The UK has seen conflicted statements on the health and outlook of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in recent weeks. This week, the Legatum Institute announced in its annual Prosperity Index that the UK is the best place in the EU to start up in business.
However, a new report from the Migration Advisory Committee has tempered this triumph of entrepreneurship in the UK. The report calls for the government to take a more selective stance on visas, homing in on only the highest quality applicants.
This is a direct challenge to the UK’s attractive offering to global business and entrepreneurs.
These mixed messages on the state of play in UK tech led over two hundred leading figures in the industry to sign an open letter prepared by Guy Levin at Coadec to David Cameron urging the PM to make it easier, not harder, for skilled entrepreneurs to be part of the UK digital community.
The feats achieved by the UK’s digital industry in recent years – we are home to 17 out of the 40 European unicorns – have been borne out of the skilled talent on offer in the country. However, as we move into the next phase of digital development, namely the scaling up of our successful startups, we need to attract a larger pool of talent to the UK.
Educational reforms have made some progress towards improving the skills base needed to scale up the digital industry. But this will not be sufficient to satisfy the needs of all of our businesses, nor will it come soon enough to transition into the next stage of growth.
Instead, the UK needs to continue its admirable work in attracting global talent to its shores.
The announcement of the Tech Nation Visa Scheme was an important stride forward in drawing in the sort of exceptional and diverse talent needed to sustain recent growth.
Having travelled recently with Tech London Advocates to Bangalore, I can safely say that the talent is out there. Indian tech for one is experiencing an explosion of digital entrepreneurs looking to be a part of our success story, and networks like TLA are helping these aspirations happen.
Add to this the fact that the UK is the number one destination for international students in the world; we already have the framework to capitalise on a worldwide pool of talent. We must not jeopardise this position of strength by refusing skilled, enthusiastic individuals.
Also, the status that the UK currently enjoys as a global tech hub is thanks in no small part to the influence of entrepreneurs and investors from abroad.
The Legatum Institute labelled the UK ‘extremely entrepreneur-friendly’ and it certainly has been for the last few years. We have made incredible advances in starting up tech business.
If the government moves to limit skilled migration, however, this growth will not continue for long.
Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, has today launched a working group that will work to ensure the UK stays in the EU, with access to skills one of its key concerns