Looming crisis.

There’s no denying that the population of the UK is, on average, getting older every year.  The aging population is producing concerns of pressure on the labour market at a time when demand IT workers is increasing. The Work Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, has called on politicians and policy makers to do more to address the issue.

The Work Foundation has produced a report, Towards a Global Labour Market?, which states that soaring demand for highly skilled workers, along with existing skills shortages and the UK’s ageing population, means businesses must look to source workers from abroad if Britain is to remain competitive.

The report suggests that a points-based immigration system will not be sufficient and politicians must actively make the case for highly skilled migrants.

The report also points out that companies base themselves where there’s a readily available source of skilled workers can influence - especially for companies working at the cutting edge of R&D. A further statement suggests that the hostile view of immigration could harm the hi-tech sector as foreign workers are discouraged from coming to Britain.

It’s an interesting read. Here’s my ‘finger in the pie’: the aging population could be retrained. There are plenty of tech savvy members of the older generation who would love to get some real hands on the IT industry. The government should be doing more to promote technology and sciences in higher education rather than pushing students into useless learning paths - “I want a degree in ‘bed testing!”

One final thought;  recent reports show that a large number of Indian workers are upping sticks and going home. Why? Because they see India as the ‘next big thing’ offering greater opportunities and wealth than Europe or America. Hmm, how are we going to deal with that? Over to you.

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