Brexit has put foreign workers off UK tech jobs

Fewer foreign worker are considering coming to work in the UK’s world-leading tech sector because of Brexit, new figures reveal.

The number of candidates from abroad getting job offers to work at a tech company in the UK has shrunk by half since the vote to leave the EU, compared to the same period before the historic decision to cut ties with the continent.

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And the acceptance rate for offers made to foreign workers fell by 20 per cent, indicating cooling interest in working in the UK amid Brexit uncertainty. Acceptance rates for local candidates remained the same.

Hired, a recruitment platform used by top companies such as Uber and Facebook to hire tech talent, also found that UK tech companies were equally becoming weary of hiring from abroad due to the uncertainty: offers to candidates outside the UK have fallen 30 per cent in the first quarter of 20117 compared to the same period last year.

Hired chief executive Mehul Patel called the data a warning signal and “a massive change in just a year”.

A further survey of its users found that nearly three-quarters said they believe leaving the EU will damage the UK tech industry while tech workers listed Brexit as their biggest concern even ahead of salary. And 70 per cent said they had considered leaving the UK because of Brexit.

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The UK tech industry has called on Theresa May to ensure it can still retain access to highly-skilled workers or risk putting the success of the industry in jeopardy. The Prime Minister this week re-iterated her commitment to keeping her immigration target.

A home-grown skills shortage means many companies are reliant on hiring talent from outside the UK.