UK to spend billions to cut reliance on migrants

Britain will spend a record 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) to boost training opportunities, the government said yesterday, part of a broader strategy to train locals to fill gaps in the labour market and reduce reliance on foreign workers.

The investment will "refocus the skills landscape towards young, domestic talent" by creating 120,000 new training opportunities in key sectors such as construction, engineering, health and social care, and digital, a statement from the government's education department said.

More than one in five working-age Britons do not have a job and are not seeking one, with the latest official data showing the inactivity rate at 21.4 percent, having steadily risen since the Covid-19 pandemic.