Drawing on a new report from British Future, Heather Rolfe highlights that many of those on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa are in work that doesn’t match their skills. She argues this is a wider issue that should be addressed in Labour’s skills strategy.

More than 150,000 people have arrived in the UK from Hong Kong since 2021 under the British National (Overseas) – or BN(O) – visa. Most of these ‘BN(O)s’ are of working age, with better skills and qualifications than the UK average. Yet while 76% of the UK population is in work, almost half of BN(O)s are not. Of those who do work, almost half say that their job doesn’t match their skills and experience at all, or only a little, with those outside of London and the South East most affected.

In a report out this week British Future presents findings from interviews with 96 BN(O)s who are unemployed or under-utilised on why this is happening, and how to stop this waste of potential.

Some of our research participants had experienced significant downgrading from their jobs in Hong Kong. Several were in warehouse work: one was a former IT specialist, another a shipping insurance accounts manager. Other downward moves included editor to events waitress, journalist to chef, primary school teacher to care assistant, civil servant to prison security guard and director’s secretary to cleaner.

We found that no single factor is responsible for these poor skills matches, with several key barriers operating in combination. These include difficulties in achieving recognition for professional qualifications; lack of understanding of the workings of the UK jobs market; living in an area with few job vacancies; low confidence with spoken English and lack of availability of suitable courses; and difficulties in accessing childcare, often due to cost.

When it comes to recruitment, some BN(O)s experience a double bind. Employers can see them as lacking sufficient UK experience to practice their occupation, but also having too much experience to enter at a lower level. Despite this, we found some examples of good practice, where employers – in both cases universities – had recognised an individual’s potential and given them opportunities to learn new skills and advance their career.

For some, arriving in the UK during the cost-of-living crisis added a sense of urgency to finding work. The need to pay bills, while savings diminished, meant they could not afford to be choosy. For others, taking lower-skilled work provided an opportunity to become familiar with UK workplace culture, and time to improve conversational English.

However, this was sometimes a thin silver lining to an unshifting cloud of worry that they would never be able to get out of lower-skilled work. Hopes of being able to contribute their skills to the UK were fading as the rejection messages stacked up.

Many of our interviewees were keen to explore their options. Some were interested in trying something new, to re-train or to set up a business. They found, however, that the BN(O) visa does not allow access to publicly funded training, since the visa includes No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) as a condition. This also meant that very few had used Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and the National Careers Service (NCS).

Employment advice is essential for new migrants. Until recently, BN(O)s have been able to access help from the many organisations supported by the government’s Welcoming Programme. Some of these provided employment support tailored to BN(O)s’ circumstances and needs.

However, funding has been largely discontinued, meaning that most BN(O)s now need to access mainstream services. But as mentioned, services offered by JCP are not currently available to migrants whose visas include NRPF.

What can the new Labour government do?

The government has proposed long-overdue reform of JCP, moving it away from policing benefit claimants to a service that ‘support[s] those seeking better opportunities with the means to find better paid work’. This step, including a merger with the NCS, could be just what BNOs need. But two important steps are needed: the new service has to be available to those on visas with NRPF; and JCP must move away from its ‘one size fits all’ approach, as recommended by numerous reviews.

Support for new migrants needs to include personalised job search support, linked to help with transferring qualifications and facilitating access to training. This support should be delivered by advisers who understand that the needs of new migrants are different to those of many clients. There are many migrant-focused organisations across the UK who would be able to provide this advice to JCP/NCS services.

Another development with the potential to help address under-utilisation of skills is ‘Skills England’, in the process of being set up to address skills shortages at a more strategic level.

In August, the Home Secretary confirmed that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will be a key partner. Yet its focus is described as aligning skills gaps with immigration policies. This implies it will not cover better utilisation of the skills of many migrants who come on non-work visas but with the right to work.

The government’s wider agenda is to design new skills policy so that employers train local people rather than rely on migrants. Yet there is a blind spot when it comes to migrants who are already here, working below their skill level and who need help to achieve their full potential. This is a substantial group, which includes refugees, Ukrainians and other humanitarian visa holders as well as partners of work visa holders and many EU citizens who arrived under free movement.

Most of the BNOs we interviewed are happy with their new lives and would not consider returning to Hong Kong. Some also made the point that they had not come to the UK to advance their career but to escape political oppression.

Nevertheless, BN(O)s have the potential to make a positive impact on our economy and services. They were invited here as part of the UK’s historic commitment to the Hong Kong people. The government now needs to extend that commitment to ensuring that BN(O)s can lead fulfilling working lives. This means including the UK’s existing migrants, as well UK citizens, in its plans for fixing skills gaps and delivering economic growth.

By Dr Heather Rolfe, Director of Research, British Future.