NEWS IN BRIEF

UK misses out on migrant workers' skills

A report commissioned by the TUC has revealed a huge gap between the contribution migrant workers make to the UK economy, and the contribution they could make if their skills and qualifications were recognised by employers.

'Migrant workers in the labour market' reveals how many migrant workers are trapped in low-skill, low-pay jobs with poor conditions that do not use their skills and experience gained back home. Too often they find themselves working well below their capabilities on the bottom of the jobs ladder, while British workers with similar skills and qualifications are much more senior.

Some highly qualified migrant workers find it difficult to get even unskilled jobs because of a poor grasp of English. Free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes used to help these workers, but there is no universal access anymore, further limiting the labour mobility of higher skilled migrant workers.

The TUC report recommends:

• Reversing Government changes to the funding of ESOL courses, and by investing more funds in language training
• Coordinating the regulation of qualifications
• Encouraging sector skills councils and unions to develop a unified approach to migration, ESOL and inclusion issues
• Supporting the development of learning promoted by unions.

For more information, go to: www.tuc.org.uk/learning/tuc-14287-f0.cfm