Change in immigration laws sees jump in demand for South Africans with tech experience in the UK
With the British Government looking to cut immigration to less than 100,000 people a year, a large hole in the British tech industry has opened up according to the UK’s Immigration Advice Service (IAS).
The uncertainty of Brexit has cast doubt on migrant workers wanting to come to the UK with many tech companies recently turned off by the lack of connection with Europe, the company said in a statement.
Still, tech companies are looking sill trying to attract the best and the brightest from around the globe, with many businesses are also electing to stay in the UK resulting in something of a brain drain, it said.
“The unexpected increase for tech visas in the UK has shown many tech companies are looking to solidify their workers post-Brexit Britain.”
“Tech companies are looking to attract the best and the brightest from around the globe. This is evidenced by the dramatic increase in Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visas being approved,” it said.
Speaking to BusinessTech, IAS said that while it was not able to name exactly which companies were hiring, its lawyers had seen an increase in app-based applications from companies trying to create new sorts of customer based tech (developers) as well as a number of companies bringing over engineers directly.
It indicated that a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa was the most popular option and is used for those who’ve been endorsed in the fields of science, humanities, engineering, medicine, digital technology or the arts if you’re recognized for exceptional talent and promise.
This has resulted in many companies in UK the tech industry calling for increases to the Exceptional Talent Visa due to the reliance on foreign workers, said IAS
Citing a recent report by Hired it highlighted that currently over 27% of potential technology talent comes from outside the UK.
“Globally the highest number of STEM graduates come from China (4.7m) followed closely by India (2.6m) companies in the UK realistically need to look internationally to compete in a global market place,” IAS said.
“The lawyers at the Immigration Advice Services have also noticed a decided increase in applications for these visas as British companies compete with their European counterparts.”
Speaking on South Africans directly, IAS indicated that South Africa workers were on a level playing field with the rest of the world with regards to how companies consider their applicants.
It also indicated that despite the incoming Brexit, foreign investment in London still trumped similar European cities meaning tech companies would continue looking for skilled workers from abroad.
Jokingly the spokesperson did note that many South Africans are surprised that they have to take the English Language test in order to be eligible for the visa.
Read: What South Africans need to know about Australia’s strict new emigration requirements
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