The South East's buoyant economy has long been a draw for workers from the European Economic Area (EEA). With Brexit on the horizon, many public and private sector organisations in the South East are fearful that impending skills shortages could damage productivity and harm the economy.

Factors such as a weaker pound, uncertainty about future rights and strengthening EU economies are already discouraging some workers. The most striking example of this is a 96% drop in nurses from the EU registering to practise in the UK between July 2016 and April 2017.