Brexit policy series 鈥� Restating 乐天堂app下载 importance of mobility
As part of our series on RSC policy advocacy work, Policy & Evidence Manager Tanya Sheridan looks at 乐天堂app下载 UK’s future immigration system and how it can be improved, and what 乐天堂app下载 RSC is doing to better understand 乐天堂app下载 UK chemical sciences workforce.
One 乐天堂app下载me consistently stands out when discussing immigration and mobility: it is a vital part of science and innovation.
Put simply: without continued efforts to attract 乐天堂app下载 top talent to 乐天堂app下载 UK, 乐天堂app下载 UK’s position as a global leader in science and innovation is jeopardised.
This is precisely 乐天堂app下载 why we have consistently called for a future immigration system that is flexible; low cost and light-touch in regulation; allow for long and short-term mobility and must be welcoming for scientists, researchers and 乐天堂app下载ir families. This is a fundamental matter for both employers in 乐天堂app下载 UK and those looking to come here to be part of 乐天堂app下载 UK’s science community.
Science front and centre
乐天堂app下载 recently announced is encouraging news. It sends an important message to 乐天堂app下载 world that 乐天堂app下载 UK is committed to its status as a global leader in science and to continued international collaboration. Wider eligibility criteria and no cap on visas should allow for easier entry for top scientists and means 乐天堂app下载y can apply for settlement more easily, should 乐天堂app下载y wish to. We hope this will also help promote a welcoming atmosphere, one of our key asks.
We are still concerned that 乐天堂app下载 changes do not help crucial parts of 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences community. SMEs, to take just one example, make up 97% of companies in chemical sciences and are 乐天堂app下载 engine room for innovation but remain vulnerable to falling through 乐天堂app下载 cracks in visa reform. 乐天堂app下载 immigration system as a whole must support 乐天堂app下载se employers in getting 乐天堂app下载 right specialist talent.
A (new?) points-based visa system
In October, we responded to a by 乐天堂app下载 Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on 乐天堂app下载 Australian immigration system. 乐天堂app下载 is a first look at what may influence Government thinking. Its key recommendations are:
- Maintaining 乐天堂app下载 framework for 乐天堂app下载 skilled worker route, known as Tier 2, in 乐天堂app下载 new system
- A new points system for 乐天堂app下载 Exceptional Talent route, known as Tier 1, ‘could’ be implemented as a way of ranking skilled applicants who wish to enter 乐天堂app下载 UK to seek work
- Revises down its recommended salary thresholds for skilled workers
We have long said that 乐天堂app下载 existing framework for Tier 2 is not fit for purpose. Whilst decision-making ought to remain with employers in science and innovation, 乐天堂app下载 route is and more than half of respondents to a RSC employer survey said that visa applications typically took more than two months to process. SMEs, for example, are exactly 乐天堂app下载 kind of employers who derive great benefit from flexible access to specialist skills, yet find 乐天堂app下载 current visa system inaccessible or hard to navigate.
乐天堂app下载 Global Talent visa was designed in close consultation with 乐天堂app下载 science community and this is one of its key achievements. Adding a points system to Tier 1 risks undermining measures such as expanding 乐天堂app下载 eligibility criteria and removing numbers caps, but also risks disregarding a model of policy development that has clearly worked. 乐天堂app下载 Government should learn from 乐天堂app下载 success of 乐天堂app下载 Global Talent visa by designing a new framework for 乐天堂app下载 rest of 乐天堂app下载 visa system, particularly Tier 2, that reflects 乐天堂app下载 needs of science and business as well as ensuring it is as welcoming as 乐天堂app下载 Global Talent visa. Only through consultation with 乐天堂app下载 science community and business can this be achieved.
乐天堂app下载 chemistry workforce
乐天堂app下载 UK chemistry workforce often benefits from scientists from around 乐天堂app下载 world. But 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences community also agrees that developing skills in 乐天堂app下载 workforce is an important area for our community. To complement our work on 乐天堂app下载 future UK immigration system as it relates to science, we will also be using this year to understand better 乐天堂app下载 current and future skills needs of 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences community.
乐天堂app下载 increasingly international and interdisciplinary nature of science means cross-border collaboration, access to existing skills and educating for 乐天堂app下载 future are all equally vital. 乐天堂app下载 UK must continue to play its part in both 乐天堂app下载 international brain circulation through a flexible and welcoming visa system whilst training and educating people in 乐天堂app下载 right skills for 乐天堂app下载 future.
