The Fresh Talent initiative, aimed at attracting migrants to help turn around Scotland's declining population, has been told it needs reforms after its first three years.

Poor links with employers are included among its limitations exposed in research commissioned by the Scottish Government.

Much of its work since being set up in 2004 has been praised in the report, having helped 5000 people through the relocation process by last October and taking inquiries from more than 15,000. But there are warnings that it needs to be reviewed regularly to make sure it is still needed.

That is particularly true after the declining population identified by former First Minister Jack McConnell five years ago as the biggest threat facing Scotland has since turned the corner.

There is dispute over whether that is only a temporary phenomenon, as young people from new entrants to the European Union, most of them Poles, have moved west and as many of them intend to return home when earnings potential rise in their own countries.

There has also been dispute over the numbers necessary to ensure the Scottish population has a balanced age profile in the future, when immigration policy from outside the European Union is controlled from Westminster.

Growing the Scottish population remains a high priority for the SNP administration, which has set a target of matching the average population growth for western Europe between 2007 and 2017.

With buoyant immigration into much of western Europe - notably England, Spain, Italy and Ireland - that could prove a challenging target.

The Ipsos MORI research surveyed the opinions of customers and website users of the Scottish Government's Relocation Advisory Service (RAS), as well as RAS staff.

It found that strategic objectives have never been set out, making it difficult to tell if the initiative had been a success. Nor were targets set for the numbers of people the RAS would assist.

It found that the RAS has been successful in helping people who were already fairly sure they wanted to move to Scotland. There has been overlap with some other agencies, but as a one-stop shop, it has been unique in doing that for migrants.

"It is likely that such customers would have come to Scotland anyway and would have found the information they required elsewhere if necessary," the report found.

However, it said the RAS had not taken on a role of persuading people to relocate to Scotland, only providing advice and information to smooth the process. In that, most customers were happy with the service they received.

There were recommendations that the RAS has to do more to link with businesses, following the finding that there is very little awareness of it among employers and recruitment agencies.

With the biggest challenge migrants face usually involving the job search, that is set to become a higher priority. It has also been suggested more targeting of people who could fill Scotland's skills gaps, as RAS has not prioritised the people it helps or seeks out, and closer links to local councils.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government retained the commitment to its Labour/LibDem push for increased immigration: "In line with the development of the Fresh Talent policy, we will be considering carefully over the summer how we can build on the successes of the pilot phase of the RAS and provide further support in those areas which need it.

"We are committed to attracting and helping migrant workers come to Scotland, recognising the important contribution which population growth can make to the growth of our economy."