Migration within the UK is something that is always on the public agenda. While some are opposed to it, others believe that it is something which is necessary in order for businesses and certain sectors to flourish.
In London in particular, migration is of great importance to a number of industries including the financial sector and the Flat White Economy. It is also of prevalence and importance to construction, hospitality and health and social care.
With the impending doom of Brexit set to change the face of migration and make free movement harder for those hoping to move to the UK for work, could some of the benefits that businesses see as a result of migration be set to diminish?
How migration benefits UK businesses
It helps to alleviate skill bottlenecks and removes barriers
For businesses to grow and prosper effectively, it’s important that there are enough people with the right skills available to do the job. It’s no secret that within the UK, there are certain industries that are suffering as a result of skills shortages.
In construction for example, it has been reported by The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has reported that the industry will need to find 157,000 new recruits by 2021 in order to keep up with demand.
Migration opens the doors to more talent and helps industries such as construction thrive.
It boosts diversity and creativity
This can especially be witnessed within the Flat White Economy, which relies on creativity in order to flourish. The Flat White Economy refers to a millennial generation of business people and entrepreneurial types that are focused on both technology and creativity. This is particularly prevalent in London, where the spending habits of millennials, who are less inclined to save money and prefer to spend their disposable income in cafes and restaurants.
These types of people also tend to live and work in close proximity of each other, which in term helps to bolster creativity as they are constantly bouncing ideas off each other.
It helps businesses to become more profitable
Every business is looking for ways that they can boost they profit margins, and migration is a sure fire way to do that. While initially it will result in downward pressure on wages through the enhanced supply of labour, the secondary affect is that it will boost wages through faster growth.