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Why tie the two together?
Because most businesses will take the cheap option, and if they can get someone with ten years experience from abroad for the same price as the person you'll have to train up in the UK then there is a pretty good chance that they'll be taking that cheaper option.
aggi-
In other words the same reason why various EU countries have a law that states that all jobs have to be advertised domestically for a period of time before they are opened up to international applicants.
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I haven't seen convincing evidence that restricting access to skilled overseas labour incentivises companies to invest in domestic training. There's an equally compelling argument that restricting skilled labour supply just depresses productivity and reduces the UK's competitiveness.
I don't think you can rely on the private sector to provide the skills the modern economy needs - that's the job of government, and you'd expect a Labour government to recognise that.
Stonehedge
NickCJ
The government can do all of that without making any changes to immigration rules. Why tie the two together? It's good to train people at home. It's also good if people want to come here.