Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Paragraph: 122
Again, the Government’s ‘wait and see’ approach to ensuring sufficient numbers of engineers does not...
Conclusion
Again, the Government’s ‘wait and see’ approach to ensuring sufficient numbers of engineers does not reflect the scale of the infrastructure and industry challenge to meet its targets for rolling out nationwide full fibre. The Minister’s assertion that the UK has enough engineers for its current need contradicts what we have been told by industry and is scant reassurance when build rates need to increase four-fold to reach 85% of the country by 2025. We encourage the Government to introduce time-limited visa solutions that enable engineers from the EU to address the industry’s labour needs until such time that these can be met by the domestic workforce.
Paragraph Reference:
122
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The nationwide rollout of gigabit connectivity in the UK is expected to create thousands of new high-quality engineering jobs. Alongside the direct benefits that increased connectivity brings, the Government believes this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide training and employment for British workers as we Build Back Better from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the Government’s gigabit ambitions, over 19,000 new jobs have been announced in the last year alone by CityFibre, Openreach and Virgin Media. The Government will continue to incentivise the training and employment of workers in Britain through interventions such as the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs, the Apprenticeship Levy and the recently announced £21m expansion of Technical Skills Bootcamps. This opportunity is particularly important given the impact of Covid-19 on the UK labour market.