The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) was commissioned to review the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) in August 2022 and in March 2023 to expedite the review of occupations in the construction and hospitality sector.
The expedited report can be found here:
If you want to save yourself from reading the full report (it is only 18 pages though), here’s the gist:
Eligibility
To be eligible for the SOL, an occupation must fulfil the eligibility requirements of the Skilled Worker (SW) route. A job must be classified into a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 3-5 group or above and meet the minimum annual salary threshold of £26,200.
The MAC has considered 26 occupations to be in scope for review in the construction and hospitality sector;
Hospitality
- For the hospitality sector, the MAC did not recommend in the interim, that any RQF 1-2 occupations to be added onto the skilled worker occupation list and the SOL. Given the compressed time schedule of this interim review, there was not enough evidence for the MAC to sufficiently decide whether occupations of a lower skill should be added by the time the expedited report was published. It is still possible for jobs in the hospitality sector which is considered as low skilled (i.e. RQF 1-2) to be added upon MAC publishing the full SOL review, however it will depend on the evidence submitted by the hospitality sector.
- Sommeliers (a job title within the RQF 1-2 waiters and waitresses occupation) could be categorised as an RQF 3 level job and therefore made eligible for the SW route. The MAC wants the hospitality sector to provide further evidence on this for the full SOL review.
Construction
The MAC recommends that the construction sector occupations to be added to the SOL:
- 5312 (Bricklayers and masons);
- 5313 (Roofers, roof tilers and slaters);
- 5315 (Carpenters and joiners);
- 5319 (Construction and building trades n.e.c); and
- 5321 (Plasterers)
Other routes
Remember, the Skilled Worker route is not the only immigration route which helps employers recruit foreign workers. There are other options such as the Graduate visa and Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) which generally allows young people from eligible countries (which now includes India) to work in the UK for up to 2 years. These visas require no formal sponsorship from employers nor have restrictions on the type of work that can be performed.
To find out more, please contact a member of our Immigration team.
