Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech Nation
“We have to be as open as possible,” said Gerard Grech. “This is very important for any ecosystem.
As chief executive of TechNation – a government-backed organization promoting start-up and scale growth in the UK – Grech has released a new report outlining the progress of a visa scheme aimed at attracting tech talent to the UK. Government.
Deploying a certain amount of hyperbole, the report claims that tech talent is “flowing” to Britain, thereby accelerating the sector’s growth.
So what does the report tell us? Well, progress is being made. Between January and August 2022, 659 visas were issued to immigrants in the innovation economy. The right to live and work is extended not only to technical workers, but also to founders and people with expertise in areas such as product management or sales. And according to the document, more visas were issued in the first half of this year than in all of 2021.
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But let’s step back and look at the bigger picture. Across the board, England faces a labor crisis. With around 1.3 million unfilled vacancies, there simply aren’t enough workers to fill the available posts. There are various reasons for this, including the post-Covid “Great Resignation” and the political decision to end freedom of movement for European citizens following the Brexit vote.
Certain problems
The technology sector has some unique problems. Thanks to the growth of the startup, this is a growing part of the economy and as things stand, the domestic skills base is not enough to meet the demand. For this reason, attracting people from overseas remains important to the health of the technology ecosystem. It may be that way for a while.
Against this background, Grech sees the Tech Talent Visa scheme as very important. “The economy is now digital,” he says. “2021 was a record year for technology investment and we overtook China in the first quarter of 2022. This is putting pressure on the digital skills gap,” he said.
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And he pointed out that the emphasis is now on what the government likes to call “global Britain”. In the pre-Brexit era, London was a magnet for European workers who easily migrated, particularly without much experience in heavy bureaucracy. Their presence has helped feed a talent-starved industry. Today, migration is controlled by visas and the talent pool is seen as global rather than regional.
“I think the tech industry looks more global,” Greck said. “It draws talent from around the world.”
Is there a difference?
There are those who argue – and I am one of them – that Britain has made life more difficult by not maintaining some sort of free movement agreement with the rest of Europe so that it can access a larger pool of skilled workers. workers. Grech puts a more positive spin on the current situation.
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Access to international talent “is the difference,” he says. While economies such as France and Germany will continue to draw on Europe’s talent pool, the UK will benefit from diversification. New thinking will enter the country and new networks will be opened.
How that will play out in practice remains to be seen, but in the short to medium term, the important thing is that the visa system gets the right mix of people. So how is it?
A mix of skills
TechNation manages just one part of Britain’s Global Talent Visa regime. The scheme, which aims to attract people to the arts, science and digital economy, will allow successful applicants to live and work in Britain for up to five years. Naturally enough, Tech Nation’s overseas applications for those seeking work in the digital economy.
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So far, 25 percent of TechNation’s accepted applicants are founders, with the rest what TechNation describes as high-value employees. Not all of the latter group are software engineers. 40 percent are non-technical people.
So how are the choices? Grech stressed that applicants do not need to be sponsored by individual companies, but must be able to provide evidence of their value. For example, a founder may be granted a visa if he has a track record as a serial entrepreneur or if he has raised VC funds for a specific project. A Sales Manager should demonstrate a track record of expanding technology companies and/or solving new markets.
But can Britain compete with the likes of the Bay Area for global talent? “America has been doing this for a long time,” Grech said. But Britain’s tech ecosystem is booming and attracting a lot of talent.
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In the long term, Grech says trends such as boosting computer science in UK universities will help tackle the skills crisis, as will initiatives such as coding bootcamps. However, Britain should be open to talent. This is why the success of the visa scheme is important.
