Migration Advisory
Committee publishes shortage occupation lists for the UK and Scotland
HOME OFFICE News
Release (156/2008) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 9
September 2008
New recommended
lists of occupations for which there is a shortage of skilled
workers in the UK and Scotland were published today by the
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), as part of the
Committee's first major report.
Shortage occupation lists will be used in Tier 2 of the new
Points Based System which relates to immigration of skilled
workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Under Tier
2, as well having as a certificate of sponsorship from a sponsored
employer and satisfying English language and maintenance
requirements, migrants have to satisfy points criteria based on
their expected contribution to the UK economy. Under the shortage
occupation route, employers who are licensed sponsors can bring in
migrant workers from outside the EEA to fill vacancies in those occupations.
The report is a detailed and comprehensive response by the
Committee to the Government's request to provide
evidence-based advice on which shortages of skilled labour can
sensibly be filled through immigration. It contains two
recommended shortage occupation lists, one for the UK and one just
for Scotland. These consist of skilled occupations and job titles
that the Committee has assessed as being both skilled and in
shortage and where it has concluded that it is sensible to fill
these shortages, at least in the short term, through immigration.
The Committee's lists are recommendations to Government. It
will be up to Government whether or not to accept them.
The full recommended UK list includes:
* consultants and senior nurses in particular healthcare specialisms;
* some engineering occupations, including civil and chemical engineers;
* quantity surveyors and project managers for property
development and construction;
* secondary school teachers in the subjects of maths and science;
* skilled chefs;
* skilled senior care workers;
* ship and hovercraft officers; and
* some animal care occupations, including veterinary surgeons.
The recommended Scotland list includes all of the occupations on
the UK list, as well as manual filleters of frozen fish, senior
nurses in care of the elderly units, and speech and language therapists.
MAC Chair Professor David Metcalf said:
"This report is a landmark in the provision of
evidence-based advice to Government. It breaks new ground in
combining detailed data analysis with evidence from employers
within a consistent and robust economic framework. This is the
most comprehensive such analysis ever undertaken anywhere in the world.
"We have considered a huge amount of data and evidence,
performed extensive analysis, visited employers in every country
and region of the UK and written at length on our findings. We
have done this within the demanding timescale prescribed by the
Government. We commend to the Government our recommended shortage lists."
MAC member Dr Diane Coyle said:
"There is a straightforward message in our report, even
though the analysis is complex and detailed: only those job titles
which are skilled, in shortage and for which is it sensible to use
immigrant workers to fill the shortages make it onto our list.
"We believe that our recommendations achieve the right
balance between the needs of individual employers and those of the
UK labour market and economy in the long term."
Some occupations were put forward for inclusion on the list, but
after careful consideration the Committee has decided against
including them, for example occupations in the construction and
the hospitality industries. For certain occupations, such as chefs
and care workers, only the most skilled workers are included on
the recommended list.
The number of job titles and occupations on the UK list is larger
than the last (July 2008) shortage occupation list produced by the
UK Border Agency (UKBA). This is because the Committee has
developed a different approach to UKBA. It has examined the whole
of the UK labour market, and produced the list based on a
combination of analysis and evidence from employers and others.
Nonetheless, the occupations on the recommended list account for
only approximately 700,000 employees, well below the over one
million employees covered by the previous UKBA list.
Note to editors
1. The MAC was set up to provide independent and evidence-based
advice to Government on specific sectors and occupations in the
labour market where shortages exist which can sensibly be filled
by migration. The Government may, from time to time, ask the
Committee to advise on other matters relating to migration.
2. The Committee is comprised of five leading economists plus an
ex-officio member from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills
and an official from the UK Border Agency.
3. The MAC analysed data from 353 occupations and many among the
26,000 job titles via a mixture of top down statistical analysis
and bottom-up case studies.
4. Five indicators of skill were considered:
* Pay;
* Qualifications;
* Office of National Statistics classification;
* Innate ability; and
* Training and experience.
5. Approximately half the occupations considered were scored as
skilled (at NQF level 3+, roughly two A levels or above).
6. Once an occupation was defined as skilled the MAC determined
whether there was a labour shortage. Twelve indicators were used including:
* change in pay;
* returns to qualifications;
* vacancy rates; and
* employers' perceptions of skill shortage vacancies.
7. If an occupation or job title passed the first two hurdles the
final question was: is it sensible to fill the shortage via
immigration from outside the EEA? The key consideration here is
the tension between the short run fix using migrants and the long
term aim of upskilling the British workforce.
8. The full recommended UK and Scotland lists, the report summary
and the full report are available from the MAC and can be
downloaded from its website at: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/mac
9. The Migration Advisory Committee can be contacted
at:
Migration Advisory Committee secretariat
6th Floor,
Advance House,
15 Wellesley Road,
Croydon CR0 2AG
Tel:
020 8604 6027
Fax: 020 8604 6613
Email: mac@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk