3,000 UK visa holders needed by care industry annually

June 29 2009 by Robbie Ragless

Oxford University studies UK visas

Foreign-born UK visa holders and workers from the EU are essential to the care industry in the UK, according to an Oxford University study.

The key role played by migrant care workers in the country was highlighted in the report by Oxford University’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), which was published yesterday.

In London the dependence on foreign workers is even higher, with 60% of care workers having moved to the UK to find work.

COMPAS says it expects a 2.5% increase in foreign-born care workers working in the UK every year between now and 2030, which translates at an extra 3,000 every year.

The study found that, over the past ten years, the proportion of foreign care workers on a UK visa has more than doubled, with more than 20% of all carers nationwide who look after the elderly being foreign-born.

The trend has been caused to a large extent by a shortage of UK workers to fill the roles, which can be low paid with long hours and high levels of responsibility. In 2008, half of all care employers said they found it hard to fill vacancies.

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