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Chapter Four New opportunities, new target groups

Introduction

4.1 Across the developed economies, where nations are experiencing a decline in birth rates and in the balance between births and deaths, there is pressure to recruit labour and address demographic ageing through in-migration. Under such conditions, not every nation can 'win'! Rather, within such a competitive environment, as with the rush to attract and retain financial capital in a global economy, each nation will have to identify strategies which can respond ever more flexibly and quickly to the potential flight of talented people. Just as there has been a spiral of ever more imaginative and frantic efforts to attract and retain key forms of global financial capital, there is a risk that a similar process will occur over talented human capital. As the attempts to attract inward investment, global hallmark events and international government expenditure and then to retain such capital have shown, there has to be considerable expenditure to achieve the benefits which accrue from the marketing of one's assets.

4.2 How then can and should Scotland respond to this 'talent' competition? The FT response has been to attract particular niches of human capital, building on its own recognised strengths (education, business entrepreneurship) and through such selective talent attraction sustain its future competitive advantages.

4.3 But it also needs to develop a robust, and flexible approach to retaining such talent, for this is the talent which increasingly other nations are also seeking, given its 'high value'. And widening this, there is also a need to sustain those characteristics which afford a competitive edge - the international quality of the education system, and the economic openness which fosters entrepreneurial activity.

4.4 FT is about human capital; the human resources and skills which engender competitiveness. As indicated in Chapter 3, it complements strategies of the Executive to encourage international financial capital to invest and create employment in Scotland, and those strategies enhancing social capital and the quality of life within Scotland.

4.5 In focussing on attracting new human capital into Scotland, FT has focused on five target groups (see 2.3). With the exception of Scottish business looking to recruit from overseas, and perhaps entrepreneurs (a small cohort), these three main target groups represent talent who have higher than average propensity to migrate - because of their position in their life course (going into higher or further education), or their own desire to relocate for employment, or return to Scotland. Further, these groups can make use of existing channels linking them or their country of origin and Scotland (as shown in Figure 2.1).

4.6 There is thus a sound logic to these being at the heart of FTI. In addition, the initial focus on international students is eminently logical, as there are well oiled channels - for example, between universities and colleges and countries around the world, between the British Council and these countries - and a highly desirable 'selling point' in the education quality offered in Scotland.

4.7 However, FT is located within evolving contexts ( Chapter 3), creating new spaces in which FT could operate. In this chapter therefore, the opportunity is taken to consider some new target groups for FT. The four groups outlined each utilise existing assets linked to Scotland: its own talent; its diasporic communities across the world; movement within companies and organisations connected to Scotland; and Scotland's connection within the EU/ EEA area.

4.8 These offer distinct advantages to FT.

• First, in a highly competitive market place for talent, they all place the unique advantages of Scotland centre stage.
• Second, in targeting these groups there are opportunities to build on existing connections - within companies, with the diaspora, within the EU.
• Third, there is a stronger position for business, within Scotland and overseas, within FT.
• Fourth they emphasis the integrity and identity of Scotland as nation and economic unit within the EU.

Retaining talent in Scotland

4.9 The migration statistics for the period 2002-03 highlight that approximately 71,000 people migrated from Scotland. 56.4% of those involved in this out-migration were aged between 13 and 34 years (General Register Office for Scotland, 2005b). Whilst this flow was more than offset by the inflow of migrants to Scotland, the scale of out-migration highlights the significance of retaining talent which currently resides in Scotland. Stemming this flow can provide a major contribution to increasing both the net migration balance and the youthfulness of the population.

Competing with the 'flight of talent'

4.10 There is a high level of risk attached to a 'talent attraction' strategy aiming at addressing demographic and economic challenges.

4.11 First, by its very nature, talent attracted to Scotland is more mobile and less embedded into communities and places. Consequently, they have a higher propensity to relocate again - participating in the global flight of talent. Accurate information on the length of stay of migrants is notoriously difficult to obtain. In the UK, data are derived either from the decennial census or from International Passenger Surveys ( IPS). According to the 2001 Census, in the 1990s one in 3 in-migrants left the UK again within 4 years of arrival, although there was some variation between those from OECD countries (50%) and non- OECD countries where only 23% left within 4 years ( ONS, 2005c). The IPS provides some sense of the trajectory of stay length, with a drop from 48% entering Britain in 1994 intending to stay for more than 4 years to 34% in 2003. This is matched by nearly half of all in-migrants intending to stay for only 1-2 years in 2003, and about 20% 3-4 years ( ONS, 2004).

4.12 Second, given talent's propensity to flight, there is a risk that others in Scotland join in the flight of talent. If, as argued in attracting talent, there is a honey-pot effect, with pools of talent attracting others, then the reverse is also probable, with ever expanding numbers of migrants attracted elsewhere by new, brighter opportunities.

4.13 Again there is limited information about the flows of migrants out of Scotland to assess this effect. There are few official statistics charting the number of Scots leaving to non- UK destinations, although individual national surveys and censuses across the world offer periodic insights. The 2001 Census indicated that 47,766 people left from Scotland to the rest of the UK during the 12 months before the census date, and that more than half were aged between 16 and 34. In total this is less than 1% of the Scottish population but does point to the likely flow of younger, educated people out of Scotland.

Table 4.1 Number of out-migrants from Scotland to rest of UK, 2000-01

Source: General Registrar for Scotland, 2005a

4.14 Third, there is little research evidence of how talent can be anchored to Scotland. Amongst the key questions which require to be researched are:

Why does talent leave Scotland?

4.15 Studies such as Boyle and Motherwell's (2005) study in Dublin and Condor's (2005) study in England, offer some insights into the barriers which put off expatriate Scots from returning, but this is a poor proxy for understanding why people leave in the first place. Most commentators studying migration motivation point to a combination of pull factors (offered by the destination) and push factors (within Scotland) but little systematic analysis has been undertaken on these in the Scottish emigration context.

4.16 An analysis of the British Household Panel Survey by the ONS concluded that of all movers of working age within the UK as a whole between 1991 and 2000, housing was the primary motivation for moving. However, this is skewed by the high levels of short-distance relocation and the research suggests that employment related reasons accounted for nearly
1 in 3 longer, inter-regional moves, with education (20.1%), housing (19.1%) and quality of the area (16.6%) being of second level importance (Dixon, 2003).

What would encourage talent to remain in Scotland?

4.17 Even less knowledge exists about what, or indeed whether, any intervention or adjustment is possible to prevent emigration. For the retention of talent this is of fundamental importance. The assumption is that employment opportunities dominate and that a vibrant and growing economy will assist in retaining talent. However, others have challenged this arguing that quality of life opportunities (Rogerson and Findlay, 1991; Rogerson, 1999) or what Florida (2002, 2005b) calls the experience of everyday community life are important in retaining creative workers.

Over what timescale is 'retention' to be measured?

4.18 Location decision are 'final' for few people and as many as 1 in 10 of the UK population relocates each year (Dixon, 2003). Under FTWiSS the retention of talent for
2 years is viewed by some employers as too short a time, not least as on the job training and the embedding of graduates into an organisation can take up most of that time. On the other hand, flexibility and mobility within the labour market are viewed as dimensions of a vibrant economy. Further, at present it is difficult to identify the 'population' being considered here in order to undertake analyses of the motivations and circumstances involved. In other words, there are issues about identifying who is departing/has departed and who is retained (ie considered leaving but decided to remain in Scotland).

4.19 Researching answers to these questions will be critical if FT is to improve understanding of actions by the Executive and others capable of retaining talent in Scotland.

Sustaining competitive advantages

4.20 Such knowledge is vital, because in the absence of evidence about what 'pushes' talent away from Scotland, it is difficult to tailor the retention strategy to key areas. Instead, the approach is broad, associated with the maintenance of those attributes which are perceived to offer a competitive advantage for the target groups.

4.21 Consequently, the approach is one largely involving:

• investing in the HEIs and SCs to enhance their attractiveness to international students and abilities to continue to provide a high quality of education
• offering further support to attract more entrepreneurs to Scotland and provide a economic environment in which they can continue to develop ideas
• assisting the economy to grow and to continue to seek skills and talent
• providing opportunities and support for members of the diaspora to locate back to Scotland.

Action points

4.22 In developing a robust retention strategy, there is a need for fundamental research. Under some of the FT schemes there are opportunities to explore some of the issues outlined above with an identifiable sample of migrants, both in terms of those who have to decided to stay (eg under FTWiSS and scholarships) and those who after experiencing Scotland did not stay. It is important that these opportunities are grasped.

4.23 Therefore, two important action points arise in relation to FT and talent retention. First, augmenting the current questionnaire surveys under FTWiSS , and follow up studies of those attracted to Scotland under FTWiSS , SISP and other programmes could provide important insights and contribute to answers to these questions. Second, there is a need to commission research into identifying emigrants from Scotland and their motivations for relocating and what interventions might have prevented their departure.

Making global connections: constructing a ' FT affinity diaspora'

"Losing people isn't a bad thing," declares Tom Tierney, 44, worldwide managing director of Bain & Co., an international consulting firm headquartered in Boston. "We attract the best and the brightest. And those people are the hardest to hold onto. Our job is to create a value proposition that gets them to stay another day, another month, another year. But ultimately, it's foolish to believe you can trap good people. The idea is to stay connected with them after they leave your payroll. How do you turn them into advocates, clients, business partners?" (Krisner, 1998, 136)

4.24 The achievements under FT so far have been largely with the resources and expertise of partners within government and state-funded agencies, linked to economic development, education and tourism. FT needs to reach out beyond this and utilise more fully those 'Scots' around the world who have an affinity with Scotland.

4.25 As Tom Tierney acknowledges, talent is mobile and even if talent cannot be retained in Scotland there are advantages to staying connected with it. As the UNHCR commented recently, "the skilled expatriate population, if mobilised in diaspora networks, may be considered as a potential asset instead of a definite loss" ( UNHCR, 2004). In short, this could be a 'brain gain'.

4.26 Translating this diasporic community into a group to work for FT, however, requires further thought. Many people across the world feel an affinity with Scotland - through parentage, heritage, or other senses of belonging. However, in the context of FT the key group in this wider diaspora is composed of those who have both an affinity with Scotland and a recent experience of living, working or studying in Scotland. This element of the diaspora - what could be termed an ' FT affinity diaspora' - forms a new target group.

Feeling Scotland

4.27 At a time when images, knowledge of and opinions about places can be communicated globally across space without the recipient ever visiting a location, the felt, experiential dimension of place has become an important marketing tool. The importance of developing personal experience of place enables individuals to feel a deeper sense of affinity with that place than can be gained through 'remote' experiences.

4.28 Such experiencing of Scotland has underpinned the promotion of the tourist industry in Scotland, with its emphasis on encouraging people to visit Scotland and gain a (more) 'felt' sense of place. It is also engrained in the development of international business networks, for example GlobalScot and Scottish Networks International, ensuring that affinities with Scotland can be drawn upon across the globe to strengthen the relationship between Scotland and others. By translating their own personal felt affinity into other networks, these champions or advocates ensure that a wider audience is aware of the potentialities of Scotland and help to open connections between Scotland and other communities.

4.29 Such members of the FT affinity diaspora sit alongside the traditional diasporic community and the 'Friends of Scotland' who have some, but often remote, links with Scotland. The FT affinity diaspora is different, however. First, members will have had a recent 'lived experience' of Scotland and thus their felt affinity to of modern Scotland. Second, its members are those who can assist FT to attract its target groups. Third, the focus of the links with this affinity diaspora is about FT. In turn, the expectation is that this group will have a strong affinity with (modern) Scotland and will promote the nation as a place to live, work or study.

4.30 Fresh Talent has already made progress in this area. First, through its promotion and marketing, as well as specific initiatives and projects, FT has enabled some groups to experience Scotland and has devoted considerable resources to promoting a positive image of Scotland. Under the scholarship programme and Challenge Fund for example, there has also been an effort to ensure that those attracted to Scotland have a positive experience. Second, it has encouraged those attracted on FT schemes to join diasporic networks such as SNI. Third, FT has developed the messages which are being communicated to the existing diaspora. "Scotland is the place", for example, enables a sense of modern Scotland to be provided to inquirers.

4.31 The importance of the diaspora is also acknowledged by the Executive in its diaspora strategy. To quote:

"We already recognise returning Scots as a target group for the Fresh Talent initiative. Through our Diaspora Strategy, launched in Canada in October 2005, we intend to engage with and mobilise the Scottish diaspora to further Scotland's interests for the long-term benefit of our economy and society. We aim to encourage the diaspora's active participation and engagement in promoting Scotland as a great country to visit, live, learn, work, do business and invest. We hope that, as awareness of a vibrant Scotland grows, some of the diaspora will consider returning to Scotland." (Scottish Executive Response, 2006b)

4.32 Beyond this general approach, however, there is scope for FT to target, more formally, part of this wider diaspora - and not just to view them as target groups of talent which can be attracted back to Scotland. In so doing the FT team needs to formalise this into a strategic objective so that the character of the diasporic community relevant to FT can be identified and action taken to ensure that they are working for Scotland in meeting the FT aims.

Employing talent for Scotland

4.33 As such, the rationale for constructing a FT affinity diaspora is less about the attraction of talent to Scotland, but the deployment of talent which has been here and is now overseas to the benefit of Scotland. Of course, for such positive relationships to exist and be maintained, considerable effort is required. This includes - as already acknowledged in FT schemes - ensuring that when attracted to Scotland, talent has a positive experience and communicates this through their own personal networks to other parts of the world. At another level, it is about developing trust and relationship within networks, which may form the basis of more substantial and longer-lasting channels. It is also about identifying and selecting members of the affinity diaspora. Key groups could include those:

a) those who have been part of FT schemes and initiatives;

b) those within existing networks who have had recent experience of working and studying in Scotland;

c) recent emigrants from Scotland;

d) tourists.

4.34 Critically, in each case the main criterion is the strategic importance of 'talent' as much in terms of their ability to hold positions within key networks in their country of destination and their communication and articulation skills, as about formal employment skills.

Assisting business to go global

4.35 The value of the diaspora as 'ambassadors' and advocates for Scotland has been recognised within the initiative. Affinity diasporas have further advantages for business and the economy.

4.36 As companies increasingly go global, they find themselves confronted with a variety of problems that lie outwith their area of expertise. These include knowledge of other markets and marketing practices, labour law, currency fluctuations, cultural orientations, recruitment methods, and accounting rules and regulations. Because it is simply too difficult for each company to build these competencies in house, they turn to producer services (management consultants, international lawyers, accountants, and recruitment agencies, IT specialist, language specialist etc) for help. Producer services furnish companies with the capacity to operate transnationally - they give then global command capability.

4.37 There is a geography to producer services, however. They tend to concentrate in so called 'world cities' and because being in and around these services is so vital to TNCs, they too prefer to cluster in world cities. In the United Kingdom context this means that many companies from the British regions, once they grow and internationalise, reach a certain size that requires them to relocate to London. This is why there is a geography to company HQs in the United Kingdom and why Scottish firms find it so hard to go global without relocating to London. Some try to stay in Scotland and use London-based producer services to broker their relations with the rest of the world, but this is a fraught task (see Lyons and Salmon, 1995 for a general account).

4.38 It is against this backdrop that the concept of a FT affinity diaspora might be so important in Scotland. If we are to encourage Scottish companies to internationalise and compete in the global market without then losing them to the local imperatives only London can fulfil, then perhaps the affinity diaspora might be an important asset. It might be a resource which enhances the capacity of Scottish companies to go global from Scotland.

Bringing together networks

4.39 One role for FT could therefore be connecting the existing affinity diaspora networks which exist within Scotland and developing support services to maximise the benefits of the 'talent' embedded within each. Importantly, for the affinity network to be of maximum benefit members should be voluntary, opt-in to support FT and be directed to supporting specific FT target groups. Therefore it is necessary that either FT, or its partners, have opportunities in place for those who have recently visited, lived, worked or studied in Scotland and are leaving the country to register their interest in assisting FT goals. A central database of the FT affinity diasporeans will need to be maintained and regularly updated - adding new members and also ending involvement as the members' experience of Scotland fades over time. These latter members could be added to other diasporic networks such as Global Friends of Scotland to ensure that their connections with Scotland are maintained.

4.40 There are many existing networks from which the FT affinity diaspora could be drawn. Most obviously and indeed already operating along the lines of a FT affinity network is SNI; focussed on students and graduates, but with the potential of assisting business in the future. GlobalScot with its focus on high-level business links, University alumni, TalentScotland and Global Friends of Scotland all could be linked to the FT diaspora.

4.41 But new connections could also be made to assist FT. These could include:

a) arrangements with VisitScotland and local tourist boards to provide opportunities for visitors to offer their services

b) new links made with voluntary societies/organisations who have connections internationally, for example through culture, literature, arts and heritage

c) identifying ways of maintaining contact with emigrating Scots, perhaps in partnership with relocation agencies

d) collaborating with businesses who have international offices to maintain contact with those who worked in Scotland.

Renewing the felt experience

4.42 In a rapidly changing world, keeping up to date with developments and opportunities in Scotland when living elsewhere is difficult. As noted above, the importance of recent experiences of a stay in Scotland has been widely recognised. If FT is to succeed in maintaining positive relationships with the diasporeans it has generated under scholarship and other programmes, then a strategy for renewing experiences of Scotland needs to be developed. At present, this is likely to be through remote contact; for example, information emailed or posted, and through occasional contact with invitations to events connected with Scotland in their own country or through the GFoS'Scotland Now' webs electronic newsletter of activity by Scots across the world.

4.43 There needs to be scope for at least some of the FT affinity diasporeans to be supported through opportunities to revisit and thus renew their 'felt experience' of Scotland. This would have the twin advantages of ensuring greater awareness of the current opportunities in Scotland and of deepening their affinity with Scotland.

Connecting beyond physical migration

4.44 It is understandable that in the context of a projected decline in total population within a decade, the quicker ageing of the population, and the need to bring new talent into Scotland, the Fresh Talent initiative was conceived around the physical movement of people, settling for a period of time in Scotland. With an associated retention strategy, such medium-term permanency and physical relocation was deemed to be beneficial, both demographically and economically for Scotland. The ultimate metric for evaluating the success of FT is the number of talented people attracted and retained in Scotland.

4.45 With the lessening of the demographic pressure, if only in the short term, there is time and space to reflect on whether this physical migration should be the primary metric by which FT is assessed.

4.46 As the Smart, Successful Scotland strategy acknowledges, connections to the global economy enabling the flow of information and arguably talent, need not be achieved only by long-term physical mobility. In a modern economy, information and knowledge flows are often associated with short-term mobility of people. Face to face contacts - within organisations, at international meetings, and through mobility associated with time-limited contracts - may offer more powerful economic benefits to Scotland than physical relocations. In addition, virtual mobility - achieved through ICT and other forms of communication without any distance being travelled - has enabled Scotland to be well connected in the creative channels of the global economy.

4.47 A new target group for FT should therefore be those companies who already have international links and channels, either as part of trans-national organisations or through less formal exchange routes. The transfer of knowledge and expertise linked with talent has become an important form of exchange (Beaverstock, 2004, 2005; Findlay and Garrick, 1990). Such knowledge networks enable transfer of expertise and skills through short-term mobility, and appeal to a much wider set of skilled migrants. Temporary - whether for a few days or a few months - relocation is potentially much more appealing than the permanent relocation associated with traditional notions of migration.

4.48 Support for more open channels between Scotland and others parts of the world based on short-term mobility has an appeal because it:

• ensures flows of knowledge about Scotland and return flows of insights to new ideas, thinking and cultures;
• encourages larger and well connected companies to employ overseas talent as part other internal labour pool;
• encourages more businesses to experience employing overseas talent;
• cements a stronger affinity with Scotland than merely through trade; and
• enables opportunity for talent within Scotland to experience other cultures and places without the need for longer-term emigration.

As this mobility within companies builds personal contacts and provides experience of people and places in Scotland, there are added advantages of temporary, business and virtual visitors being part of a wider business FT affinity diaspora (see above).

4.49 Whilst the obvious downside to this form of virtual and short-term mobility is the limited opportunity for talented individuals to gain a 'felt experience' of Scotland, in the absence of strong evidence of having to reside in Scotland for longer periods of time in order to benefit Scotland, the opportunity to reach a new pool of talent should be developed. Just as business seeks a balance between the desire for face to face contact and proximity over other attractive locational factors, it may be that, under FT, accessing a wider, international pool of talent - students, entrepreneurs, diasporeans - and connecting them with Scotland through ICT will be as effective as seeking to relocate people.

4.50 The benefits of short-term mobility might also be carried forward to existing target groups. For students, for example, FT could, in conjunction with HEIs, provide scholarships (as at present to those with talent and work experience) which involved distance learning courses and off-campus support in India or China and support the attendance of intensive, short courses in Scotland for the scholarship holder and their partners. The opportunity for access to high quality education is thus supported by opportunities to gain some, albeit time limited, insight into Scotland for students and dependents who are likely to be involved in relocation decisions.

4.51 For business and workers, the current FTWiSS programme offers only a time-limited (2 year) focus and, as noted in Chapter 6, the focus on SMEs has emphasised permanent migration. For larger employers and those who are already part of international networks, opportunities to support short-term transfers of staff may provide an excellent exchange of talent - including new ways of working, new ideas and new ways of thinking - as well as enhanced global connectivity. There is scope within FTWiSS for short time period mobility to be supported for recent graduates (especially for those who do not wish to or cannot uproot themselves and family) to return to Scotland.

Meeting Scotland's labour needs from within the EU/ EEA

4.52 Most countries which have instigated a managed migration policy have done so with the aim of meeting labour market needs. In Canada, Australia and New Zealand, for example, emphasis is placed on attracting skilled workers with transferable skills to hard to fill posts. In each case more than 60% of the planned migration intake is of skilled migrants.

4.53 In the UK, the proposed points system has some characteristics which mirror these three examples, although it is less explicitly linked to skill needs and shortages (Home Office, 2005; 2006). Nevertheless, under the proposals, emphasis will be on the applicant's attributes, especially their work experience, age and academic qualifications. Under the new policy, emphasis is also placed on increasingly enabling skilled migration into the UK and restricting low skilled migration. Increasingly in the future, low skilled migration will become restricted to EU/ EEA countries and quotas imposed on non- EU/ EEA countries.

4.54 There is a logic under this system for FT to target a geographical group of talent, that within the EU/ EEA. This is pertinent first as talent is more than just a higher skilled, higher educated group, and in Scotland, in-migration also assists in meeting labour needs in lower skilled sectors.

The significance of this group

4.55 Since the Accession countries (A8) joined the EU on 1 May 2004, the Worker Registration Scheme ( WRS) adopted by the UK provides evidence of the potential importance of this group as a source of labour. Between 1 May 2004 and the end of December 2005 (the latest data), 345,000 people from the A8 countries have registered within the scheme. The majority have come from Poland (59%) with Lithuania (13%) and Slovakia (11%) being the next largest origin countries. Of these migrants, just under 24,000 registered in Scotland, forming 7.3% of those in the scheme. Recently published research highlights the significance of this migration source to the UK, filling labour shortages in low skill and low wage sectors of the economy (Anderson et al., 2006).

4.56 Compared with other regions of the UK, a higher proportion of those registering for work in Scotland were employed in sectors which traditionally have lower skills levels - hospitality and catering (9.0% of this sector were employed in Scotland) and construction (11.3%) - whereas in the (higher skilled) administration, business and managerial services sector which was the largest sector of employment, only 3.5% were in Scotland. Although the proportion of workers under this scheme represents less than 1% of the total labour force of the UK and is less than the levels of unemployment in the UK, many took employment in 'hard to fill' sectors of the economy where skill or labour shortages existed - in the public sector (bus and lorry drivers, care services, education and health services) and especially in the private sector (construction, hospitality and catering).

4.57 For FT, the evidence from the WRS points to a number of advantages in adopting this geographical target group:

a) accurate information is available on the number of migrants, and the flows by occupation into Scotland. This provides a clear evidence base on skill shortages which are hard to fill with indigenous labour. However, although the WRS requires applicants to re-register each time they change employment, or take on additional employment, there is no de-registration scheme. As a result, the data is only on entry to the UK labour market and provides no longitudinal information on timescales within the labour market. Other information from local and specific studies of sample groups of migrants suggest that a higher proportion of A8 migrants are likely to be longer-stayers (more than 2 years) than other groups (Schneider and Holman, 2005);

b) the profile of those involved in the scheme fit the demographic attributes sought under FT. The vast majority of registrants are young and single; 83% are between 18 and 34 years old, and 94% had no dependent in the UK. As Traser (2005) notes, for the countries of origin, this migration stream represents a 'youth drain' as much as a brain drain;

c) although this entry route to the UK has only been in operation for 2 years, there is evidence elsewhere in the EU to suggest that the pattern will be sustained. Ireland too operates a registration scheme, but has attracted Central European migrants for more than 5 years. They have viewed this influx of migrants as necessary to sustain economic growth and prosperity, with construction employment being the dominant sector and, as with the UK, Poland is the main source country;

d) this target group is more closely aligned to the perceived skills and labour needs of businesses within Scotland. Adopting this target groups therefore enables FT to develop a stronger partnership with Scottish employers. The fact that these workers do not need work permits also potentially makes them more attractive to Scottish employers.

Action Points

4.58 In meeting skills needs, FT will need to be positioned carefully within the EU and UK contexts. In the last few years, many more migrants have come into Scotland from elsewhere in the UK and the EU than from overseas. There is no evidence of this changing and the proposed system of managing migration will enhance this pattern.

4.59 If FT is to be evaluated in its contribution to expanding the total population in Scotland and reduce its age profile, then a skills based approach focussed on the EU/ EEA will be valuable.

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