Migrants are better qualified than workers born in UK, says study
Those of us with experience of working in gang master territory in rural England have known the point this article makes for years. I have personally met lawyers, university graduates and qualified nurses working at the sharp end of the Lincolnshire food industry. This article concentrates on those migrants who have broken through the glass ceiling into good and well paid jobs it explains: “Migrants are better qualified and holding down better-paid jobs than people born in theUK, according to a major international study published yesterday. Figures show that 34 per cent of migrants in the UK have a post-school qualification; 4.9 percentage points higher than the figure for non-immigrants. They are also better paid than migrants in most other countries and UK-born workers, putting less of a strain on the benefit system, according to research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.”
There is much to be positive about in this story but lets not forget those well qualified migrants working in less glamorous and rewarding circumstances and what they might have to offer. And lest anyone seeks to accuse me of not understanding the importance of migrant labour to a dynamic food sector in rural Englandl et me state here and now I do appreciate this and have a lot of sympathy for considerate food businesses seeking to maintain the viability of their businesses in a difficult economic climate.