MIGRANT workers are bringing invaluable skills to Warrington – but none of them are able to use these skills in their current work.
This is revealed in a study on economic migration and skills of migrant workers for the Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance.
The study concentrated on Warrington, Chester and Crewe and found that migrant workers could potentially fill a skills gap in the area.
Research showed that:
* Most migrant workers were qualified to A level
equivalent or higher but none were able to use their skills in their current work.
* Most were currently working in low-level, unskilled manual jobs.
In addition, many migrants underestimated their skills and the saleability of these on the labour market in the UK and very few had any idea of the type of work they could apply for, where to look for job opportunities at graduate level and how to use places like Jobcentre Plus.
The research was carried out amongst migrant workers from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia.
CWEA chief executive Martin Lee said: “The migrant workers coming into Cheshire and Warrington are generally young and well educated. They could prove an invaluable pool of skilled labour for employers as the incumbent population is ageing more so than other areas of the North West. We need to harness the skills of these workers and ensure that they are motivated to stay in the area.”
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the North West Development Agency said:
“Cheshire and Warrington, and the region, need to work on keeping our home-grown talented young workers but should also maximise the benefits of having young skilled migrant workers coming here.
“It is clear from this research that not enough migrants feel able to make that step up from low to higher skilled employment. Making them aware of the many opportunities for progression is something which must be worked on in order to secure a thriving regional economy. “
