TIGA: UK Government’s Immigration Cap Could Harm Developers
TIGA, the UK’s trade association has said the coalition’s non-EU immigration cap will damage the British videogame industry. The cap is set to be “tens of thousands” according to home secretary Theresa May.
This would mean that UK developers looking to hire from America and other areas outside of the European Union would be restricted to a certain number per year. In a separate report, the Guardian estimated that for financial businesses in London this could mean a limit of just six non-EU visas.
TIGA’s head Dr Richard Wilson said that “if skilled personnel are not available in the UK then games businesses must be free to recruit them from elsewhere” after citing figures that showed that “39 per cent of developers suffered from skill shortages in 2009.” He continued: “These arbitrary limits could prevent development studios from completing projects on time, stymie expansion plans and limit the ability of studios to win new contracts.”
On the wider scale, the Lib Dem’s Vince Cable broke government ranks this week by saying that the cap would hurt growth within Britain, with leading banks such as JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank said to be concerned with the measures.
Having a set limit means that if the amount is hit and a person is trying to move into Britain, no matter how talented or useful for the British economy the person is, they won’t be allowed to enter the country. This could have huge implications for those living in America looking for videogame development work in the UK at places such as Rockstar, for example.
Of the limit, Rebellion CEO and TIGA chairman Jason Kingsley said: “First the Coalition Government drops Games Tax Relief, leaving our industry at a serious tax disadvantage vis-a-vis our overseas rivals, then it plans to prevent us from recruiting the best and brightest to work at UK studios.”
So, what TIGA is saying is that UK people are crap, and have to bring in foreign talent to get anything done.
Ouch.
@ScottyGrayskull: Nope they’re sayingt here aren’t enough people who are nerds. There’s a difference, just because a country has a shortage of one specific expert doesn’t reflect upon the country as a whole at all.
Putting a cap on immigration, as with everything this government are doing, is a super short sighted change that will harm Britain in the long-term.
Going of other Tory policies, I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if this change is fuelled by an undercurrent of simple racism.
@John Kershaw: Niether would I, the tory party never surprises me with all the dickish stuff it does. Shame we’re going to obviously have them for at least 2 terms, maybe 3 if the wrong labour leader gets into power and AV system doesn’t go through :(