Labour is facing a backlash after unveiling plans to subsidise the recruitment of highly skilled foreign workers, despite Britain grappling with a growing youth unemployment crisis.
Under a new scheme due to be announced by ministers, high-growth companies will be able to claim up to £5,000 towards visa costs for each overseas recruit, with a maximum of £25,000 available to individual firms each year.
The programme will target sectors identified by ministers as strategically important to economic growth, including technology, life sciences and clean energy. Businesses will also benefit from a fast-tracked visa process designed to make it easier for overseas firms to establish operations in Britain.
The move comes just weeks after a major review warned that more than one million young people aged between 16 and 24 are now not in education, employment or training, raising fresh concerns over opportunities for British workers entering the labour market.
Critics argue that the timing could hardly be worse.
While ministers insist the policy is designed to address specialist skills shortages, opponents claim taxpayers are effectively being asked to subsidise the import of labour at a time when many young Britons are struggling to secure work.
The plans have intensified a growing political debate over the balance between immigration and domestic workforce development.
Migration Watch UK accused the Government of making it easier and cheaper for firms to recruit from abroad rather than investing in British talent.
The organisation warned that many young people already face what it described as the toughest employment market in a generation, arguing that ministers should focus on training and supporting domestic workers before offering financial incentives for overseas recruitment.
The criticism reflects wider anxieties about the state of Britain’s labour market.
Recent data has shown vacancies falling, job postings weakening and youth employment opportunities becoming
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