This follows a relaxation of the rules by the Department for Education and Employment. Recruiting overseas is also done by some of the West's big engineering firms. But trade unions warn it can backfire. They believe we should be doing more to train our own people. Attracting firms like Intel to Swindon has brought great prosperity to the town.
Economists believe there is now full employment here.
In some areas like IT there are now considerable skills shortages. And this means that Intel must look further afield than Swindon to find recruit staff. The office already looks a bit like the United Nations with all the flags. An international firm it is already used to circulating staff around its global operations. But these days recruiting is tough enough across their European operation.