India Leads In Providing Skilled Tech Workers to UK: Report

As many as 12 per cent of skilled tech workers migrating to the United Kingdom in 2016 were from India, according to recent data. Following India is the United States, with 10 per cent people, while European neighbors Spain and France provided 6 per cent each.

Italy and Ireland, with 5 per cent each, and Germany (3%) came next, a LinkedIn report shows. The United Kingdom is not as reliant on the European Union as it is believed, according to the data, a Tech City UK study said on Dec. 15.

Technology founders and investors in the United Kingdom were alarmed and concerned about the possible state of their businesses when a report from policy group Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) came out in February, suggesting Brexit will leave the country short of 800,000 digital workers by 2020, Business Insider reported. The LinkedIn data, however, seems to suggest otherwise.

According to the study, although tech workers are most highly concentrated in London, just over half of those who arrived in the country last year settled outside the capital.

Allaying the fears of the technology sector, the UK government last month boosted the number of special visas made available to non-EU tech workers, the Telegraph reported. The report said Prime Minister Theresa May will increase to 2,000 the annual allowance of “exceptional talent” visas granted to various industries, including computer programmers and IT experts.

Leaders of Tech City UK, a publicly-funded organization that drives the growth the UK tech sector, were in favor of remaining in the European Union. In a statement about the data, Gerard Grech, the Tech City UK CEO, said: “There is a skills crisis looming in the digital tech sector and competition for talent is fierce and global. By understanding exactly where skilled tech workers come from we can plan for the future and invest where it is necessary. The insights that LinkedIn have shared with us also allow us to build up a bigger picture than ever before of the skills each UK region has.”

With the country moving towards Brexit, the government wants Tech City UK rebranded as Tech Nation to expand the organization nation-wide and set up regional hubs, the Telegraph report added.