According to the report of UK-Chinese Times, since April 6th, the change of the new immigration policy has caused quite a shock to the Chinese community. The new policies have not only tightened the visas for Chinese residents in the UK, but also affected the interests of Chinese communities in the UK. Among them, the Chinese food industry is the most affected. Although skilled chefs remain on the shortage list, they face more stringent recruitment requirements? At least five years working experience, the minimum salary of British employers must be reached? 28,261, English ability should reach the level of IELTS 5.1 or so. The short-term improvement of English level is more like an impossible task for many chefs.

English threshold suddenly rises without transition period

Among a series of immigration policy changes promulgated on April 6th, there is a requirement that the English level of the applicants for working visa (Tier 2) should be raised from A1 to B1, and there will be no transition period immediately from the promulgation of the regulations. On June 3, a group of people concerned about the government's tightening of English proficiency requirements were in Chinatown, London. Does the improvement of Tier2 English threshold harm the interests of Chinese food industry? Hold a press conference, hoping to collect the opinions of the Chinese community and put them forward at the meeting of the Immigration Advisory Committee on June 11. They believe that the revision of English proficiency will have an impact on Chinese food practitioners, their families and employers, and hope to convey the voice of the Chinese community through the Immigration Advisory Committee, and appeal to existing work visas and new applicants overseas to pay attention to the change of the new English proficiency to B1.

One of the sponsors of the press conference, Wei Qiling, general manager of the British Academy of Oriental Cuisine, explained to reporters the difference between B1 and A1 requirements of English. The B1-level English test is much more complicated than A1-level English test. In A1-level, candidates only need to answer some basic English sentences, such as being able to tell the address clearly when asking for directions; For example, you can understand the basic dialogue, and you only need about 31 words in writing. The B1 level requires complex English sentence structures, situational dialogues and hundreds of words, and the overall difficulty level is almost equivalent to IELTS (ELTS)5.1. It is equivalent to the basic requirements of Britain for overseas students, which is actually unrealistic for Chinese chefs. ?

Wei Guiling, president of the British Academy of Oriental Cuisine, told reporters. We have received some phone calls from Chinese food employers, who complain that the government has raised the English proficiency requirements of Tier 2 applicants, making it more difficult for them to recruit professional chefs. ? The headmaster of the health school said:? These chefs work long hours every day and don't have much time to learn English. For many people, it is hard to reach A1 level, let alone B1 level. ?

Zhang Peifen, a lawyer of Zhangye Law Firm, pointed out at the press conference that the new policy has been implemented for two months, and many cases have shown that it has caused great difficulties for applicants to apply for work visas. Both new applicants and renewals need to improve their English in a short time according to this new policy. Only those applicants who have obtained Tier 2 visas and renewed Tier 2 visas for the same job can be exempted from taking English tests again. Other applicants are required to take the English test again and reach B1 level before being granted a British visa. ?

How can Chinese chefs improve their English?

To this end, the reporter visited some large Chinese restaurants and Chinese food catering groups in Britain to listen to the opinions of Chinese food practitioners. The head of the British Han Dynasty Catering Group told reporters that at present, the chefs of several branches of the group have not faced such problems, and most of them have been permanently resident or naturalized? Old? Chef, at work, chefs don't need to use English directly. ? I don't think it's necessary to require the chef's English level, as long as he can cook authentic dishes, it's his duty. Just like some western chefs from Europe and America don't need to learn to speak the local language when they are employed in China, Japan and other Asian countries, as long as authentic western food can attract customers, they are competent chefs. ?

Newcastle? Athens cafeteria? Johnny, the manager, told reporters:? Chefs only work in the kitchen, and they communicate with each other in Chinese. Unlike the floor of a restaurant, they don't need to face customers directly, not to mention English. If they need to buy condiments and sauces, as long as they speak Chinese, we naturally have professionals to help them buy them, and we don't need chefs to buy them directly. ?

Mr. Zhang, the person in charge of Bashu Family, a restaurant specializing in Sichuan cuisine, also said that most Sichuan chefs are professional chefs from Chinese mainland. When recruiting chefs, they mainly look at his professional skills. Sichuan cuisine is authentic but not authentic, and there is no special requirement for English.

Manager Ye of the Top Hotel in London told reporters. Although the chef doesn't need to use English in his work, he still needs to communicate with people in his daily life. He needs to use basic English to deal with daily affairs such as banks and transportation. He thinks it is necessary to master basic English. ?

Generally speaking, it is generally believed that chefs do not need to use English in practical work, because of the particularity of chefs as technical jobs and the singleness of working environment in the kitchen. But in daily life, we need to use English in communication and integration with the mainstream society, and we don't need such a high level of English. Most restaurant owners think that the British government will improve Tier2' s English level. Equal treatment? Is upgrading to B1 level too much for Chinese chefs? Harsh? And? No need? , this will cause Chinese restaurants? Chef shortage? The phenomenon has intensified, which is unfavorable to the future of Chinese food. ?

English proficiency is getting worse? Chef shortage? Situation

In the interview, the reporter also learned that the tightening of English proficiency requirements for work permits has little impact on these large Chinese restaurants. They said that the chefs invited were experienced old chefs who basically came to the UK about 11 years ago. At that time, there were no strict English requirements for chef visas. Therefore, the New Deal has little influence on them. Most of the victims of this policy are Chinese employers who are preparing to recruit new chefs in newly opened restaurants or hire chefs from overseas. In the long run, the development of Chinese food in Britain will be limited.

Although Chinese chefs have improved their English level, it will undoubtedly bring convenience to living in Britain and help them better integrate into the mainstream society. However, this move is undoubtedly worse for the British Chinese food industry, which has been struggling at present. At present, Chinese chefs have become the target of competition among large and medium-sized restaurant owners, and it is even more difficult to hire chefs overseas. The head of the British Han Dynasty Restaurant Group told reporters: Cooking is a technical job in China, and most of them are trained by technical schools and specialized institutions. Practitioners are basically not highly educated, so it is very difficult for them to attack English. Perhaps the improvement of English requirements will raise the domestic cooking profession to a new threshold, and even the undergraduate course will offer a chef profession in the future, but at present, it is too difficult for the chef industry to improve their English level. ? Newcastle? Athens cafeteria? Johnny, the manager, thinks: Instead of letting chefs spend time learning and improving their English, it is better to spend this time studying cooking. Now Chinese food is growing all over the world and the competition is fierce. To promote Chinese food culture to the world, we must be better at cooking. ?

Although more and more technical schools have been set up in Britain, and a small number of chefs have started to be trained, this is rare after all, and the professional level of their teaching needs to be considered. The Academy of Oriental Cuisine not only provides opportunities to learn Chinese food in Britain, but also offers English courses to improve the new English requirements. However, President Wei said: Although we offer English courses, Chinese people are not enthusiastic about it. They didn't pay attention to the difficulties brought by the change of English level in applying for a work visa. ? Therefore, she called on those who are about to apply for a Tier2 work visa to study English hard.

British non-governmental advisory bodies? People-oriented? (People 1st) wrote in the recommendation report to the Migration Advisory Committee, MAC):? In the past ten years, Britain, especially the London area, has benefited from the increasing diversified and high-quality catering industry and gained a good reputation. This also adds a lot to Britain's tourism industry. From all over the world, high-quality and original food will promote Britain to become? Food tour? The holy land. The 2112 London Olympic Games asked the government to ensure that tourists can enjoy diversified and high-quality food in Britain. Shortage of skilled chefs? Swept the tourists' fun. ?

And the continuous tightening of immigration policy has affected the English level of Chinese chefs? Triple jump? Requirements, so that many experienced chefs can not cross the threshold to Britain. What's more, the Ministry of the Interior has issued the latest policy to apply for permanent residency, and it is stipulated that all work visas (Tier2) will not be able to apply for permanent residence, and the chef industry is naturally included. This is undoubtedly a recruitment for Chinese chefs? A major blow Many Chinese chefs who want to come to Britain for development in order to improve their family life may stop here. Facing the Olympic year, Britain? A holy place to eat? At present, it seems difficult to realize our vision.