Impact Of Brexit On Labour Demand And Supply In The United Kingdom

Title:

European Union and non-European Union work force in different UK industries

Graph:

Reference:

IG. (2018). What is the potential economic impact of Brexit?. [online] Available at: https://www.ig.com/uk/view-ig/what-is-the-economic-impact-of-brexit–41688-180119 [accesses 8 Nov. 2018]

On 23^rd June, 2016 after the referendum, the United Kingdom (UK) casted its vote in favour of leaving the European Union (EU). The graph, above, is provided by the IG group Limited and it indicates the inflow of EU and non-EU work force in different industries of the United Kingdom.

The industries with high level of trade within Europe, as can be seen in this graph, are more at risk in the event of Brexit due to trade difficulty, and more specifically due to the risk that it poses because of the potential effect that it might have on the labour sources.

The manufacturing industry is more likely to be affected, with over 10% EU labour in it, according to the graph. The construction industry and the wholesale, retail hotel and restaurant industry follow in the likeliness of the potential risk with over 8% EU workers employed in these industries. However, there are only 4% in energy and water industry making it less sensitive to such incident. Analysis, of the data above, shows a large percentage that will make no difference on the impact of workplace to business and trade.

 According to BBC report, there are above 120,000 EU students across the UK, generating a good impact on British economy and creating 20,000 jobs. Hence, it is more likely that the UK and the EU would continue to collaborate on after Brexit. According to BBC.UK the workers make a more positive contribution to the public finances, over 4%. That is, the labours largely contribute to the major industries of the United Kingdom, and hence its economy. Therefore, considering that the employability of the EU labours in UK be at jeopardy due to the Brexit might not be completely correct as it depends on the trade and economic arrangement of the two in relation to the changed circumstances.

Academic Writing (to be completed in weeks 1-10)

(Word count: at least 700 words)

All students are reminded that Plagiarism, Collusion and Ghost writing are forms of cheating which will be investigated in accordance with GSM’s Academic Misconduct Regulations.

Law students with a proven academic offence (as outlined above) are reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and The Bar Council, which can prevent a student from being admitted into the legal profession.

        The European Union is an economic and political partnership of 28 European countries that include Germany, France, Croatia, Sweden, Poland, and United Kingdom among others. The Union was formed after the Second World War to promote economic cooperation. The basic idea behind the Union was that trade partners are less likely to go in to war with one another. The EU had developed in to a single market with a single currency, the Euro. Movement of goods and services is no longer restricted and countries within the umbrella negotiate trade as a Union. In June 2016, Britain voted on a referendum to exit the European Union in what was referred to as Brexit (Basilio, 2018). The UK is now in preparation to exit the EU by Mach 29 2019.Brexit is expected to affect the business environment including labour systems. This essay shall discuss the impact of Brexit on demand and supply of labour.

            Labour is an essential factor of production besides capital and enterprise. Britain still desires to have adequate labour supply even after Brexit to facilitate economic growth. Britain currently has a huge migrant workforce most of them originating from the European Union countries. However, Brexit will affect the migration patterns of immigrants to Britain. In 2017, foreign nationals accounted for 18% of Britain’s workforce.  Out of the 18 percent, 7.6% originate from the European Union countries while 10.3% are originate from Non-European Union countries (Great London Authority, 2018). After the Brexit vote, the number of European citizens moving to retain in search of employment have declined. In 2017, the net migration figures indicated that there was a decline by 100,000 of the net migration value. There was also a decline in number of EU Union migrants for the first time since 2013. The high rate of immigration as among the factors that led to the Brexit vote.

With a decline in the number of migrants moving to Britain form European countries and beyond, the supply of labour in Britain is expected to decline. With Britain’s exit from the EU, the country is expected to impose controls movement of skilled and unskilled labour so as to reduce net migration to a level that is sustainable for Britain. The decline in labour supply will force some UK’s firms who have been depended on cheap foreign supplied labour to increase wages in order to attract domestic workforce. Wages will also be pushed higher by the labour supply deficit prompting employers to raise the minimum wage. However, majority of employers are reluctant towards increasing wages (Dhingra et al, 2016). They are considering automating their processes by incorporating information technology and machine learning technologies in order to demand less workers.

Brexit will influence trade patterns in the United Kingdom after the Brexit. Currently, negotiations are in progress ahead of March 2019 official exit of Britain form the European Union (Great London Authority, 2018). Britain has a well-established manufacturing and service industries whose productivity will be influenced by Brexit. Brexit will slightly affect the local market through changes production cost parameters such as labour and cost of materials. International trade with its trade partners will depend on the results of trade negotiations. In case, trade partners especially in the European Union will impose trade restrictions on Britain, Britain Industries will have to downsize their workforce through retrenchment resulting to oversupply of labour. However, if Britain succeeds in maintaining and even enhancing trade with its partners which influences firms to increase their production levels, more labour will be demanded.

          Brexit is a major phenomenon that shaped the financial market in 2016. They effect of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union will continue to unfold in the coming years especially in March 2019 when Britain will officially exist the EU. Brexit’s impact on labour supply and demand has already been felt. With the decline in net immigration of people from EU countries to Britain, there has been a decline in skilled labour supply in Britain. The demand for health professionals such as nurses has risen in relation to the supply. Much is expected to unfold after the official exit. Britain might use immigration policies to limit the number of immigrants. However, the British government has stated that it would create policies that would attract talented individuals to the country so as to serve the country in respective professions.

Your groups’ comment about your presentation

Content

(How clear, complete and informative was the presentation?)

The group found the presentation informative, clear and easy to understand.

Audience Engagement

(How enjoyable / interesting did the audience find it?)

The group felt involved in the process of presentation and participated in discussion.

Organisation

(How well-structured was it? How well did the visuals support it?)

The group found the picture in the fourth slide redundant as the contents were available in bullet points.

Professionalism

(How slick and professional was it?)

The group agreed that the appearance and delivery was professional, however agreed that the speed of delivery was too high.

Your reflection on your presentation

Content

(How clear, complete and informative was the presentation?)

Simple, concise descriptions were provided to avoid overcomplicating the subject. However, more examples of the deliverable presentation could be included to make it easier for the audience.

Audience Engagement

(How enjoyable / interesting did the audience find it?)

Audiences were encouraged to interact and their questions were answered in simple language.

Organisation

(How well-structured was it? How well did the visuals support it?)

The discussion and question-answer session highlighted that the images used could be more relevant and the sped needed to be reduced.

Professionalism

(How slick and professional was it?)

Overall professionalism was maintained. However, the presentation could include different issues that students face in terms of communication skills and ways to address them.

Action Points

(What could you do better in future presentations?)

The future presentations would incorporate result of a research of the issues faced by university students in the given topic to encourage the audience to share their personal experience and doubts concerning the topic. This would improve the aspect of audience interaction. Moreover, the delivery of the presentation needs to be slower for enhancing the audience experience.  

                                                                                         Your summary should include 2 paragraphs on:

1. What did you learn from delivering a presentation? You can use Gibb’s reflective model to answer this question (150 words).

2. How does the skill your presentation focused on relate to students and professionals of your subject area? What can they learn from it? How can they develop it? How is it useful? You can also refer to your other modules to answer this question (150 words).

                 Gibb’s reflective cycle (1988)

Delivering the presentation on the communication skill as an essential academic skill availed me a chance to acquire an in-depth understanding of the different aspects of communication that involve in a presentation. It has also enabled me to notice the loopholes in my own communication. For instance, I have realised that I need to work on my ability to address a group together. I felt the lack of experience in group interactions and hence lack confidence in addressing a group of people together. While facing the issue was terrifying it pointed out my flaws for me to work on.  Identification of the issue was essential to find the solution. The problems identified were in confidence, body language, especially in eye contact and speed of delivery. If the situation arises again I shall reduce my speed of delivery of the speech, increase eye contact and be more interactive with the audience.  

As my presentation concerned with the communication skills, similar to any other academic discipline, it also affects the professionals of my subject area. The major aspects of my subject area is to study and evaluate different implications of economic activities and the manner in which businesses react to them, therefore it involves different communication skills. For instance, to study, discuss and understand the information on such subject the professionals and students need to utilise verbal communication skills. To develop reports and presentations on such topics writing skills are to be applied. As the subject area requires development of plenty of reports and essays analysing the economic events and business aspects therefore development of writing skills is essential. It also avails the scope for development of the skill through practice. Availability of the scope for correction also adds to the opportunity of developing communication skills. Successful development of this skill would allow the students to handle future assignments in more efficient manner.