International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Improving Access to Labour market Information for migrants and employers
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3. Third-country nationals in the United Kingdom labour
market
3.1. Information-related risks faced by employers in recruiting
third-country nationals and matching employers’ needs and
migrants’ skills
A key issue facing employers in recruiting third-country nationals and ascertaining
migrants’ skills in relation to their organizational needs is the validation of the level
and scope of foreign qualifications. Here, the National Recognition Information
Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC) is the national agency responsible for
the provision of comparative information and advice on international education and
training systems and overseas skills and qualifications. It helps both organizations
and individuals by relating overseas to United Kingdom qualifications and is the
organization that provides ‘translations’ of overseas qualifications when supplied as
part of a visa application. 133 Such a service is necessary in helping match qualifications
gained outside the United Kingdom to employers’ requirements. Work experience is
more difficult to validate, but the information held by UK NARIC on the relevant
third-country context may be helpful here. In her case studies of employers’ use of
migrant labour, McKay (2009) indicates that employers recruiting migrant workers
make greater use of competency testing in the recruitment process, in order to help
them interpret qualifications/experience received outside the United Kingdom.
In the United Kingdom the prime responsibility for recognizing skills and qualifications
within occupations and jobs lies with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), which are
independent, employer-led organizations designed to build a skills system that is driven
by employer demand. The SSCs’ remit includes addressing skills deficiencies at sectoral
level; increasing opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the
sector’s workforce, improving the supply of learning and training through national
occupational standards, apprenticeships and further and higher education. Although
their ambit encompasses all workers in their specific sector footprint they have no
specific remit for assessing the skills of migrants (Salt et al., 2011).
Alongside qualifications a second major issue in matching migrants’ skills and
employers’ needs is English language capability. Shortcomings in English language
proficiency mean that many migrants find themselves in jobs beneath their skills’
level (Green, 2007). Funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
qualifications has been an ongoing issue for debate, especially given the thrust of
government policy to transfer costs of learning and training to the beneficiaries
(namely to learners and employers 134 ), while at the same time an ESOL qualification
133 UK NARIC is managed by ECCTIS Limited, which also manages the UK National Europass
Centre, the UK’s National Contact Point for Professional Qualifications, the National Contact Point
for ECVET (European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training) for England and the
European Network of Reference and Expertise in Vocational Education and Training.
134 Hence there is an onus on employers to provide work-relevant English language training in order to
better equip their workforce to perform their current, and possible future roles, within the organization.
It is likely that such training will also foster broader integration in the United Kingdom.