Brexit causing ‘brain drain’ – as highly-skilled foreign workers snub the UK

Yet another Brexit mis-step has come to light this week, after data released by the employment website Indeed revealed that highly-skilled foreign workers are ignoring the UK, in favour of ‘more accessible’ European countries.

ALSO READ: Passengers transiting through Heathrow will soon have to pay £10 charge thanks to Brexit

UK ‘second-bottom’ in searches of skilled workers looking to move abroad

The figures show that only one in five ‘foreign clicks’ on the UK website are from workers looking in areas which require specialist expertise. This pales in comparison to the top jobs posted in places like France and The Netherlands, which have a respective click-rate of 36% and 31%.

Of the 10 countries analysed in this survey, Britain finished second-from-bottom – with only Spain having a lower rate of engagement on its listings for the best and brightest. When pressed on the issues raised by candidates in the UK, employers gave a nod to Brexit.

Brexit blamed for making Britain ‘less attractive’ to skilled workers

Around 35% of registered companies who posted these high-calibre vacancies confirmed that ‘new legal red tape’ – brought on following the confirmation of the UK’s split from the EU – are having a profound impact on hiring non-domestic workers with matching skills-sets.

However, it is worth noting that there has been an overall rise in the number of foreign workers searching for jobs in the UK. But a large majority are seeking roles in lower-paid, lower-skilled industries – exposing another Brexit myth for what it is.

Data ‘at odds’ with Brexit immigration policy – Indeed

Instead of being able to pick from the most-talented foreign employees, the UK now finds itself at the back of the queue. Pawel Adrjan is the director of EMEA and APAC economic research at Indeed – he says that other Western nations are now proving to be ‘more attractive’:

“Indeed data shows that while there’s been a surge in foreign interest in UK roles, the country falls behind other Western nations in attracting highly skilled workers, which is at odds with the government’s current immigration policy.”

“As borders become less relevant for workers, businesses and states must offer not only competitive salaries but also attractive living conditions, high-performing healthcare and education systems, and political and economic stability.” | Pawel Adrjan