§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which UK agencies are best able to(a) assist with recognising educational backgrounds and skills of migrant workers and (b) help the UK employment sector to take advantage of the enlargement of the EU. [157363]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Government welcome EU enlargement and expect that it will have a positive impact on the UK, allowing us to benefit from a wider skills market to fill key labour and skills gaps and boost productivity.
1730WThe UK National Reference Point (NRP) for Vocational Qualifications has been set up by UK Government to explain vocational qualifications (VQs) and particularly how UK VQs relate to ones elsewhere in Europe. The UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) advises on the comparability of overseas educational qualifications with those from the UK.
Jobcentre Plus is able to assist employers in the UK and migrant workers from the new member states to fill vacancies and find appropriate work. Jobcentre Plus, through its EURES adviser network is also able to advise employers and jobseekers about comparability of qualifications through the NARIC Global Qualifications database.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of how enlargement of the EU will affect the skills shortage in the United Kingdom. [157362]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Government welcome EU enlargement and expect that it will have a positive impact on the UK, allowing us to benefit from a wider skills market to fill key labour and skills gaps and boost productivity. The UK has the strongest labour market for a generation and this puts us in a good position to absorb any additional migrant flows. Free movement of workers within a larger EU will complement the work we are doing to address the skills gaps that exist currently within our own workforce, which are predominantly in the Business Services and construction sectors.
As announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, A8-nationals who want to work in the UK will be required to apply to register as a worker once they have found a job. The benefit of this new light-touch worker registration scheme is that it will expand the range of skills and supply of workers available across the UK and allow us to monitor the types of work that accession country nationals are entering in the UK. Through our labour market data we will also be able to tell the impact on the UK labour market as a whole.