Employ more natives- Jenrick tells UK businesses
Political propaganda paper lying on the Westminister Bridge, London Unsplash.com

The UK Minister of Immigration, Robert Jenrick, has called on local businesses to employ native British workers instead of relying on immigrants to fill the void in the UK workforce.

According to Sky News, Jenrick identified training of local talents by UK businesses as the key to sustainable economic growth.

'We need more workers from abroad'- CBI

The minister's comments comes after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called for more workers from abroad to foster growth in the UK economy.

The Director-General of CBI, Tony Danker, at its annual conference said a drastic measure needs to be taken by the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to boost the economic situation. This is to enable more workers from abroad to enter the country, as many UK businesses and companies struggle with under-staffing.

The CBI has said "cost-free" methods had to be taken to boost the economy, or UK businesses or companies would hibernate this winter.

'Better employment opportunities was one of the reasons for Brexit'- Minister of Immigration

Jenrick, however, disagreed with CBI, saying "we pay attention to the business community, and we are conscious of certain shortages and skills; we want a sensible and pragmatic relationship with businesses."

According to him, some sections had been taken care of, like visas for health workers. He, however, noted that, in all, the aim is to decrease net migration because that is what the British citizens want.

He said, "This was one of the reasons for the vote to withdraw from the European Union in 2016."

"If I were to be a business manager, I would want to look for British workers first; then I would look at how I could employ local workers into the company, skill them up and train them on how to perform their job."

The Director-General of CBI, Tony Danker, speaking to Sky straight after Jenrick, said things like planning, immigration, or regulation must be looked into because of the drive for growth.

Speaking on immigration, Danker said "they (UK businesses) should look for the jobs needed to be filled, are there British workers willing to fill such gaps? If they don't, they should use immigration on a fixed term level to fill the gaps until British workers are ready to perform their jobs."

He said, "Our immigration system does not work like that today, hence, not helping us with our growth problem."

Brexit disallowed many overseas workers from being able to work easily in the country. Many businesses and companies are finding it difficult to employ- especially in the hospitality industry-which have depended on European workers in recent years.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of clothing and homeware retailer Next, Simon Wolfson, has urged the UK government to make it easier for foreign workers to get into the country, saying this is not the Brexit he wanted.