Young Scots will be driven into a low-skill career path
AS I watched TV news reports of the proposed new points-based immigration rules it became clear that my worst fears are likely to be confirmed. Opponents of the scheme expressed their concerns in terms of adverse effects on the Scottish economy. Nobody seemed to have recognised the inevitable tragic consequences for the educational and career prospects of future generations of young indigenous Scots.
My own progress towards a senior role in the electrical power industry was greatly assisted by the training support and sponsorship of Scottish firms in the utility and equipment manufacturing sectors. With the new open door for well-qualified, oven-ready, English speakers from all corners of the planet, what major employer is going to fund its own training scheme? To add to the misery, Priti Patel is advising employers to concentrate on training indigenous recruits to carry out the “low-skilled” tasks for which migrant labour will no longer be available. In summary, our young people will have to compete with foreigners for well-paid skilled employment but will find themselves directed towards an easy pathway into a low-skilled, low-paid, future.
The saddest part of all this is that the overall reduction in immigration which motivated so many Brexit voters is by no means certain to occur.
Willie Maclean, Milngavie.
HOTEL chain owner Stephen Leckie says that the new policy will cripple his business and large parts of the tourism and hospitality industry (“‘Hospitality is all about people... it just can’t be automated’”, The Herald, February 20). Sadly, I must agree with him.
As a member of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association I have spoken with members all over Scotland who are in despair at the prospect of losing access to workers from Europe. These hard-working people are a great asset to the hospitality sector, which with its pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels is the largest employer in our country, generating revenues at local and national level.
As well as providing a boost to local economies many of these venues serve as focal points for local communities and, equally importantly, help to enrich the visitor experience for tourists visiting Scotland. I believe these new policies to be short-sighted and ill-conceived.
Incidentally, I resent the use of the terms “unskilled or low-skilled” to describe these workers. Staff in hospitality display a wide range of skills working in a busy and demanding environment.
William Gold, the Hielan Jessie bar, Glasgow.
DUE to a lack of concern and mismanagement of Scotland’s economy by Westminster, our problem has been high emigration
– not a perception of too many foreigners, which was one of the main drivers of the Brexit vote in England. High emigration has contributed to the fact that Scotland’s population is ageing much more rapidly than the other UK countries and as a result Scotland badly needs many more young workers to help build our tax base and grow our economy.
Therefore, it is a no-brainer to have a bespoke immigration policy as proposed by Nicola Sturgeon but instantly dismissed by Boris Johnson without even reading it. We need widespread support for Ms Sturgeon’s distinctive Scottish visa proposals, which works in sub-states in Canada and Australia, as the UK Government proposals will damage our businesses plus our NHS and care sectors that rely heavily on overseas labour.
It is telling that no Scottish Tory MP or MSP was prepared to get on with the day job and stand up for Scotland over this devastating immigration policy. I assume they are waiting for instructions from Dominic Cummings.
Fraser Grant, Edinburgh EH9.
AT last an immigration policy that the public in the UK have been demanding for far too many years. Boris Johnson has delivered a bold migration plan for the whole of the UK. Those who demanded immigration control were called racist when they pointed out that immigration was placing huge pressure on the NHS, schools, housing and the welfare system including child benefit.
This of course does not please the strident SNP Government which demanded an independent Scottish immigration system. Would anyone trust the Scottish Government after the shambles it made of setting up a social security agency, the serious failures in the NHS, Police Scotland and education and its soft-touch approach to crime?
Clark Cross, Linlithgow.
THE newly-proposed Westminster immigration points system will allegedly affect the seasonal agricultural and catering industries according to the hullabaloo being raised by the First Minister. I wonder if she has pondered the latest Scottish unemployment statistical information which puts the current figure at 96,000 out of or seeking work.
The premise by Westminster is that there area lot of people out there who could fill the job market that the catering and agricultural industries require. Incentivise the employers and likewise the employees: train them and see what happens. No point in belly-aching without giving it a go first.
Archie Burleigh, Skelmorlie.