This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland
16/06/2005
The Fresh Talent initiative took another step forward
today when the UK Government laid regulations which will
allow students to apply to stay and work in Scotland for
two years after the end of their course without the need
for a work permit.
The
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will come into effect next
Wednesday, June 22. From that date, students will be able
to apply for the scheme.
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform Tom
McCabe said:
"This is another important step forward for Fresh
Talent. We have working in close partnership with the Home
Office and the
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme
will now come into effect next week.
"From Wednesday, overseas students will be able to apply
to stay and work in Scotland for two years after the end of
their course without the need for a work permit.
"I believe the scheme will prove to be popular. Scotland
is a great country with loads to offer and I am convinced
many students will want to remain in Scotland to work or
study.
"It will build on the other measures we have put in
place to address the demographic challenges Scotland faces.
We are serious about Fresh Talent - it is a very clear
signal we want Scotland to grow in profile and
stature."
Professor Joan Stringer, Principal and Vice-Chancellor,
Napier University said:
"Fresh Talent is in line with our own ambition to
recruit increasing numbers of overseas students to come to
study with us in Scotland and to export Scottish education
to the world through our partnerships with institutions
overseas - some of which go back some 20 years now. By
enabling and encouraging overseas students to work in
Scotland after they complete their studies, it also helps
us to fulfil our objective of supplying the confident
graduates which the employers who recruit our students
need."
The Scottish Executive and Home Office have agreed a new
scheme called the
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme.
The Scheme will begin on 22nd June and will apply to people
who have been living in Scotland and studying at a Scottish
college or university.
Those eligible to apply for permission to stay will be
those who have graduated with a Higher National Diploma
from a Scottish Further Education College or a first
degree, Master's degree or Ph.D. from a Scottish Higher
Education Institution. It will not include students
graduating with a Higher National Certificate or
postgraduate diploma, recipients of honorary degrees, or
people who lived outside Scotland while studying.
From June 22 2005, students will have one year from the
time they complete their studies to apply. This means that
those who completed their course up to one year before the
scheme is launched will be eligible to apply.
Applicants should intend to work in Scotland during the
time they are allowed to stay, and either leave the country
at the end of the two year period or switch to one of the
managed migration schemes. They must be able to maintain
themselves and any dependants who are in Scotland with them
without applying for help from public funds. If they have
received sponsorship to help pay for their studies, the
applicant must also provide a letter stating that the
sponsor has no objection to the individual staying in
Scotland
Applications for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland
Scheme must be made after the applicant has completed their
course. Applications made from within the UK must be made
before leave as a student (including as a student nurse, to
re-sit examinations or to write up a thesis) expires.
Students who leave Scotland after their graduation
ceremony may still apply to take part in the Scheme
provided the application is made within a year of the date
of completion of studies (taken as the date on the
graduation certificate or, for a Masters or Ph.D. graduate,
the date of the expiry of leave to enter or remain as a
student).
Between today and June 22, the Fresh Talent team will be
briefing universities and colleges to ensure that they are
in a position to respond to enquiries from students about
the scheme.
Application forms will be available from the Home
Office. Decisions on applications will be made by the Home
Office not the Scottish Executive. Further details will be
available before 22nd June at:
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk
www.scotlandistheplace.com