Plans to end freedom of movement and introduce a new points-based immigration system will create “genuine difficulties” for some employers, the Scottish Secretary has admitted.
Alister Jack said challenges faced by the tourism, hospitality and agricultural sectors as a result of the shake-up are “real and require to be addressed”.
But he stressed he is “absolutely sure” the UK Government will come up with a solution, and said he has his own ideas on how to smooth over problems.
It is understood part of this could centre on extending the Youth Mobility Scheme, which allows those aged 18 to 30 to apply to live and work in the UK for up to two years.
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This is currently open to young adults from eight countries or regions, including Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
Officials think extending the scheme to places such as Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova could help plug labour gaps in hospitality or agriculture.
Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, previously claimed UK ministers were “in cloud cuckoo land” while the Scottish Tourism Alliance branded the immigration plans “the biggest threat to Scotland’s tourism industry”.
Nicola Sturgeon said the new system would be “devastating”.
The UK Government announced it will stop providing visas to low-skilled migrant workers last month, instead outlining plans for a new points-based system.
The changes are designed to cut the number of low-skilled migrants entering Britain from the beginning of next year, but aim to make it easier for higher-skilled workers to get UK visas.
Applicants must have 70 points to be eligible for a visa. They need to speak English and have a job offer at an “appropriate skill level”, with points also awarded if they earn more than £25,600.
Mr Jack said the points-based system “will ensure that the Scottish economy continues to gain access to the labour it requires, and we will treat everybody based on their skills and contribution, not on where they came from”.
He said: “This will mean it will get a lot easier for Scottish companies to recruit the labour they need from outside the EU, EEA countries, but it will be harder to recruit from within the EU, EEA countries.
“The under-secretary of state [Douglas Ross] and I have been very keen to meet with Scottish stakeholders over the last week, and we’ve done so to discuss the genuine difficulties that we acknowledge arise from some of the points-based system.”
He insisted the proposed salary threshold is “reasonable”.
He made the comments while giving evidence to Holyrood’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee.
The First Minister previously outlined plans for a “Scottish visa”, but Mr Jack stressed immigration will not be devolved and a “UK-wide solution” is needed to address any problems.
He and Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw met with Boris Johnson on Wednesday. Mr Jack said: “I spoke about the challenges on migration to tourism, to hospitality, to seasonal agricultural workers, which I believe to be real and require to be addressed.
“I have two solutions which came out of my stakeholder engagements.
“Jackson and some of the MSPs have had other stakeholder engagements and they’ve come up with ideas.”
He continued: “I’m not going to go into the detail, because it’s still a work in progress, but I’m absolutely sure that we will come up with a solution for those industries.”
Yesterday, it was reported Mr Johnson and Mr Carlaw had discussed making the “shortage occupation list” more flexible for Scotland, which would allow the new immigration rules to be watered down for certain jobs.
Elsewhere, Mr Jack caused controversy after arguing workers should be paid at least the living wage, adding: “There has been a tendency in the past for us to bring in cheap migrant labour, and they’ve come on the basis that they get access to our NHS and our benefits system”.
SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing said his comments were “offensive”.
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “The Secretary of State was clear that people who do tough jobs like fish processing should be paid a decent wage. If people disagree with that they need to explain why.”
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