Deadline looms on ‘Call for Evidence’ for UK shortage occupation list
Whilst the government’s main aim is to curb immigration, it does recognise that certain UK organisations struggle to recruit professionals with highly specialised or specific skill-sets.
The shortage occupation list was therefore introduced in order to identify those roles where there is a short supply of suitably skilled workers and enable UK businesses to recruit from overseas more easily. Where a UK employer wishes to recruit a migrant worker to fill a vacancy listed on the shortage occupation list, they may issue a Tier 2 certificate of sponsorship (CoS) without the need to demonstrate that a resident labour market test (RLMT) has been carried out.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is regularly asked by the government to review the existing list of shortage occupation and to recommend which occupations should be included or removed from the list. The latest Call for Evidence from the MAC has been triggered by the government’s request to review all suitably qualified occupations within the health sector (including consultant roles and nurses) as well as occupations in digital technology, with a view to determining whether there is a shortage of labour in these occupations.
Ahead of the MAC formulating its recommendations to the government, it is encouraging all interested parties to respond to their Call for Evidence prior to the deadline of 5 December 2014.
For further information on the MAC’s Call for Evidence and how you can respond, please review:
