Do you have what it takes

The Immigration Minister says a shake-up in the way the Immigration Service works will mean new migrants will find work more quickly.

Paul Swain denies this week's decision to drop the number of points needed for residency will mean a lower standard of migrant.

He says the service has been using a new system, and deliberately started with a high pass mark to make sure it worked.

Mr Swain says the old attitude of sitting back and waiting for applications is gone.

In future, applications will be encouraged from people with skills that match those in short supply in the labour force.

He denies the government is letting standards slip by dropping the pass mark.

The official target was lifted this week to 45,000 thousand new migrants, plus or minus 5,000.

To achieve that, the number of points required to gain residency has been dropped.

Mr Swain says the way the Immigration Service works is changing from a passive and reactive role, to one that actively goes out to look for the right migrants.

He says until now, the service has just sat back and waited for applications to come in.