The immigration system is designed to attract experienced workers with advanced skills, but UK startups need scrappy and ambitious young people too. A post-Brexit visa scheme for under 30s from the EU would be a boost for growth, says Bella Rhodes
The EU’s offer to negotiate a reciprocal visa for young people in the UK and EU has reignited a debate over the next generation’s post-Brexit prospects. Regrets can be heard on both sides. Labour has long treated Brexit as depriving future generations, especially since the UK has left the Erasmus programme. The Conservatives, on the other hand, have gone from viewing Brexit as opening up more jobs for British workers to increasingly bemoaning the loss of low-cost, low-skilled labour. Both sides of the debate should aim higher. Expanding the Youth Mobility Scheme to be EU-wide wouldn’t just open doors for British youth in exchange for students on a gap year and carefree Gen-Zers. It would also bring in young professionals and digital nomads who could come to the UK and contribute to our startup ecosystem and build the companies that drive our economic growth.
Unfortunately, the current Government has already rejected Europe’s offer and Labour also shot down the idea. But if we’re getting real about growth, both would need to reconsider. Startups are fueled by young people with big ideas and niche skills that are in short supply. Currently, access to talent is one of the biggest issues preventing British startups from scaling. Welcoming these scrappy and savvy travellers through the Youth Mobility Scheme could be exactly what’s needed to support our most innovative companies and unlock growth across the UK.
The UK’s immigration system is designed to attract workers with advanced skills, prestigious degrees, or substantial experience in their field. Left out are many of those who don’t qualify as “exceptional” in the eyes of the Home Office, and maybe lack the paper trail to prove it but do have the skills needed to get the job done. The Youth Mobility Scheme, which allows under 30s to live in the UK for a fixed period, is a unique opportunity to attract, and maybe even retain, oft-excluded young people who are eager to prove their worth. It would also make the UK a more attractive place for European tech talent than our global competitors. Why cross oceans to work for a world-leading startup ecosystem when there is one at your doorstep, ready to welcome you in?
Beauhurst data has shown that many high-growth companies fail, and even more stagnate, with only 2 per cent of businesses undergoing an IPO in five years. As risky, cash-strapped businesses, startups struggle to hire foreign talent through traditional visa routes. Founders tell us that the high costs, administrative requirements, and long wait times required to get a licence and then sponsor a foreign worker has made the process a huge barrier to accessing talent through the Skilled Worker Visa. For foreign workers too, the prospect of tying your residence to a business that may not have a long lifespan can be a tough sell. But routes like the Youth Mobility Scheme that don’t make employers jump through hoops to hire skilled workers, and don’t tie foreign workers to their employers, are a win-win.
Making it easier for our young European neighbours to come and go could also reduce some of the friction that is currently holding the UK back from fully benefiting from its participation in Horizon Europe. European researchers are forced to jump through administrative hurdles and spend thousands on expensive visa fees just to attend a conference or deliver a lecture in the UK. Providing young Europeans with a cheaper option to come and go would bring more learning and skills to the UK to help make it a science and technology superpower.
By expanding the Scheme across the EU, we’ll be strengthening our cultural ties to Europe for generations to come and encouraging more Foreign Direct Investment in UK startups. It will also mean more tax revenue, more jobs created, and more economic growth. That’s why, we at Startup Coalition think that it would be a mistake to reject this offer from Europe – and expand the Scheme even further. The United States is our closest trading partner, and it boasts several of the world’s top startup hubs. Our shared language and cultural compatibility make the UK an obvious choice for Americans looking to travel and work abroad. This is a rare opportunity to bolster the UK’s status as a hub of innovation.
Bella Rhodes is a policy lead at the Startup Coalition covering issues relating to talent and skills.