The chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has voiced his support for a new approach to immigration.
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) spoke to 129,000 firms across 18 industry sectors, and the findings suggest a new approach to immigration is required.
The report recommends the scrapping of arbitrary immigration targets and instead calls for a system that assesses the contribution migrants will make. It says that the system should remain open enough to allow the UK economy to grow by taking advantage of the economic benefits that immigration has been shown to deliver. At the same time, it recommends that the right controls be put in place to build public trust.
Josh Hardie, CBI deputy director-general, said: “The stakes couldn’t be higher. Get it wrong, and the UK risks having too few people to run the NHS, pick fruit or deliver products to stores around the country. This would hurt us all - from the money in our pockets to our access to public services.”
If implemented, these recommendations could avoid a major problem in the food and drink industry.
The British meat industry is said to be particularly vulnerable to shortages of workers across all skills levels. More than 85% of official veterinarians employed to audit abattoirs in the UK are reported to be EU nationals; an average of 63% (rising to 80% in some cases) of production staff in meat processing plants are from the EU.
It’s not just food handling skills that could be in short supply. As the meat sector harnesses technology to develop the factories of the future and provide more connectivity up and down the food supply chain, it will be competing with other industries to fill engineering, science and technology roles.
Nick Allen, CEO of BMPA, said: “The BMPA supports the recommendations set out in the CBI’s latest report and will be adding its voice to calls for Government to heed the warnings coming directly from food businesses up and down the country.
“This detailed report presents a clear business case for how future immigration policy should be shaped so that it fosters rather than hinders economic growth once we have left the EU.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
