British employers turn to foreign workers

British employers are increasingly looking abroad to find workers that can plug their skills shortages, new research has found.

According to Manpower's Borderless Workforce study, 20% of bosses are recruiting foreigners for this reason, with those from Poland, Latvia and India the most popular.

The UK currently has skills deficits in a number of areas and the Government recently added 28 new jobs to its National Shortages Occupation List, almost all of which were in the electricity generation industry.

Britain has now become the second most popular destination for global workers looking for employment, after the US.

Mark Cahill, Managing Director of Manpower, noted that foreign workers enter a range of different industries, but said: 'What is consistent is that these people are motivated to work and are able to address skills shortages.'

These skills deficits may get worse in the future, as the report also found that more than half of UK employees are considering moving overseas to work.