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Migration Advisory Committee publishes its latest recommended shortage occupation lists

Migration Advisory Committee publishes its latest recommended shortage occupation lists

HOME OFFICE News Release (MAC002-09) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 29 April 2009

MIGRATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) today published the first review of the shortage occupation lists for skilled workers coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

In the UK labour market, vacancy levels have fallen and unemployment and redundancies have risen sharply. The MAC has responded to the current economic climate by suspending quantity surveyors and managers in construction from the shortage occupation lists.

The MAC has recommended a number of other key changes:
* only social workers for children and families are kept on the list; all other social workers should be removed;
* the skill threshold is changed for care assistants and chefs;
* the following jobs are added to the list: orchestral musicians, visual effects and computer animation technicians and contemporary dancers; and
* there are additions and removals within some job titles in the healthcare profession.*

In announcing the publication of its recommendations the Chair of the Committee, Professor David Metcalf, said:

"The Points Based System, including the shortage occupation list, has to operate for the benefit of UK workers, especially given the current economic climate.

"These latest recommendations take account of the impact of the worldwide recession on the UK. We have looked critically at the evidence regarding the occupations under review and made recommendations which balance the needs of the UK workforce against those of employers.

"It is important to note that some shortages of skilled labour will still exist in a recession. This can be where there is a long-term structural shortage of skilled workers, where workers provide key public services, or in areas such as culture where the UK needs to maintain global leadership."

The MAC is also starting an urgent review of all of the other occupations currently on the lists, to be completed in autumn 2009.

It is estimated that the jobs and occupations on the MAC's recommended UK list employ approximately 530,000 people, or around two per cent of the workforce. This figure relates to the number of people (immigrants and non-immigrants) currently working in these occupations and job titles.**

The shortage occupation list has three stringent tests: the occupation in question must be sufficiently skilled, there must be a shortage of workers and it must be sensible to fill this shortage with workers from outside the EEA.

All recommendations made by the MAC are evidence-based and a wide variety of stakeholders are consulted. The MAC will continue to take evidence on all occupations and is open to discussion with interested parties about any aspect of its work.

The Government will announce in due course whether it accepts the Committee's recommendations.

NOTE TO EDITORS

1) The report can be found here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/mac

2) * This includes the removal of some pharmacist and nursing jobs and the addition of some specialist consultant posts. Full details can be found in the report.

3) ** This number does not indicate potential flows of immigrants into job titles and occupations on the list, nor the number of vacancies currently available. The shortage list as agreed by Government in November 2008 covered occupations employing approximately 800,000 workers.

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