The government of United Kingdom has made significant expansions to its Shortage Occupation List (SOL) by accepting all substantial changes recommended by The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Lately, the occupation list comprised only 1% of jobs, however, the updated list covers around 9% of jobs in the UK. The new list covers a number of high-skilled occupations, such as web designing, architect, veterinarians, development professionals, and several other scientific jobs. Additionally, occupations, such as civil engineers and many other IT-related occupations will be further elaborated and defined to add many other jobs similar to them.
The recent changes will benefit British-based companies when it comes to hiring non-EEA workers migrating to the UK under Tier 2 Visa. In addition to this, all newcomers in the U.K. working under tech and architectural fields will be given high priority in the Tier 2 Visa processing over those occupations which are not listed on the SOL.
Apart from this, employers are also given the opportunity to advertise job vacancies for the above- entioned occupations, making it easier to pick up the talent they need from a pool of eligible candidates. According to Seema Kennedy, UK’s Immigration Minister, “Giving British based businesses the access to the brightest and best global talent is a key priority for this government.” According to her, the primary aim is to make it easier for employers to hire talented overseas workers who can make valuable contributions to the nation’s economy.
What’s Next?
The newly updated Shortage Occupations List (SOL) along with necessary amendments will come into force in Autumn 2019. The Home Office also intends to implement MAC’s recommendations to introduce a Pilot Program to motivate prospective foreign to migrate to remote areas of the UK, further details will be released soon.
MAC review for Shortage Occupation List
In June 2018, the MAC was commissioned by the government of UK to undertake an extensive review of the SOL after considering a number of parameters to decide which occupations to be added or excluded, and what will be the salary thresholds. It also made recommendations on occupations which are suffering skill shortages among migrant workers. As per the committee, there is a scarcity of candidates applying for tech-related roles, and those applying for the same lack the necessary skills to effectively perform the job. Many businesses opine that there is a lack of UK-based workers with the required skills to fill the job vacancies and address the labor shortage.
To Sum Up
The recent move is welcoming news for both UK-based businesses as well as aspiring immigrants who want to live and work in the UK. The expanded list will help UK entrepreneurs to have access to international talent to ultimately flourish the UK economy.
