Scots seek immigrants to reverse brain drain

Educated young immigrants looking for a new life in Britain are to be encouraged to go to Scotland to make their fortunes and help reverse the country's population decline.

The Scottish Executive is to mount an offensive to halt the brain drain north of the border and improve the country's economy by targeting bright immigrants, encouraging foreign students at Scottish universities to stay on and persuade successful expatriates to return home.

Jack McConnell, the First Minister, outlined the strategy yesterday to a conference in Edinburgh on Scotland's economic prospects. By luring high-flyers from South-east Asia, the US and Indian sub-continents to a country with a shrinking and ageing population, the Executive hopes to tap into a pool of highly educated medical, science and technology students.

The Executive has already been in talks with the Home Office about increasing the number of work permits to attract more people. Airports, ports, and bus and rail stations are to be smartened up to present a better image to the outside world.

"It would be too easy to say there is nothing we can do, that population trends are outside our control and will happen anyway," Mr McConnell said. "I don't believe that. Scotland must be a player in the international and internal UK movement of peoples."

The 2001 census revealed Scotland's population to be 5,062,011, a fall of 2 per cent since 1981. The number of Scots under 15 fell by 18 per cent, while the number of over-75s rose by 29 per cent, causing fears for future prosperity.

But by targeting the 140,000 people predicted to apply for visas to Britain in the next few years, Mr McConnell hopes to convince some that Scotland is a desirable place to live.

In addition to attracting new immigrants, the Executive wants to convince some of the 13,000 overseas students who graduate from Scottish universities to stay in the country.

"We want to catch students studying here before they qualify, whether they are from Scotland, other parts of the UK or abroad, and get them to stay on after they graduate," Mr McConnell said.

"We must capitalise on our universities' world-class reputation. Each year, we benefit from a massive influx of young people who come to Scotland to study. Now we must work with those students to encourage them to stay in Scotland after they graduate.

"We must retain the talent we have, but also attract ex-Scots back home and be open to welcome people from new cultures, nationalities and backgrounds."

Scotland is the only part of the UK with a declining population because deaths exceed births, which have fallen to the lowest level since records began almost 150 years ago.