23rd November, 2008

There's been a lot of discussion online about the Government’s claims there are now 200,000 fewer jobs available to non-EU migrant workers, thanks to the cuts to the 'shortage occupation list'.

This list identifies the jobs for which there is a lack of UK resident workers and forms part of the criteria for the approval of visa applications of skilled workers under Tier 2 of the Points System being launched on 27 November 2008.

However, the Government’s claims that cutting this list will reduce the number of non-EU migrant workers coming to the UK could be nothing more than a smokescreen devised to ease the worries of those who fear immigration to the UK is getting out of control.

First of all, just because a job description doesn’t appear on the shortage occupation list, it doesn’t necessarily mean non-EU skilled migrants can’t fill the posts. When recruiting for these positions, employers are obligated to first advertise the position to UK and EU workers. However, if they can prove that the position can’t be filled by resident workers, a non-EU worker can still step in. This is known as a resident labour market test. Occupations that appear on the shortage occupation list are exempt from this test. Ultimately, any position can be filled by a non-EU migrant worker, provided they are approved in all other aspects of the visa application process. The list does act as a barrier to a certain extent, but it's not a brick wall.

Furthermore, the shortage occupation list was recently revamped. Some occupations were removed and other new ones were added. Even if the UK has filled their need for skilled migrants in one particular field, they still need them in another. For example, if the need for teachers had declined by 200,000 but there is demand for 200,000 social workers, the figure would remain the same.

So in reality, some of the pieces of the puzzle are different, but the resulting overall picture is largely unchanged.