Rishi to the rescue

[Whorty]

We've got a token young lad on our project. He's probably in his 30's I'd guess?

I believe our 'young guy' was late 20's. Couldn't hack it. At that age I was running a small department in a Lloyd's insurance market agency.

[mattster]

That's one scenario, but the other scenario is that companies are so loaded up with debt so they can't afford it and simply go out of business, which would also match the supply to the demand.

Well that's also the free market at work; if your business isn't viable when paying the going rate for the labour it requires, you either innovate somehow or close. I get that it is not as simple as that in the real world, and most people don't want to live in an unfettered free market, but it is important to realise that when the government intervenes in these ways it is always picking winners and losers. So who gets to decide what a "reasonable" rate for IT workers is, before intervention is required to bring the cost down? You're going to get a very different answer from the companies that need to hire versus the people that do the work. I think we all have a fair idea where Rishi sits.

[d000hg]

That's from the Enid Blyton book of Capitalism. In the real world, it means the granting of visas from other countries to fill the 'skills gap' and undercut anyone who's left.

So you want capitalism in handcuffs, where employers are forced to hire locally even if they cost more and are worse?

[mattster]

So you want capitalism in handcuffs, where employers are forced to hire locally even if they cost more and are worse?

That is the question - what do we want? Do we want a system that puts GDP of the nation above all else, even if this means importing cheap workers to get it done, or do we want a system that tries to employ as many citizens as possible, even if that is a suboptimal solution in terms of GDP growth?

[vetran]

So you want capitalism in handcuffs, where employers are forced to hire locally even if they cost more and are worse?

Well if we bring them here and give them in work benefits so companies can onshore cheaply to pay tax only offshore would you call that a win?

[_V_]

That is the question - what do we want? Do we want a system that puts GDP of the nation above all else, even if this means importing cheap workers to get it done, or do we want a system that tries to employ as many citizens as possible, even if that is a suboptimal solution in terms of GDP growth?

I want a system that puts the health and well being of its citizens first. If you can convince me a big multinational that pays it's tax via offshore tax arrangements and hires the cheapest non-local people to perform the work is best for the UK, then lets support this great concept.

[TestMangler]

So you want capitalism in handcuffs, where employers are forced to hire locally even if they cost more and are worse?

Did I actually express a desire for anything in my post or did you just make that up ?

[mattster]

I want a system that puts the health and well being of its citizens first. If you can convince me a big multinational that pays it's tax via offshore tax arrangements and hires the cheapest non-local people to perform the work is best for the UK, then lets support this great concept.

I want the same as you, or at least a system that puts workers above capital (or even just on an equal footing would be nice). I'm not necessarily opposed to immigration - it's essential for all sorts of reasons - but we can't run a country long term by simply importing all of the skills we need. We need to upskill our own population, and to some extent I think you need a skills shortage to help instigate that through higher wages that incentivise people into the profession, incentivise companies to invest in training etc.

[Andy2]

A better paying profession than IT is legal profession where lawyers earn hundreds of pounds per hour
why don't they issue visas to bring in loads of lawyers from abroad

[Paddy]

“UK digital skills shortage risks Covid recovery as young people shun IT courses

Exclusive: Employers fear growing mismatch between rising demand for skills and falling supply of trained recruits

Britain’s economic recovery from Covid-19 is at threat from a looming digital skills crisis caused by a sharp fall in the number of young people taking IT courses, a report has said.

A study by the Learning and Work Institute found less than half of UK employers believed new entrants to the workforce were arriving with the necessary advanced digital skillset.

The mismatch between the rising demand for digital skills and the supply of sufficiently trained recruits was already costing the economy billions of pounds and the potentially “catastrophic” gap would widen over time without urgent action.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business...hun-it-courses

I would say that it's partly true. I meet youngsters who only know how to use a smartphone and have no interest beyond that.