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Solving the post-Brexit skills conundrum

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Summary

The construction industry is facing growing skills shortages and exploring easing immigration rules to help address the issue. The CITB has called for government, CLC and the wider industry to improve employers’ understanding of the points-based immigration system and make it work better. However, the industry's reliance on migrant workforce has come under increased scrutiny and there are challenges employers face due to the immigration system. The government has accepted recommendations for five construction roles to be added to the SOL, but more companies need to be registered. The CLC is committed to getting the industry more engaged with the immigration system and understands the government's priority to reduce migration, while still meeting the need for skilled workers.

Q&As

What are the potential solutions to the skills shortages in the construction industry?
Potential solutions to the skills shortages in the construction industry include easing the rules regarding the employment of migrant workers, improving employers’ understanding of the points-based immigration system, making the immigration system more dynamic and expansive, adding occupations to the Shortage Occupation List, and making the current skilled worker route easier.

What are the benefits of the government's Points-Based Immigration System?
The benefits of the government's Points-Based Immigration System include visa application fees being less, making it cheaper to get a visa, and the salary threshold being lower.

How can the government make the immigration system more attractive for employers?
The government can make the immigration system more attractive for employers by making it easier to bring in skilled people, making the process of justifying the need to bring in labour less difficult, reducing the expense involved, making the bureaucratic process easier, and reducing the employer responsibility of being liable for the employee.

What role does the Migration Advisory Committee have in developing occupations for the Shortage Occupation List?
The Migration Advisory Committee has a key role in developing and considering the occupations on the Shortage Occupation List. It releases timed calls for evidence, requests comments, supported by evidence, from the public, industry or representative bodies, and meets interested stakeholders around the UK and through remote meetings.

How can the construction industry balance the need to deal with skills shortages and the government's push to reduce migration?
The construction industry can balance the need to deal with skills shortages and the government's push to reduce migration by getting more companies registered to be sponsors, making the system more well-known and attractive for employers to engage with, making the non-sponsored route easier to pursue, listening more responsively to the industry about what trades are needed, and talking honestly with the government about small tweaks within the existing system that don't undermine it to the extent that it destroys the government's policy priorities.

AI Comments

👍 This article brings to light some important issues that need to be addressed in order to tackle the skills gap in the construction industry. It is great to see the industry discussing solutions and working together to find a way to make the immigration system work better for construction.

👎 This article fails to address the underlying issues of why there is a skills gap in the construction industry in the first place. It is not enough to simply bring in migrant workers and ignore the need to invest in our own workforce.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how easing the rules regarding the employment of migrant workers is being explored as a potential solution to tackle construction's skills gap. It outlines the challenges of the current points-based immigration system, such as difficulty navigating it, visa fees, health surcharge, and English language requirements. It also looks at the role of the Migration Advisory Committee and the Construction Leadership Council in responding to the skills shortages.

Friend: Wow, that sounds like a difficult problem to tackle. What kind of implications does the article have for the construction industry?

Me: Well, the article points out that employers need to be better informed of the immigration rules and the points-based immigration system to make it work better for construction. It also suggests that government, the CLC and the wider industry should work together to improve employers' understanding. Furthermore, it calls for additional roles to be added to the Government's Shortage Occupation List to address skills shortages in the short term, while also making the immigration system more dynamic and expansive. Additionally, the article recommends that the government should be more responsive to the industry's needs and be more open to adding new trades to the SOL. Finally, it suggests that the immigration system should be made more attractive to a wider range of people, in order to attract more skilled workers from outside of the UK.

Action items

Research the points-based immigration system and the SOL to better understand the requirements for employers and skilled migrant workers.
Reach out to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to provide comments and evidence to support the addition of occupations to the SOL.
Consider ways to make the immigration system more dynamic and attractive to employers, such as reducing visa fees and lowering the salary threshold.

Technical terms

Post-Brexit: Refers to the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in 2020.
Points-based immigration system: A system used by the UK government to control immigration by awarding points to applicants based on their skills, qualifications, and other criteria.
Shortage Occupation List (SOL): A list of occupations that are in short supply in the UK and are eligible for a visa.
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC): An independent, non-statutory public body that advises the government on migration issues.
Sponsor licence: A licence issued by the UK government to employers who wish to employ migrant workers.
Visa fees: Fees charged by the UK government for the processing of visa applications.
Health surcharge: A fee charged by the UK government for the use of the National Health Service by non-UK citizens.
English language requirements: Requirements set by the UK government for non-UK citizens to demonstrate their proficiency in the English language.
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements: Requirements set by the UK government for employers to report and keep records of their migrant workers.
Non-sponsored routes: A route for employers to employ migrant workers without having to obtain a sponsor licence.