Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

British IT outsourcers back Remain in the EU referendum campaign

Good for exports. Exporting your job

A trade group representing companies that ship UK tech jobs overseas says we should vote to stay in the European Union.

“Outsourcing is a significant growth industry for the UK - currently the UK’s second largest employer - and one where we have every chance of taking a global leadership position. Exiting the EU would quickly diminish our role within the global business services industry,” the National Outsourcing Association said in a canned statement today.

Last year the UK’s migration quango recommended that certain tech jobs be put on a “Strategic Occupation List” – fast-tracking non-EU applicants who want to work in the UK. The categories included computer animation software and chip design and test engineers.

Not surprisingly, bosses of larger IT companies are certainly keener than their staff on the EU. Tech services body TechUK (formerly Intellect), which wants to make tech migration into the UK easier, is also advocating a vote to Remain in the June referendum.

However, not all are convinced. The EU has become less economically important as the UK’s share of trade with the rest of the world has increased, as readers know. The fastest-growing export markets are outside the EU, which has now endured a depression longer than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Some outsourcers think tech business would benefit from stronger non-EU ties: “Forming stronger outsourcing and trade agreements outside of the EU was also a big motivation to leave - 19 per cent see this as the strongest argument for leaving,” the NOA notes.

"Only 6 per cent of UK companies do business with the EU, but 100 per cent of British companies have to comply with EU regulations," Merryn Somerset Webb notes, having last week backed Brexit in order to boost the UK's smaller and medium sized businesses - the ones that create most of our jobs. ®

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like