A million foreign workers 'to leave UK in five years'

Almost half of highly skilled non-Britons are thinking of going post-Brexit, says Deloitte

commuters
(Image credit: Cate Gillon/Getty Images)

More than a million foreign workers are preparing to leave the UK within the next five years, say researchers, adding to fears of a Brexit "brain drain".

A survey by accountancy firm Deloitte says 36 per cent of non-British workers are thinking about leaving the country by 2022, with 26 per cent planning to move by 2020.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"That points to a short-to-medium term skills deficit that can be met in part by upskilling our domestic workforce but which would also benefit from an immigration system that is attuned to the needs of the economy," Deloitte senior partner David Sproul said.

The survey "underscores the severe jobs crisis facing the country as it begins the process of extracting itself from the European Union" and the findings are "likely to increase political pressure to ensure access to talent is maintained following Brexit", says The Independent.

Explore More