Access to talent and skills is an issue that unites businesses of all sizes.

In all sectors and we have an urgent need for the best talent to join our growing companies.

A recent CBI/Accenture survey shows that nearly half of UK firms cite low levels of skills in the workforce as one of the biggest current threats to meeting customer demand.

Many are anticipating moving some functions or activities overseas if they are unable to source skills from outside the European Union.

All of this is compounded by the latest official labour market statistics which put the UK heading for full employment.

This continued skills crisis is holding back our productivity – and is dampening what could be an extraordinary period of growth and prosperity.

We need a twin-track solution to raising skills.

We need urgently to develop our own young people – through our schools, apprenticeship programmes, training, and in our universities. At the same time we must also be open to talent from around the world.

There are significant public concerns about the social impact of high levels of immigration, not least because of the significant pressure it can place on public services.

These concerns are real, they matter and should be addressed. But we also need an economy that is thriving and growing to pay for the public services of the future – well-funded health, education, road and rail.

We should also be in no doubt that the UK is in a global race and increasingly the prime source of differentiation is talent. Investment decisions depend on the ability to get the right people in the right place, at the right time.

Firms can choose where to invest and skilled people can choose where in the world they want to work. The UK must welcome the best in order to win and the Government should focus its immigration policy on three key areas.

We need to be open to overseas students; we need to make it easier for companies to move staff around their international operations; and companies must be able to bring in skilled workers.

Current visa controls are causing increasing problems so rather than an arbitrary cap, surely the public would be better served by establishing an evidence based test and ensuring that skilled people from abroad make a net contribution to the UK.

It is not an either/or choice between skilled immigration and developing our own talent.