Concerns have been raised over the implementation of an 'Immigration Skills Charge' from April 2017.

The new levy means employers who sponsor a migrant worker for a Tier 2 visa will pay £1,000 per migrant, per year, with a reduced rate of £364 for small businesses.

The scheme is aimed at reduce Britain's reliance on migrant workers and to upskill British workers.

However, the Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) said it is concerned the new charge could inflate payroll costs in an industry which is "already under significant cost pressure and suffering from the uncertainty around the CITB and Apprenticeship Levies".

FPS Chair Alasdair Henderson said: "Most specialist businesses in the infrastructure sector aim for stability in employee numbers across their portfolio of projects and where necessary use international staff, often from within the same organisation, to supplement their core UK workforce and manage short-term peak demand for specific skills.

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"To assume that the UK resident labour market can supply both the number and quality of employees required to replace international staff in the short term, is to deny the existing UK skills shortage and the long lead-time involved in training and developing the specific skills base."

Mr Henderson continued: "The levy also has the potential to do more than push up costs through higher wages, it could delay projects through firms unwilling to pay a premium for the skilled overseas labour they require.

"Skilled ground engineering employees are thin on the ground, as it is with many roles featuring on the shortage occupation list (for which there is no exemption proposed within the immigration levy). The shortage of suitable STEM trained school leavers and graduates exacerbates this skill short fall and the timeline for an enlarged future UK cohort entering the industry is well beyond the introduction threshold for this levy."

To better solve the issue, Mr Henderson suggested government and private customers could work with specialist contractors and trade bodies to "improve continuity and predictability of workload".

"By updating project procurement practices to reward responsible specialist businesses, long-term direct employment will be promoted resulting in the desired outcome – sustainable growth of the UK ground engineering skill base," he concluded.

(LM)