The influx of foreign-born migrant workers to the West Midlands is indispensable to the region's economy, according to the most detailed study into the subject.
The report, claimed to be the first of its type and being published today, says more should be done to encourage and train the 122,000-strong migrant workforce if the region wants to continue to prosper economically.
The number of registered economic migrants arriving each year has more than doubled in the last four years - in 2006/07 there were 48,000 - and they account for about five per cent of regional output. The West Midlands contributes about £80 billion to UK plc every year.
The study says while economic immigration does present problems in terms of housing and social tensions, it does not have any negative impact on the existing workforce, filling jobs local workers are unwilling or unable to do.
David Cragg, regional director of the Learning and Skills Council in the West Midlands, said many of the immigrants were highly-qualified but in low-skilled jobs, and more could be done to take advantage of their abilities.
"At this stage we have got to say there is a real economic benefit from migrant workers coming into the region," said Mr Cragg.
"And what we have got to understand is that we have got an under-utilised skills base here. If we are clever we can assure that people are working at a skill level that matches their qualifications.
"The crucial thing is making sure that we are using their skills properly and that we give them the skills to do jobs people need in the workplace."
He said making sure they had a decent grasp of English was vital, with only 20 per cent of migrant workers in the area saying they had not needed any help with their English skills.
Another problem was making sure foreign qualifications were "mapped" to English ones, so highly-qualified migrants were not wasted in jobs they were overqualified for.
Mr Cragg said the report showed there was no evidence for the view that British workers were losing jobs to cheaper foreign workers.
"There doesn't seem to be any backing to that view," said Mr Cragg. "There is no evidence that unemployment has been affected by the influx of workers, and there is no evidence that there has been any suppression of wage rates for the migrants."
But, he added, there would need to be plans to ensure British workers were not marginalised.
Highlighting the value of the migrant workforce to the region's economy, the report says: "There is an economic risk that the numbers of migrant workers coming to the West Midlands will decrease in the future and/or that the profile of migrant workers may change."
The study was commissioned by the LSC and Advantage West Midlands, and carried out by researchers at Warwick University's Institute of Employment Research. It was backed financially by the Strategic Health Authority and a range of Midland local authorities, including Birmingham City Council, and will be officially launched this morning at the International Convention Centre by Mr Cragg and Liam Byrne, Minister for the West Midlands.
Business leaders in Birmingham welcomed the study and acknowledged the contribution migrant workers had made to the economy, but agreed work needed to be done to ensure the indigenous workforce was not frozen out.
Kiran Virk, policy adviser at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "The immigrants that are coming to the region from across the world are generally young and hardworking and they should be welcomed.
"However, if businesses cannot recruit suitable candidates from the indigenous population, then we need to look at why the current education system is failing to equip adults with the necessary employability skills employers seek.
"While migrant workers may be the short-term solution to maintaining operations for many local businesses, investment is needed in the national education system to ensure, in the long term, unemployment among the young and unskilled indigenous population does not present a major problem for the regional economy."
