- Safiu Kehinde
United Kingdom-based Nigerian journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, has disclosed how the United Kingdom is wasting opportunity to grow its economy by sidelining African talents.
Soyinka, in the latest episode of his vodcast, The Insight, analysed how the UK government have overtime failed utilise the presence of the skilled African migrants in their to boost the economy.
The journalist firstly recounted the challenges faced by migrants of African descent, particularly in the aspect of unemployment and discrimination at workplace when they eventually managed to get a job.
According to Soyinka, most of the jobs they get are often way below their educational qualification and skillset.
He cited a research by the Oxford University which noted that many highly educated migrants are overqualified for the jobs they do in the UK.
“An engineer from Lagos driving a mini cab in London. A nurse from Accra, cleaning offices at night. A data analyst from Nairobi, packing boxes in warehouse.
“It is often not the case that these people lack talent. It’s because the system blocks them. And that hidden cost, it’s massive.
“Here is the big picture, the 2021 UK census counted about 1.5 million black African people in England and Wales. That’s around 2.5 percent of the population. A big pool of talent!
“But many of them end up in jobs far below their skill level. The Oxford University migration observatory shows that many highly educated migrants are overqualified for the jobs they do in the UK.
“And even when they land this job, the pay doesn’t match. The Office for National Statistics reports that black African, Carribean, and Black British workers consistently earn less than white workers- a gap that has barely shifted in the last decades.” Soyinka said.
On why African migrants do get restricted to menial jobs, the journalist cited the non-recognition of the degrees, experience demand, accent bias, and stalled progression as reasons behind the situation.
“The first one is their degrees are not recognised without expensive re-licensing. There is also this Catch-22 scenario of UK experience or employers demanding UK experience which you can’t get until someone gives you a chance.
“There is also the case of name or accent bias. The last thing is stalled progression in terms of lower pay and few promotions even after you got the job. These barriers combined to knock people out of the jobs they are trained for.” He said.
The journalist further explained how employment discrimination plays out against African migrants.
He disclosed that while white unemployment rate stand at about 3.3%, mixed or multiple ethnic groups, records 11.5% with Pakistani ethnic group recording about 11.1%.
“First, it is at the hiring stage. A widely cited 2019 study by researchers at Newfield College, Oxford University found out that Africans from ethnic minority background had to send about 60% more job applications to get a positive response from an employer.
“That is more than a white British candidate with identical qualifications. More recent data including from the office of the National Statistics confirms that discrimination in UK recruitment is an ongoing problem.
“For instance, figures from the National Statistics shows that people from certain ethnic minority backgrounds experience significantly higher unemployment rate than white people.
“Between April and June 2024, the breakdown shows that white unemployment rate is about 3.3%, mixed or multiple ethnic groups, it’s about 11.5%, Pakistani ethnic group, at about 11.1%
“But when they get the job, you will still experience pay gaps, slower promotions, and degrees from African universities are not fully recognised.
Employers often demand UK experience even when it shouldn’t matter. All of these create what researchers call credentials discounting. What it simply means is wasted skills.” He said.
Soyinka thereafter explained how the UK government is running at loss of income over its sideline of African migrants.
“Back in 2017, UK government-owned McGregors’ Report found out that if Britain fully tap into the talent of black and minority ethnic workers, the economy could gain about £24 billion a year. That is roughly 1.3% of GDP.
“That was seven years ago, and the gap has since widened. Take graduates earnings for instance, according to the 2023 graduate Labour market statistics, graduates in England still earn an average £10,500 more per year than non-graduates .
“Let’s bring this home, if black Africans represent about 2.5% of the population, then, a proportion share of that 2017 figure of £24 billion will be three to four billion pounds annually, even before accounting for wage growth or inflation.
“Now think about this. suppose 100,000 skilled African migrants are stuck beneath their qualifications level, given the graduate premium. that is roughly one billion pounds loss in estimated earning and productivity annually.
“Double that head count to 200,000 thousand and you are look at about 2 billion lost annually.
“As at October 2025, an estimate by Business in the community and in collaboration with the University of Dundee shows hat addressing racial disparity could boost UK economy by about 37 billion pounds annually.
Soyinka advise the UK to review its recruitment and fast-track recognition of of foreign qualifications as he held that the country is throwing away billions of Pounds every year by sidelining African talent.
“We simply need to use blind recruitment processes to cut out bias at the CV stage.
“There is also the need to fast-track the recognition of foreign qualifications. We also need to publish ethnicity pay and promotion data like we already do for gender.
“Then, there is a need to train and hold managers accountable because the numbers speak for themselves. The UK is throwing away billions of Pounds every year by sidelining African talent.
“And this isn’t charity. It is smart economics because when skilled people do the jobs thy trained for, everyone wins. The truth is simple, when we waste talent, we waste growth.
“And when we give people the chance to work to their full ability, everyone wins. Not just the workers, but the entire economy because inclusion isn’t charity, it’s smart economics.” He said.