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Addressing the UK Skills Gap

Wednesday 9 September 2020

A new post-Brexit immigration system is due to come into effect on 1 January 2021.

This is a massive change to immigration law and will impact on nearly all non-UK nationals who want to live and work in this country, as well as the employers that wish to recruit and employ them.

So what does this mean in practice?

To recruit non-UK nationals after 1 January 2021, employers will need to obtain a “work permit” for them. Under the new immigration regime, this will involve applying for a Skilled Worker visa.

The first step in accessing this route will be for your business to register with UK Visas and Immigration to become a licensed sponsor.  Without this license your business may not be able to recruit the skilled workers upon which you rely after 31 December 2020.

It’s important to realise that where the new rules apply, they will do so equally to EU nationals (who have historically benefited from free movement) and non-EU nationals. (The only exceptions will be EU nationals who obtain settled/pre-settled status, Irish nationals, or individuals of any nationality who already hold a visa status that gives them the right to live and work in the UK.)

The new immigration system poses particular challenges for employers in some sectors, due to the minimum salary requirements (generally £25,600 p.a. or in some cases £20,480 for example, for jobs in the shortage occupation list) and the minimum skills requirement (set at RQF level 3, which is equivalent to A Level standard). 

Many industries, such as the hospitality and agricultural sectors, are likely to struggle to meet these requirements. Given that historically a large number of their staff have been low-paid and/or lower-skilled EU nationals, this poses a significant problem.

Given that there is already a staffing crisis in some sectors, for example in healthcare and the care sector (which has been reported for quite some time now), there are concerns that the UK labour market will be significantly impacted by skills shortages as a result of these further restrictions.

These additional hurdles, coupled with an economy in recession as a result of the pandemic, will make for challenging operating conditions.

However, whilst it’s easy to focus on the doom and gloom, there are a number of proactive and positive steps businesses can take now, before the transition period expires at the end of this year, as part of their people strategy to mitigate the impact of these changes.

  • Workforce planning

This is of greater importance than ever.  The CIPD suggests that employers need to assign greater urgency to this task over the coming months as it will help to identify the skills and knowledge required now and in the future.

If you identify a significant number of EU nationals within your workforce, you may want to take steps to raise awareness of the settled status scheme so that these employees secure their rights to continue living and working in the UK after free movement ends. (Although it is worth noting that employers need to be careful not to inadvertently provide immigration advice unless they are regulated to do so, as this is a criminal offence.)

If your planning identifies that you are likely to need (or want) to employ non-UK nationals, this will also inform your people strategy.  You will want to understand the changes to immigration law and you will almost certainly want to obtain a sponsor licence as soon as possible to allow access to non-UK talent after 31 December 2020.

  • Upskilling current staff through training and development

This is another really important weapon in your arsenal. 

Where your business already has a pool of talent to work with, you may be able to fill any talent gaps by upskilling and developing your current workforce.  This has the added advantage of providing job satisfaction and career development opportunities as your existing employees as they learn within their role. It will also ensure that individuals adapt as the future of work begins to change, and may help significantly with your employee engagement levels.

  • Promoting flexibility and diversity

Another important strand to addressing any talent gap is to look at promoting flexibility and diversity. 

For example, in 2019 Travelodge launched a new recruitment programme aimed at parents looking to get back into work by offering flexible hours and school hour roles; this step was taken to address a potential post-Brexit staffing gap given that EU nationals make up nearly a quarter of all jobs in the hospitality sector.

Our Business Immigration Team has extensive experience in Brexit-planning and helping businesses obtain sponsor licences. If you would like to discuss what’s involved, please get in touch.

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