The charity workforce in post-Brexit Britain: Immigration and skills policy for the third sector
Article
The charity sector is far from immune from the effects of Brexit. As the UK leaves the EU and imposes restrictions on the free movement of people, parts of the charity sector – particularly social work and residential care – risk facing a ‘perfect storm’ of high employee churn, skills shortages, low pay, and increasing labour demand.
The number of EU nationals in the UK charity sector’s workforce has grown substantially over the past two decades, more than doubling from 14,000 to 31,000 since 2000. They are largely concentrated in sectors such as social work, residential care, education and membership organisations, and tend to be young and highly qualified. While EU nationals currently make up a small proportion of the total charity workforce – around 4 per cent – in some key parts of the sector, such as social care, there is to be expected growing labour demand in the coming years.
Related items
Dr Parth Patel on BBC Politics Live - July 2024
IPPR's Dr Parth Patel on BBC Politics Live discussing the new Labour government, Covid, migration and international affairsA ‘mandate’ to deliver: Who voted Labour and what do they want?
This year’s general election saw the Labour party achieve a historic landslide, winning 218 new seats and a comfortable majority in the House of Commons.Half of us: Turnout patterns at the 2024 general election
One-half of adults in this country voted at the 2024 general election, the lowest share of the population to vote since universal suffrage.