Page 15 - ELG2205 May Issue 480

TRENDING
UK language travel: case study

There’s an innovative scheme to marry up English language students in
the UK with low-skill vacancies, says Melanie Butler

ournemouth, and neighbouring schools and colleges in
Christchurch and Poole in the south the area, together with
of England, combined to make up one the Bournemouth Area PHOTO BY PIXABAY
Bof the UK’s oldest and most popular Hospitality Association
language-travel destinations. Devastated by (BAHA), are the ones
the twin effects of Covid and Brexit, they who came up with the
have received special funding from their local innovative solution of
authority to help them keep the region at the Youth Mobility Scheme
top of the English language charts. visas.
The main stumbling block to the revival of “It will breathe fresh
British language travel, especially from long- life into the beleaguered
haul regions like Asia, is the lack of work rights hospitality and English
for language students. At the same time, all language sectors,” says
along the coast of southern England, the local project co-ordinator
hospitality industry is facing a severe shortage Michele Medhurst, “while
of workers caused, in part, by the number of providing travel, work
EU workers who went home during Covid. and study opportunities
There is an existing and growing source for young people in this Bournemouth is the UK’s most popular language-travel destination
of young foreign workers, Britain’s Youth vibrant location.”
Mobility Scheme Project, which offers 18 to It works like this: anyone with a Youth but in favour of white people, as white majority
30-year-olds from 11 countries the right to live Mobility Scheme visa can apply to the countries are allocated 87% of all the visas.
and work in the UK for up to two years with Bournemouth scheme. If English is not Our table shows that the tiny European
reciprocal rights for young Britons travelling in their first language they must take an online states are allocated the same number of Youth
the other direction. English test. If they score at B1 level or above Mobility visas as much larger Asian countries:
Three of these are English-speaking they’ll be placed in a paid job and given free San Marino, population 34,000. and South
countries and they’re entitled to 83% of the professional training. Korea, population 51.3 million are allocated
total number of Youth Mobility visas on offer, Those below B1 will be offered a place on an 1,000 visas each. So every year the UK is
but numbers from these countries have been English course for which they pay, but they’re willing to grant one visa for every 34 people in
falling in recent years. At the same time, the guaranteed a job at the end of the course. San Marino, but the figure for South Korea is
demand from the Asian countries has been This bold initiative begs the question: why one per 51,300.
growing so fast that the UK Government has can’t the Government increase the number And as for the argument that the
to run a ballot to choose who comes. of visas of the Youth Mobility Scheme in the restrictions on the numbers are set as part
The problem for the hospitality industry existing Asian partner countries for young of trade deals, the final column on our table
is that Asians coming on ‘working holidays’ people who agree to pay for an English course suggests this reciprocity does not exist for
often have a low level of English, so the answer and to take work in high-needs low-skill areas language students. Britons who go to these
was to link up with local language schools. such hospitality and childcare? countries to study the language are allowed to
Members of the local International Education Currently, the UK Youth Mobility scheme is work part-time in nearly all of them. Why not
Association (IEA), which represents language skewed not only in favour of English speakers return the favour?

Youth Mobility Scheme visa allocation

UK language students’
Participating country YMS visas Population (2022)
part-time work rights
Australia 30,000 26 million Yes
New Zealand 13,000 4.9 million Yes
Canada 6,000 38.4 million Yes
San Marino 1,000 0.035 million No relevant schools
Monaco 1,000 0.04 million Yes
South Korea 1,000 51.3 million Yes
Japan 1,500 125.8 million Yes
Hong Kong 1,000 7.5 million Some
Taiwan 1,000 24 million Yes
Iceland 1,000 0.35 million Some
India 3,000 1,400 million No
(source Worldometers)
editorial@elgazette.com 15