UK Immigration: No visas for low-skilled workers

[Ian Reus]

I have to provide them with a job offer before they arrive and they must prove they can speak English

Standard practice in most countries.
I also would have required a job offer prior to moving to Peru before they granted a work visa. Or to start a business here, you must prove funds of $25k in bank plus $25k ready to invest.

 

[Steven Seagull]

Nobody think it's unethical to take the brightest and best from the devolping countries who have already been robbed of their resources and in some cases people?

this happens anyway within the EU, surely?

 

[Edgar Allan Pillow]

Nobody think it's unethical to take the brightest and best from the devolping countries who have already been robbed of their resources and in some cases people?

The best and brightest don't get rewarded in their own home country, so talent outflow happens. We had this hugely in India however with domestic companies catching up, the trend has been reversing past few years. Just the way stuff works!

 

[Cloud7]

Nobody think it's unethical to take the brightest and best from the devolping countries who have already been robbed of their resources and in some cases people?

Absolutely not. Speaking as a practicing doctor in a third world country, let me tell you what it’s like. From the top down, they don’t make working in our healthcare system attractive at all, in terms of wages, working hours, benefits, nothing.

I regularly work 32 hours straight. Our system is so mismanaged that there are deficiencies all over the place, that we are forced to fill the gaps in, because if we don’t the patients will suffer, for example doctors having to push patients in a bed/wheelchair to get an urgent scan because the escorts aren’t coming. We don’t have a pension plan, or get any sort of benefits that other government workers do, even though technically we work for the government as well. We have unemployed doctors, fully trained and sitting at home, and unopened hospitals just sitting there collection dust because the politicians rather play politics than do what’s best for the country. Opportunities for further post graduate training are extremely limited.

Until the powers that be create an environment that people actually want to work in, feck them. No one can fault someone for seeking a better environment, both in terms of work and growth.

 

[Abizzz]

this happens anyway within the EU, surely?

Yes, to varying degrees.

The best and brightest don't get rewarded in their own home country, so talent outflow happens. We had this hugely in India however with domestic companies catching up, the trend has been reversing past few years. Just the way stuff works!

The question is how should some of these countries ever catch up to the point where they can reward their best and brightest if those are constantly lured away?

Absolutely not. Speaking as a practicing doctor in a third world country, let me tell you what it’s like. From the top down, they don’t make working in our healthcare system attractive at all, in terms of wages, working hours, benefits, nothing.

I regularly work 32 hours straight. Our system is so mismanaged that there are deficiencies all over the place, that we are forced to fill the gaps in, because if we don’t the patients will suffer, for example doctors having to push patients in a bed/wheelchair to get an urgent scan because the escorts aren’t coming. We don’t have a pension plan, or get any sort of benefits that other government workers do, even though technically we work for the government as well. We have unemployed doctors, fully trained and sitting at home, and unopened hospitals just sitting there collection dust because the politicians rather play politics than do what’s best for the country. Opportunities for further post graduate training are extremely limited.

Until the powers that be create an environment that people actually want to work in, feck them. No one can fault someone for seeking a better environment, both in terms of work and growth.

Oh I absolutely understand it from an individual's point of view. But the same is true for unqualified and uneducated people (who are arguably even less equipped to deal with the consequences). If things are to become better in the future the qualified people will likely need to contribute to that change.

And then there's the added dimension that it's a lot easier for developed countries to train and qualify people. Developing countries need to spend a much larger share of their overall resources to produce well trained doctors, nurses etc. I completely understand any individual who decides that going abroad is the better choice for them, I would probably too. But it's another thing to systematically extract the "valuable" (for lack of a better term) part of another countries workforce while leaving the rest behind.