However, business groups are concerned the country could miss out on talented employees from other parts of the world.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled measures he says will significantly reduce the use of immigrant labour.
He's asked the government's Migration Advisory Committee to recommend ways to tighten visa requirements for workers.
"In the past it has been frankly too easy for some businesses to bring in workers from overseas rather than to take the long term decision to train our workforce here at home. Now, we need to do more to change that and that means reducing the demand for migrant labour and that is part of our plan. So I can tell the house today that the home secretary has written to the Migration Advisory Committee asking them to report back on how to significantly reduce work-related migration from outside Europe."
The Prime Minister has been under pressure on the issue after failing to deliver promised cuts to net migration.
Immigration was one of voters' top concerns ahead of last month's national election.
But last month's official figures show the total net migration to Britain reached 318,000 in 2014, the highest level since 2005.
In an effort to boost training of British workers, Mr Cameron says the government is looking at introducing a levy on businesses who recruit foreign workers.
He says the proposal includes the restriction of work visas to only highly specialised workers.
"They are going to advise on restricting our work visas to genuine skill shortages and specialists, they are going to look at putting a time limit on how long a sector can claim to have a skill shortage, cos frankly they should be dealing with it. We're going to look at a new skills levy on businesses who recruit foreign workers so we can boost the funding to UK apprenticeships and we're also going to look at raising salary thresholds to stop businesses using foreign workers to undercut wages. All of these steps combined with the measures that we're taking within the European Union can help bring migration under control, but more to the point, make sure that hard working British people who get the skills, who get the training can find the jobs to help them build a better life."
MP Douglas Carswell from the right wing UK Independence Party told the BBC he welcomed the plans.
"It's very sensible and it's UK policy to make sure that the number of work visas that we issue match the skills that we need and it's right that the advisory services are being asked to make sure that we're giving visas to the people with the skills that we need. But you know, it would be economically illiterate if we ran an immigration policy that on the one hand restricted the ability of people with the skills we need to come from around the world, but at the same time, left in place the right of four hundred million people from the EU to come here. That would mean that we end up with people without the skills that we need rather than with the people with the skills that we do need. That would be bad for the economy and it wouldn't actually solve any of our problems as a country."
Mr Carswell also says Britain should be looking to Australia for ideas.
"If we adopted the Australian approach which is UK policy, then it would be possible every year for parliament, for government, to say these are the number of work visas that we are going to issue. These are the skills that we need and you could review it on an annual basis. I'm worried about the idea of some sort of new levy. If you impose some sort of new levy to supposedly try to correct the problem of wage compression, you're going to create in effect, a corporatist labour market. That means big government and big business coming together and if you look around the world, societies that are run that way aren't very successful. We need a free labour market with a sensible Australian-type immigration system and I'm afraid this doesn't do it."
However, British business groups have slammed the planned changes.
The Confederation of British Industry's Katja Hall argues limiting the intake of highly skilled workers is not the answer.
She says migrants bring their skills and ideas to the country, pay tax and boost growth.
Another group, the Institute of Directors is also highly critical of the planned changes.
The Institute's, Christian May, says the government is targetting the wrong group of migrants.
