Re-thinking migration policy for inclusive growth
- Date: Thursday 12 June 2025, 09:15 – 13:00
- Location: 1 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA
- Type: Ideas in Practice, Alumni
- Cost: Free
Join our in-person event exploring a joint and sustainable approach to migration for work while improving working conditions.
Register your place on Eventbrite
UK employers continue to face acute labour and skills shortages in the wake of Brexit, sluggish productivity growth and the ongoing effects of the cost of the living crisis. Yet, despite these pressures, migration policy has become increasingly restrictive. The 2024 reforms to the Skilled Worker route led to a 50% drop in visa issuances (NAO, 2025), even as businesses across the economy report difficulty hiring and retaining the skilled staff they need (CIPD Talent Survey, 2024).
There is growing consensus that migration policy is not just a matter for the Home Office but requires a joint approach and inter-departmental dialogue across different functions.
This event brings together stakeholders from across sectors and Government to explore new evidence from the Economi and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded Labour Mobility in Transition (LIMITS) project (2021-2025), a project that focused on four vital sectors: social care, hospitality, food manufacturing, and logistics.
Key findings show these sectors continue to suffer long-term issues with labour and skills shortages mostly due to their low attractiveness for the local population and high barriers to hiring internationally. The research highlights the need to develop a joint and sustainable approach to migration for work while improving working conditions in these key sectors.
The programme includes a summary of the research findings, a series of short presentations on external sectoral perspectives, two panel discussions, question-and-answer opportunities and will finish with a networking lunch.
Re-thinking migration policy for inclusive growth will be of interest to policymakers, industry representatives and academics with an interest in migration for work, employment, industry and growth, and skills and training; local, regional and national decision makers; training bodies; civil society supporting migrants and minority groups; and anyone interested in developing a joint approach to migration and the industrial and workforce strategy.
Event Programme:
|
09:15 |
Arrival and refreshments |
|
09:45 |
Welcome and introduction |
|
10:00 |
Headline findings from the Labour Mobility in Transition research Gabriella Alberti, Professor or International Labout Migration at the University of Leeds |
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10:15 |
Sectoral and policy perspectives: Short presentations Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory: Skills and future migration policies Roxana Barbulescu, Associate Professor in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds: Temporary migration routes: Evidence from seasonal migration and British farming Laura Anthony, Deputy Head of the Region for London and the South-East at Skills for Care. The future of social care Mackenzie Lunga, BASNET (UK BME Anti-slavery Network): Migrant advocacy and support: Preventing migrant exploitation in low-paid sectors Melanie Simms, Professor of Work and Employment at the University of Glasgow: Regulating low-paid work: Opportunities and challenges for the Employment Rights Bill |
|
10:50 |
Q&A session with presenters |
|
11:00 |
Refreshment break |
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11:15 |
A joint approach to migration for work in post-Brexit UK University of Leeds research team: Chris Forde, Professor of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Marketa Dolezalova, Postdoctoral Fellow in Labour Migration Jo Cutter, Lecturer in Work and Employment Relations Zyama Ciupijus, Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Employment Relations |
|
11:30 |
Panel discussion: The place of ‘good work’ in inclusive growth All presenters from the ‘Sectoral and policy perspectives’ session. |
|
12:15 |
Networking lunch |
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13:00 |
Event close |
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Grace Carter at Leeds University Business School.