 Scotland is has become an attractive destination to migrants |
A new strategy to cope with the impact of Scotland's fast-growing migrant worker population needs to be drawn up, it has been claimed. The call came as experts prepared to gather in Dundee for talks on taking the issue forward.
A recent study from Abertay University said that migrant workers in Tayside were helping to fill labour shortages.
Migrant workers are also seen to have played a part in boosting the economy in parts of Angus and Perthshire.
About 150 delegates, including academics and members of the private, public and voluntary sectors, have signed up to the conference at Dundee's Sensation science centre.
'Political issue'
Neil McGregor, director of Abertay University's Scottish Economic Research unit, said it had found the overall impact of migrant workers to be significant, but positive.
But he added: "The issue of migrant labour has moved up the political agenda this year in the wake of national figures estimating that up to 600,000 people had come to the UK from the eight new EU member states.
"The UK migrant labour population has topped 600,000 - considerably larger than previously thought - and the issue is gaining greater prominence as Europe prepares for Romania and Bulgaria to join the EU next year.
The conference has also been backed by Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross councils, regeneration agency Communities Scotland and Scottish Enterprise Tayside.
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