IT and engineering sectors have traditionally been included on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which was a list of roles available for sponsorship under more favourable criteria. These occupations have not been included in the new Immigration Salary List (ISL), which replaced the SOL in April 2024.
Why has the Home Secretary commissioned a review?
On 6 August 2024, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a review of the key sectors that are reliant on international recruitment. The MAC, alongside the newly formed Skills England, will seek to understand why specific sectors are so dependent on overseas talent, and which groups most commonly use work visas. The review will also seek to understand skills gaps across the UK’s labour market. The review will focus on the IT and engineering sectors.
The IT and engineering sectors typically rely heavily on international recruitment. IT and engineering professions were previously listed on the SOL, until the recent immigration changes implemented in April 2024. The changes brought into force the new ISL, which does not include these two sectors. The ISL is a list of occupations for which employers have a shortage within the UK. The government therefore deems it sensible to allow for overseas recruitment with lower salary requirements for such occupations.
Why IT and engineering professions?
As discussed in our recent article on what we can expect to see from the Labour government, it is clear that the new government intends to strengthen the IT and engineering sectors. As such, it would be reasonable to first understand the weaknesses of the current labour market as it pertains to these sectors. The Home Secretary has therefore asked the MAC to consider amongst other factors:
- What specific roles are in shortage in these specific sectors?
- What causes these shortages? (For example, training, pay, and work conditions)
- How the sectors can respond to and adapt to these shortages, apart from recruiting internationally.
Importantly, the MAC have been asked to consider how immigration policy can be used to incentivise recruitment in these areas from within the UK, and to consider whether the ISL should remain in its current form. Therefore, the future may well hold further revisions to the ISL.
Furthermore, the Home Secretary commissioned the MAC to look specifically into these two sectors, as they make up part of the top ten sectors which have been reliant on international recruitment. The other eight sectors are yet to be confirmed, and it is therefore likely that this report will be the first of its kind into such specific sectors.
The Home Secretary has requested that the MAC complete its report on these sectors within nine months. A report can be expected in Spring 2025.
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