Professional migrants more skilled than British workers, finds report

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Professional migrants to the UK are more skilled than the British counterparts, finds a study from LinkedIn.

Maybe it is inevitable. If you are planning a move to another country, you need an advantage over the local population. Perhaps it is no surprise, therefore, that according to LinkedIn, more than 60% of LinkedIn users who have moved to the UK from the EU have a masters or doctoral degree. Just 34% of UK members are similarly qualified.

The FT quoted Josh Graff, LinkedIn’s UK country manager, as saying: “There has already been a lot of debate about the impact of Brexit on blue-collar workers, but British businesses also face a very real white-collar skills gap.”

Of course, as the FT pointed out, the study is not perfect, not all professional workers use LinkedIn, some users lie about their qualifications.

Then again, LinkedIn is a pretty good guide. Lying about qualifications is not usually a good idea, and why should migrant workers lie any more than UK workers? Besides, a pretty high proportion of skilled workers do use LinkedIn.

While the study clearly demonstrates the dangers of curtailing immigration from the EU to the UK post-Brexit, it does not necessarily show that UK professional workers lack the appropriate skill sets.

No doubt UK users of LinkedIn, but who work abroad, are also more likely to be better qualified than British users who have stayed at home.

In any case, bear in mind that the EU’s population is around 11 times greater than the UK’s. That should mean it has 11 times more people with masters or doctoral degrees.

The UK benefits from immigration from the EU, and the LinkedIn report adds to the long list of evidence to support this, but this does not necessarily mean the UK has an inferior education.