Let more Chinese in, Cameron urged

EEF, the manufacturing trade body which made the observation, said that with UK businesses unable to find the employees or contractors needed to fulfil contracts from the UK because of a skills shortage in the UK, it often looked to non-EU residents to work on a short-term contracts.

In December, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, visited China on a trade mission to encourage investment in Britain and pledged to improve the visa process. He acknowledged that obtaining visas was “a source of frustration” for Chinese students, and he wanted to make it easier for them to come to the UK.

Mr Thomas warned that Britain’s reputation as a global leader in higher education was at risk because of the policy, which was deterring Chinese students.

“There is a worrying trend at the moment as there is absolutely no improvement in the UK admitting Chinese students to study engineering degrees. The trend is just getting worse,” he said.

He said that it was not just students from China who were experiencing visa issues, it was an issue throughout Asia-Pacific, including India and the Philippines.

“At a time where manufacturers are facing acute skills shortages we need a migration policy that attracts as much highly skilled international talent as possible,” he said.

Mr Thomas warned that without non-EU students, who pay higher university fees, engineering departments would not be able to stay open, which would have a further impact on the skills shortage.

In a survey conducted by the EEF, almost half disagreed that the process of recruiting a non-EU graduate was easy.

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