It is research by the Work Foundation, the organization that focuses on workplace issues, that has revealed that India poses more of an opportunity than a threat. The firm’s new report, Offshoring, A Threat For the UK’s Knowledge Jobs? presents the conclusion that jobs are not being lost in the UK as a result of outsourcing to India.
According to this report, only 5.5 percent of all jobs lost across Europe in the first quarter of 2007 were the result of offshoring activities. Job opportunities in call centers in Europe, where the perception is that the majority of jobs are going to offshore places like India, have actually gone up, rather than down.
The report also highlights that the UK had service imports from India at pounds1,247m. These government figures published in 2006 indicate that these imports are not significantly higher than UK service exports to India at pounds 1,102m.
At the same time, the UK government is actively encouraging UK small firms to become involved in growing Asian markets, especially India. The government is implementing and using specially designed schemes to provide financial assistance for companies to go on trade missions to India.
The ultimate conclusion from this research indicates that there is more to the trade balance with India than the popular perception of call center closures. As a result of this push, many UK small firms are taking advantage of the vast expanse of opportunities there, to the benefit of the UK and its workers.