In May 2016, the Migration Advisory Committee (‘the MAC’) was asked by the Home Secretary to undertake ‘a comprehensive review of the labour market for teachers in primary and secondary education, to determine whether there is a shortage which it would be sensible to fill, at least in part, through non-EEA migration.’
The MAC has issued a call for evidence on the issue of teacher shortages and the deadline for submitting responses is noon on 16 September 2016.
The main subjects to be focused on are teacher shortages in maths, physics and chemistry which have been on the shortage occupation list for a number of years.
The review will cover both state and independent schools as well as those under local authority control and those with academy status and will include jobs which fall into the following Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes:
- SOC 2314 Secondary education teaching professionals
- SOC 2315 Primary and nursery education teaching professionals
- SOC 2316 Special needs education teaching professionals
The review will not cover teacher shortages in higher or further education or other staff members.
The MAC is seeking views and evidence from all parties with an interest in this issue in order to help them understand how teachers are recruited and trained, who has the responsibility for this and what planning data exists.
If a role appears on the shortage occupations list, the employer does not have to complete a Resident Labour Market Test as part of the process of sponsoring the individual. Avoiding having to do this can significantly speed up the recruitment process. In addition, roles appearing on the shortage of occupation list are given priority over other roles where the limit for Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship is reached.
When undertaking its work, the MAC generally hosts a number of events in order to take direct feedback. They first such event is scheduled to take place in London on Friday 1 July 2016 and details are available here.
