Budget 2017: Research net is spread at £50m to beat Brexit
The Government is “casting its net wider” by spending more than £50 million to attract research talent from outside the EU amid concerns about a skills shortage after Brexit.
The cash, from existing international funds, will go towards fellowships to “attract researchers to the UK from emerging research powerhouses like India, China, Brazil and Mexico”, Budget documents revealed.
India was the first country Theresa May visited when she became Prime Minister.
“With Brexit on the horizon, the Government realises it needs to cast its net wider to attract the best research talent to the UK,” said Aidan Sutton, a partner at PwC.
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that £90 million would be used to create an extra 1000 PhD places, mostly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
However, critics argued that more is needed to address the STEM worker shortfall, estimated to be around 40,000 every year, with concerns rising about a lack of access to talent on the Continent after Britain leaves the EU.
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