The UK government has announced a £1 billion initiative aimed at training local workers to reduce dependency on migrant labour, with Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden underscoring the urgent need for homegrown talent, reports BritPanorama.
During the unveiling of the training boost, McFadden pointed to a rising concern over nearly one million young people in the UK who are neither in education nor employment, amid a ballooning benefits expenditure.
“Our country’s future depends on the skills of its people,” McFadden stated, highlighting the need to address critical skill shortages. “But we have become too reliant on overseas labour to fill shortages,” he added, emphasizing that the initiative aims to ensure that it is homegrown talent benefitting from homegrown opportunities, thereby stimulating the economy and increasing financial well-being.
The government plans to create 600,000 new skilled jobs by 2030 through this funding, which will focus on training engineers, construction workers, and cyber experts. This comes in the context of recent figures indicating that since Labour came to power, the number of jobs filled by foreign nationals has surged, with fewer opportunities available for British workers.
As part of a broader strategy to combat the skills gap, McFadden is directing Skills England to take decisive action to further decrease the country’s reliance on foreign workers. This new training initiative for the clean energy sector will also be included in a White Paper scheduled for announcement tomorrow.
Recent research by the Resolution Foundation indicates a troubling trend: the proportion of young Britons who have never worked is increasing. Many young individuals are dropping out of education prematurely and struggling to secure employment, with excessive figures noted in certain local authority areas.
Julia Diniz, a Research Specialist at the Resolution Foundation, remarked, “We need to help more young people stay in education or return if they drop out. Failing to do so risks stunting their long-term job prospects.”
