CBI: UK faces a brain drain

OVER a quarter of organisations plan to transfer work overseas because of the UK’s downturn, according to a survey out today by the CBI and recruitment expert Harvey Nash.

Fears of a “brain drain” are rising as over half of bosses in the science, hi-tech and IT sectors reported they have either moved jobs overseas or plan to.

And almost two thirds of UK employers are considering making significant changes to the way they organise their workforce in a bid to keep their businesses afloat during the recession.

Over half of the 709 employers surveyed said that they were going to freeze pay during the next pay round.

Nearly two thirds of employers have frozen recruitment either across the whole organisation (30 per cent) or in parts of it (31 per cent).

CBI deputy director-general John Cridland said: “While pay and recruitment freezes should disappear as the economy recovers, the spirit of flexibility and the willingness of many staff to engage positively with employers on these issues will hopefully be a more permanent benefit of the UK economy.”

Graduates are also facing a tough time as two fifths of employers have frozen graduate recruitment, and a further 10 per cent are recruiting fewer graduates than in 2008.

The majority of UK firms are uncertain about prospects for a recovery in recruitment, and 53 per cent think it will take up to two years or more for recruitment to return to 2007 levels.