Migrant workers in South Yorkshire
Aims
The study looks at the size and distribution of the migrant worker population in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, and investigates migrants’ skill levels, support needs and expectations. The study was commissioned in 2007 by the Learning and Skills Council in Yorkshire and the Humber to deliver research on migrant workers in South Yorkshire.Methodology
The study employed a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research and included literature review, data collection and primary research. The literature reviewed consisted of statistical data gathered by: International Passenger Survey; Annual Population Survey; National Insurance Number Allocations [NINo]; and Workers Registration Scheme [WRS]. The primary research involved a range of telephone consultations, face-to-face interviews and focus groups with employers of migrant labour, recruitment agencies, community representatives and Accession 8 [A8] migrants. It consisted of: 2 focus groups with migrant workers and 4 face-to-face interviews with Polish migrant workers; consultations with community representatives; 6 employers from a range of industries; 6 recruitment agencies; and employees of job centre plus. The report also includes 4 migrant worker case studies and 4 employer case studies. Although the official data sources reviewed provide a good indication of the inflow of migrants into South Yorkshire they do not measure outflows and therefore it is difficult to assess the stock of migrant workers. There may be some migrants who did not register under the WRS and/or NINo.