LAST weekend, my story about plans to sort Jersey’s recruitment crisis in agriculture, hospitality and retail made the front page of this newspaper.
There are plans, still being worked out, to offer non-EU nationals ten-month working visas. This means those seasonal workers will be forced to return home at the end of their stint, though would be free to return the following year if they wish.
So far, so good.
But then the story started circulating online and it, once again, highlighted the horrible attitudes some have to people who come to Jersey to do jobs that people locally simply don’t want to do.
‘They’ll be taking up all the housing’. ‘They’ll be a danger to society’. ‘They simply come here, earn money and go home without doing anything useful’.
They’re the kinder things people said. I hope you get the idea.
There were also those who looked at this from the perspective of the seasonal workers, bemoaning a system that doesn’t allow them to put down roots here. But that again, to me, misses the point. This is about seasonal workers, who exist the world over, who have to leave and go home after a set period of time.
It’s a way for people to see another part of the world while earning a few quid. It’s a chance to have a go at a job you may not otherwise do. It’s a life experience. Brits do the same with their working visas to Australia. That they can’t put down roots isn’t a problem.
But, by the same token, these Brits in Australia aren’t taking up all the housing, acting as dangers to society, and taking away all their money without being useful. Whole swathes of rural industry rely on them to work farms and pick crops.
My point is simply about supply and demand, and a government coming up with a plan to help businesses survive and thrive. There’s so much talk about not putting all our eggs in the finance basket, and this visa scheme seems a sensible and pragmatic solution.
The one big sticking point is actually the UK who have expressed private concern that it could create a backdoor to Britain. Those talks are ongoing, and Jersey officials have expressed their desire to create a robust enough system to satisfy Westminster.
When these ‘aliens’ do arrive in Jersey, let’s make them feel welcome. They’re working long hours doing, often, backbreaking work that most people in this Island don’t want to do. That local food you buy, that restaurant you visit, that treat of an overnight staycation that you book are all made possible by those who come to Jersey to do those jobs.
I’ve been very lucky to spend this week at Jersey TechWeek. I must declare an interest – I’m there to record a series of videos of the event.
It celebrates all the work that’s happening in the Island’s digital sector. From connected devices to digital health care to the way it’s transforming the finance industry. The week, which includes an awards ceremony tonight, is a reminder to me of the way digital is now a fundamental part of the whole economy.
I’ve had the chance to speak to people from home-grown companies who are coming up with ideas and inventions that are now being rolled out across the UK and the world. Indeed, one particular product is being used by the NHS to save hundreds of thousands of days-worth of wasted time in GPs surgeries, freeing up doctors to do what they want to do most: see patients.
Jersey is pitching itself to the world as a digital testbed, what Digital Jersey describes as its Sandbox, where companies can try out new services and products in a safe environment on a small scale before ‘going live’ with them elsewhere. But there’s also a really important other piece of work happening, and that’s upskilling.
Swathes of jobs will be affected by the growth in artificial intelligence in the coming years. Making sure our workforce has the right skills to thrive in that environment, and that employers can find people with the experience to do new types of jobs, is going to be critical to Jersey’s future prosperity.
Rather than fear this, we can embrace this as an opportunity to be on the front foot and ahead of the pack. Government is making all the right noises about its support for digital, and this is one priority where – if words are followed by action – they have my full support.
Besides, with the rise of automation, those who bemoan seasonal workers may get their wish when the potatoes can pick themselves. They may not be quite so cheery when they realise the technology is also catching up with their job. It’s time for us all to be ready for the revolution.
