speech, Rudd also announced that firms may have to publish the proportion of international staff on their books.
The government are also looking to crackdown on foreign students entering the country from outside the EU, by announcing a limit on the number who are allowed to study ‘low quality’ courses.
Newly re-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn commented: “Drawing up lists of foreign workers won’t stop unscrupulous employers undercutting wages in Britain. Shutting the door to international students won’t pay young people’s tuition fee debts, and ditching doctors from abroad won’t cut NHS waiting lists.
“The Conservatives will instead foster division and discrimination in our workplaces and communities.”