Abta to keep up pressure on youth mobility

Abta has pledged to keep lobbying amid suggestions that a reciprocal youth mobility scheme could be part of a post-Brexit reset with the European Union.

Tens of thousands of young EU workers and students would be able to come to the UK to live and work for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension, under a plan reportedly to be tabled by British negotiators, 

The reciprocal scheme would allow young Britons, aged 18-30, similar access to countries in the EU, according to The Times.  

Abta public affairs director Luke Petherbridge said: “Youth mobility arrangements with EU countries would ease some of the staffing pressures travel businesses are facing in resort. 

“It’s now much trickier to hire UK staff and post them in EU roles; each country has a different process that takes time and can be pretty costly.

“We’ve been advocating for youth mobility arrangements for some time now, and we do believe our argument is gaining traction across the parties.

“It is clearly a big political issue that is going to be wrapped up in negotiations around the UK-EU relationship. We’ll continue to push this issue with the government and with MPs of all parties.”

Naomi Smith, chief executive of lobbying group of Best for Britain, which has campaigned for such a scheme since May 2023, said: “If these reports are accurate, this is a very welcome and common sense move from the government to give opportunities back to young Brits while helping  businesses across the UK struggling with labour shortages.

“With our polling consistently showing that around 60% of voters back the idea, it really is a win-win for both the UK and EU.”