Brexit

It is often said that people are the most valuable asset in any organisation and yet, one year on from the vote to leave the European Union, there has been limited focus on the views of the 3.4 million non-UK nationals employed in Britain today. 

Brexit raises new and important questions about the speed with which Britain can generate the skills it needs. We are also in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, with emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields, which is transforming the world of work. Brexit does not alter many of the long-term structural changes facing the UK labour market, but it could mean that their impact is felt sooner.

The UK will need to determine how much migration it wants or needs to fill any skill gaps. And it will need to figure out how rapidly it can upskill and automate its way out of a potential skills shortage. 

On Tuesday 26 June we published a survey of more than 2,200 non-UK citizens — half already working in the UK, half outside — as a first step in understanding the scale of the challenge facing the UK. Their views matter and their decisions are likely to be felt across all skills levels, regions and industries.   

So, after the era-defining referendum, do non-British workers still see the UK as an attractive place to work? How many are thinking of returning home or moving elsewhere? And, given that technology and automation continue to reshape the workplace and the broader economy, how should employers and policymakers react? 

The good news is that