Shetland welcomes immigrant plumbers
Plumbers - 24/11/2006 17:01:29
Immigrant plumbers have added to the diversity of people living on Shetland and have helped diversify the building trade.
That is the view of Nancy Heubuck, Shetland Island Council's adult learning manager. She claims that the influx of immigrants to the island has helped underline the welcoming community spirit that Shetland harbours.
Figures from the council show that the number of immigrant workers, who are often employed as builders or in the hotel and leisure industries, have doubled in the last 12 months.
Ms Heubuck told the Shetland News: "A fairly new development is that a number of people who have come here as migrant workers are bringing their families and settling down.
"They have come here, they have liked the place and then brought over their families, which is great. This adds to the diversity of Shetland and trades like building have been enriched by the all Polish joiners and plumbers that have arrived here."
Some skilled immigrants are even finding work in the NHS as surgeons and dentists.
But the Shetland News has reported that schools have had to stretch their resources to cope with the influx of new school-age children and the council has had to publish a guide to settling in that is translated into 14 different languages.
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