A NEW points system, which will regulate numbers of migrant workers from outside the EU, will mean Swindon jobseekers will get the first chance to apply for available work, according to an MP.

South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove said: "Only the skilled migrants we actually need will be able to come from abroad.

"The new points system allows us to make sure the numbers we allow into the UK are in line with the needs of business and the country as a whole.

"When the Government sets the points pass mark, it will listen to independent advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

"I will listen to business in Swindon so I can advise Government if they are calling for skilled migrants.

"At the same time I am lobbying for a new univeristy in Swindon and for more apprenticeships which will improve the skills of our workforce."

Michael Wills, the MP for North Swindon, was unavailble to comment on the issue.

Susan Anderson, the CBI's director of HR policy, said: "Migrants play an important role in helping UK firms fill skilled jobs where they would otherwise struggle to find staff.

"The work permit system must be flexible enough to respond to the changing needs of firms and today's rules should help deliver this. In the longer term, the UK's competitiveness depends on home-grown talent.

"Firms already play their part in this, investing £33bn a year in training their staff.

"But ensuring our young people leave education with the skills and attitudes they need to succeed in work is also vital."

She welcomed the Government's decision to take a pragmatic approach to workers' English language skills.

"Firms often need to draw on the technical skills of migrants, and an unduly onerous English test would have presented too high a hurdle in some cases," he said.

"The proposals represent a sensible compromise between the need for English to aid integration and ensuring that the English test is relevant to the job that is being done."

There are thousands of workers from within the EU working in Swindon and Wiltshire with the hotel industry being their main employer. Honda, Swindon's biggest private employer with 5,000 people on its books, has staff from 58 nationalities, making up about 10 per cent of its workforce.

But, a spokeswoman confirmed that at no time has the company had to go outside the UK to recruit skilled workers.

7:59pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

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