UK migrants cap hits hiring of Indian workers

The temporary cap on recruiting non-EU workers is currently in place, and is due to be replaced by a permanent cap of 21,700 non-EU workers from April 6. The cap is part of the David Cameron government's efforts to curb immigration.

The study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) with consultants KPMG has, however, found that the demand for migrant workers has increased despite rising levels of unemployment in Britain.

The study reveals that 17 per cent of UK employers, including the National Health Service, have been prevented from recruiting non-EU migrant workers due to the temporary cap.

The employers are particularly struggling to fill vacancies in engineering, accountancy, IT and nursing from within the British and EU workforces, the study says.

As many as 43 per cent of the 759 employers surveyed report that they are struggling to fill vacancies from within the UK/EU, with 23 per cent saying they are recruiting non-EU migrant workers for engineering vacancies, 15 per cent for IT positions and 7 per cent for both nursing and accountancy/finance positions.

Gerwyn Davies, CIPD public policy adviser and author of the report, said: "The introduction of the temporary cap as had an impact on employers' ability to fill vacancies and improve productivity, particularly in the NHS.

It remains questionable whether the increase in the number of employer-related visas

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