Unemployed Brits will be prioritised over cheap foreign workers to fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in new plans

UNEMPLOYED Brits will be prioritised over cheap foreign workers to fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in new plans.

The Welfare Secretary wants to slash ­immigration numbers by promoting and training home-grown talent right across the economy.

It comes after ministers last month increased the salary threshold for skilled worker visas to £38,700 to help cut record levels of legal migration.

Mel Stride will today acknowledge the changes could pose a “recruitment challenge” for some sectors, with 300,000 fewer foreign workers arriving each year.

But he will argue they provide an opportunity to invest in the domestic workforce.

He is expected to say in a speech: “With the next generation of welfare reforms, we are building a new economic model based on British talent.

“As part of that, the new visa rules brought in by the Home Secretary will mean around 300,000 people who arrived last year would not be able to.

"This is a huge opportunity for the thousands of jobseekers within our domestic workforce to move into roles that have previously been filled by overseas workers.”

 Mr Stride will unveil a new ministerial taskforce — including key figures from the Home Office, Treasury, and other departments — to identify and end barriers preventing Brits entering the workforce.