New UK skills shortage identified
Following a partial review of the shortage occupation list, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is recommending that a number of new positions in the digital technology and healthcare sectors be added to the shortage occupations list.
Despite its current aims to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, the government does recognise that the UK workforce cannot always meet companies’ requirements for professionals with highly specialised or specific skill-sets.
The shortage occupation list provides a solution for industries which are experiencing a lack of skilled workers by making it easier for companies to fill listed roles by recruiting professionals from outside the EEA. The MAC is regularly asked by the government to review this list and identify any roles which it feels should be included or removed from the list.
For its most recent review, the MAC conducted extensive consultations into the digital technology industry which have revealed a lack of UK experience in a variety of digital technology roles and the fact that many UK companies are keen to bring in staff from outside the EEA to take up these roles and train UK staff. MAC is therefore recommending that a small number of senior jobs in this industry, limited to people with a minimum of five years’ experience, should be added to the shortage occupation list.
The jobs to be included are product manager, data scientist, senior developer and cyber security analyst.
It has also proposed that paramedics be added to the list for the first time since its inception, as no short-term solutions to ease the pressure on the existing workforce across the UK could be identified.
A shortfall in the amount of UK GPs currently in training has also been highlighted, but MAC has charged the NHS with finding a solution to this problem.
In total, it has been recommended that 10 jobs are added to the shortage occupation list and it is hoped that this will make things easier for small and medium sized UK businesses which currently struggle to secure the best candidates.
Click here to see the Partial Review of the Shortage Occupation Lists for the UK and for Scotland
