Home Secretary orders MAC review of IT and engineering sectors
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has written to the Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), to commission a review of the IT and engineering sectors in relation to international recruitment.
The aim of the review is to understand why employers within these sectors are overly reliant on international recruitment to fill skills gaps within their businesses.
In the commissioning letter, the Home Secretary states that the new government is committed to bringing down the current high levels of migration and addressing ongoing skills shortages in the UK.
What will the MAC investigate?
To help inform future policy decisions, the MAC has been asked to review the following occupations to understand the reliance on international workers:
- information technology and telecommunications professionals
- engineering professionals.
These sectors have been identified as a starting point because they feature in the top 10 of sectors which have been reliant on international recruitment and the government would like the MAC to set out the reasons behind this and potential future demand on these sectors.
The Home Secretary indicated that this would be the first of such reviews by the MAC as the government seeks to further understand the reliance on international workers in key sectors.
As part of its review, the MAC has been asked to consider:
- The types of roles that are in shortage.
- The different drivers behind these shortages including training, pay and conditions.
- How employers within these sectors have sought to respond and adapt to these shortages, beyond seeking to recruit from overseas.
- The impact, if any, that being on the shortage occupation list has had on these sectors/occupations
- What policy levers within the UK immigration system could be used more effectively to incentivise employers to focus on domestic recruitment (including whether the Immigration Salary List should remain in its current form).
Next steps
As part of its review, the MAC has been given free rein to consider a wide range of different options to address current issues in these sectors, but recommendations must be balanced against the risks of undercutting the wages of British workers and of over-complicating the system.
The MAC is expected to work closely with the newly formed Skills England the Industrial Strategy Council, the DWP and the Devolved Administrations whilst developing its evidence base.
The MAC has been asked to present its findings within 9 months. This timescale is intended to allow time for sufficient stakeholder engagement to inform any conclusions. When the MAC has published its report, the government will consider which recommendations to take forward.
Depending on the findings, it is possible that employers may find it more challenging to recruit overseas workers in these occupations next year.
We anticipate that employers in the IT and engineering sectors will have an opportunity to have their say, as the MAC will seek input from businesses to inform the review.
Smith Stone Walters will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update in due course. To keep up to date with the latest UK immigration news, please sign up to our free news service.
