Chinese firms invest to fill UK skills gap

The UK government will invest 170 million pounds ($241 million) into growing accredited Institutes of Technology, which can create new degree-equivalent programs to satisfy the latest demands of the job market.

“Our priority as a college is developing the right skills for the future. In fast advancing sectors such as technology and telecommunication, we absolutely look to employers like Huawei to identify where the skills gaps are,” said Yvonne Kelly, principal and CEO at Barking and Dagenham College.

Huawei’s efforts to upskill the UK’s labor market has been followed by other Chinese companies in recent years, often motivated by a need to fill their UK subsidiaries’ payroll with skilled employees who are otherwise hard to find in the UK’s existing job market.

When Chinese carmaker Geely, through its UK subsidiary London EV Company, launched a 300 million pound electric taxi factory in Coventry last year, the company needed to employ hundreds of electric car manufacturers.

The newness of that industry means the UK has a shortage of such specialists. To prepare for this challenge, London EV Company developed a specific apprenticeship in partnership with the UK’s Institute of the Motor Industry.

Now in its third year of operation, this rigorous two-year training program meets the standards of the UK government’s apprenticeship scheme.

“Many of these young apprentices are 17 or 18-year-old students in the Coventry area. The earlier cohort of students are now playing an important role mentoring younger apprentices, or getting ready to continue taking automotive sector classes at university level part-time,” said Wil Barber, a spokesman for London EV Company.

Last year China General Nuclear Power Group, also known as CGN, started sponsoring British students to study nuclear technology in Beijing, to ensure the future supply of qualified British graduates familiar with China’s nuclear market and practices.

While these students are not on CGN’s payroll, they are encouraged to apply for jobs at CGN upon finishing their two-year studies, based at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. CGN’s ambitious program to build three British nuclear plants in partnership with France’s EDF suggests abundant UK-based job opportunities are available for such talents.

Charles Cao Quin, deputy pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Leicester, said the latest wave of training programs from Chinese companies come at an opportune time to boost the UK’s skill base, especially as Britain is facing a skill drain as it leaves the European Union.

According to a 2017 survey by the consultancy Deloitte, 47 percent of highly skilled workers from the EU are considering leaving the UK in the next five years due to Brexit uncertainties.

However, such generous investments do not come for free, Cao said. “Chinese companies can generate significant reputational gain from delivering these training programs,” he added.

Some companies have already realized concrete benefits. In 2014, Hong Kong-based transport company MTR won a 1.4-billion-pound contract to operate London’s new Crossrail system, the biggest infrastructure project in Europe. As a part of the deal, MTR is training 300 train drivers, many of whom are completely new to the transport sector.

"One key proposition we put forward when bidding for the contract was that we will invest to train new drivers, instead of just hiring existing drivers employed by other British firms,” said Jeremy Long, CEO of MTR's European business.