Stewart Jackson, Associate Director
Bridging the Skills Gap with International Talent
Post Brexit the UK has seen a huge shift in the demographic of Engineers looking to migrate to the UK. Before Britain left the European Union, we typically saw a large number of Engineers from the EU looking to forge careers in UK design engineering related roles. Employment of these engineers was a straight forward process with all EU members being able to freely travel and work throughout the region.
The early impact of Brexit on engineering labour supply was not initially apparent, due to the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic turning the level of supply and demand for vacancies and employees on its head almost overnight.
As the employment market became more buoyant and employers gained confidence in investing and hiring through 2022 and into 2023, we began to see a real shift in the demographic of engineers looking to carve out design engineering careers in the UK.
In the past 12-18 months, we have seen the population of engineers looking to migrate to the UK shift sharply with the vast majority of applications now coming from Asia and Africa. Coupling this with the change in employment laws for ex EU nationals post Brexit now sees up to 50% of applicants for jobs requiring on working under a visa status.
As part of our mission to Bridge the Skills Gap in engineering we wanted to share just some of the possible eligibility status’ job seekers have, to help our customers understand more about their position when hiring.
Post Study Work Visas – These are job seekers who either have experience overseas and are studying a degree in the UK or new graduates studying here. They are granted 2 years unrestricted work at the end of their studies. Post this two year period they would require a form of sponsorship.
Spousal Visas – Job Seekers in this position have a spouse who currently has an existing visa. If the spouse is on a post study work visa (as above) then the job seeker will only be eligible if their spouse is sponsored after their visa ends. We see many engineers who have spouses in the education or healthcare sector where long term sponsorship is very common in both the public and private sector.
Global Talent Visa – This visa is for individuals who are leaders or potential leaders in fields such as academia, research, arts, and digital technology. Applicants must be endorsed by an approved UK body in their field. This visa lasts five years before renewal and requires no sponsorship by the employer.
Skilled Work Visa – This is the most common visa for requirement we are currently seeing. It allows individuals to work in the UK for an approved employer in an eligible job role supported by sponsorship. As of April 4th 2024 the standard rate salary offer for newly sponsored design engineers is £42,500 based upon a 37.5 hour week. If the standard working week is longer this needs to be reflected in the pro rata salary.
For a UK employer to be able to sponsor a non-EU national for a Skilled Worker Visa, they must meet several specific criteria and obligations. The main requirements are as follows:
Have a physical UK Presence
Not have had a sponsorship license revoked in the past 12 months.
Appropriate systems in place to monitor sponsored workers.
Complete the online license request form at https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/apply-for-your-licence
Pay the license fee of either £1,476 or £536 (the smaller fee is for business with less than 50 employees or a turnover lower than £10.2 million).
Each employee sponsored requires a certificate of sponsorship with cost per certificate being £239.
The skilled worker sponsorship license lasts for four years before renewal is required.
Companies that can position themselves to sponsor in the current market will give themselves access to talent that other companies aren’t able to employ.
Sponsoring workers from non-EU countries can offer a range of significant benefits to UK employers. While the process can involve additional costs and compliance requirements, the advantages often outweigh these challenges. Employers will benefit from access to a broader talent pool to bridge the skills gap, whilst increasing the diversity of the workforce with new approaches to problem solving and cultural perspectives.
Get in touch to learn more about sponsoring Engineers from outside of the EU
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