Attracting talent crucial to London’s status as financial centre

A report from UK financial and related professional services membership body TheCityUK and Big Four accountancy firm EY has highlighted the importance of attracting and retaining talented workers after Brexit.

The report, which was previously a draft version but has now been released in full, includes a number of recommendations to help protect London’s status as a financial centre after the UK has exited the EU, including an improved immigration system.  

Increase

The report warns that there will be a significant increase in costs for recruiting bankers and accountants and so an immigration system must be put in place to prevent costs from hitting businesses hard.

European citizens account for 7.5% of banking and finance workers in the UK as a whole, increasing to 16.9% for workers in London.

The report recommends that the government makes several changes to the immigration system, such as introducing a post-study work visa to enable European graduates of STEM subjects to remain in the UK for up to two years, and a more flexible Tier 2 system to tackle skills shortages.

Attracting and retaining workers is a top priority, with TheCityUK’s Chief Executive Miles Celic warning that losing access to workers could threaten Britain’s position as a top global financial centre.

Dynamic

Commenting on the importance of an up-to-date Tier 2 system, EY’s Partner of Global Immigration Margaret Burton said: “The current Tier 2 visa system is out of date – we need a much more flexible and dynamic system, which responds to today’s very real skills shortages, particularly around technology, which will worsen if not addressed.”