Tata UK expects mobility of skilled manpower

“The question is the terms of access to the single market; the devil is in the detail,” is how David Landsman, executive director of Tata Limited in Britain, puts it as Britain embarks on what could be tortuous negotiations to depart from the European Union. 

 

Tata Limited set up shop in Britain in 1907 as the Tata Group’s representative in Europe. Today, the group has 19 companies operating in the country. Prominent among them are Tetley Tea, Tata Steel, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Chemicals, Tata Communications and Taj Hotels.

 

Even after the shedding of steel plants and the consequent downsizing, the group provide jobs to nearly 60,000 people.

 

As Britain formally initiates the two-year process of withdrawing from the 28-nation European Union, Landsman appears to be going by a speech delivered by Prime Minister Theresa May in January. “She envisages the UK outside the single (EU) market and outside most of the customs union,” Landsman, a former British diplomat, said.

 

Brexit is expected to halt free movement of labour from the EU, without any indication of a relaxation in rules to absorb manpower from India or any other non-EU source. In effect, the Tatas and the British government could be on a collision course if the UK’s exit from the EU seriously impairs the group’s competitive edge. Intra-company transfers have been a long running issue between Tata Consultancy Services and British authorities.   

 

Asked about Brexit compelling the group to hire locally, because of a clampdown on immigration, Landsman said “the two things are not mutually exclusive as it were”.  At the same time, he acknowledged: “We do clearly depend in many of our businesses on having access to the best talent around the world and it’s important that should continue.”

 

“Brexit is obviously important; but Brexit is not the only issue and the access to skilled talent, skilled labour is one that was there before Brexit and in a sense will be there with us whatever kind of Brexit we end up with,” he said.

 

How will Brexit impact Tata UK? “Each of our companies are in very different sectors. So, precisely how Brexit will impact on them is going to vary quite considerably between the sectors,” Landsman assessed, adding, “It’s fair to say that all of our companies would benefit from access to markets, access to skilled labour.”

 

He elaborated: “We are interested in labour mobility, whether that’s mobility from skilled labour from within the EU, whether it’s from India.”

 

Even before Brexit was in the offing, the Tatas initiated apprenticeship and schools programmes and involvement with universities. They are, now, excited about Whitehall’s move to introduce “T Levels” courses, a technology equivalent and alternative to A Levels. The group estimates it will need hundreds more science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates by 2020.

 

“Our businesses are in the UK. It makes sense to hire people locally both from a business point of view and also because it's very much the Tata way to be a part of the community you are in,” Landsman said.