Shortage occupations for the UK skilled worker visa are what we are going to discuss in this post.
In our previous post talking about how to apply for the UK skilled worker visa, we mentioned shortage occupations and many important industries in the UK are facing an acute lack of qualified workers to fill vacant positions and this is what led the government to declare some jobs as shortage occupations.
With Brexit and the exit of the UK from the EU common market, the competition for these skills has been heightened and as such, with the introduction of the skilled worker visa on the points based system, these occupations have a few incentives compared to others to encourage more people to apply.
Waivers for those with shortage occupations for the UK skilled worker visa.
There are some waivers you get when you apply for the skilled worker visa with a skill in one of the shortage occupations and these are:
- Your application fee is reduced from £610 to £464 for a 3-year application.
- You get 20 points added getting you closer to the required 70 points.
- The required salary threshold is reduced to 80% of the job’s usual going rate.
These make it cheaper and more attractive for workers with skills in these industries and the current list of occupations on this list is as follows.
Current list of UK shortage occupations (July 1, 2021)
| Occupation code | Job types on the shortage occupations list | Annual salary (80% of going rate) |
|---|---|---|
| 1181 | Health services and public health managers and directors – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £30,720 (£15.15 per hour) |
| 1242 | Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £21,360 (£10.53 per hour) |
| 2111 | Chemical scientists – only jobs in the nuclear industry | 80% of going rate: £21,360(£10.53 per hour) |
| 2112 | Biological scientists and biochemists – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £23,760(£11.72 per hour) |
| 2113 | Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the construction-related ground engineering industry: engineering geologist hydrogeologist geophysicist |
80% of going rate: £29,200(£14.40 per hour) |
| 2113 | Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the oil and gas industry: geophysicist geoscientist geologist geochemist technical services manager in the decommissioning and waste areas of the nuclear industry senior resource geologist and staff geologist in the mining sector |
80% of going rate: £29,200(£14.40 per hour) |
| 2114 | Social and humanities scientists – only archaeologists | 80% of going rate: £20,720(£10.22 per hour) |
| 2121 | Civil engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £28,000(£13.81 per hour) |
| 2122 | Mechanical engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £26,720(£13.18 per hour) |
| 2123 | Electrical engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £29,600(£14.60 per hour) |
| 2124 | Electronics engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £27,760(£13.69 per hour) |
| 2126 | Design and development engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £27,280(£13.45 per hour) |
| 2127 | Production and process engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £26,480(£13.06 per hour) |
| 2129 | Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £26,160(£12.90 per hour) |
| 2135 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £29,280(£14.44 per hour) |
| 2136 | Programmers and software development professionals – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £26,640(£13.14 per hour) |
| 2137 | Web design and development professionals – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £20,800(£10.26 per hour) |
| 2139 | Information technology and communications professionals not elsewhere classified – only cyber security specialists | 80% of going rate: £25,440(£12.54 per hour) |
| 2216 | Veterinarians – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £26,000(£12.82 per hour) |
| 2425 | Actuaries, economists and statisticians – only bio-informaticians and informaticians | 80% of going rate: £26,240(£12.94 per hour) |
| 2431 | Architects – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £28,000(£13.81 per hour) |
| 2461 | Quality control and planning engineers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £24,400(£12.03 per hour) |
| 3111 | Laboratory technicians – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £14,560 (£7.18 per hour) |
| 3411 | Artists – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £16,800(£8.28 per hour) |
| 3414 | Dancers and choreographers – only skilled classical ballet dancers or skilled contemporary dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK ballet or contemporary dance companies. The company must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by a UK industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland or Wales). |
80% of going rate: £23,840(£11.76 per hour) |
| 3415 | Musicians – only skilled orchestral musicians who are leaders, principals, sub-principals or numbered string positions, and who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK orchestras. The orchestra must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by the Association of British Orchestras. |
80% of going rate: £22,000(£10.85 per hour) |
| 3416 | Arts officers, producers and directors – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £24,000(£11.83 per hour) |
| 3421 | Graphic designers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £18,800(£9.27 per hour) |
| 5215 | Welding trades – only high integrity pipe welders, where the job requires 3 or more years’ related on-the-job experience. This experience must not have been gained through illegal working. | 80% of going rate: £18,240(£8.99 per hour) |
| 6146 | Senior care workers – all jobs | 80% of going rate: £13,520 (£6.67 per hour) |
How to find & apply for jobs on the UK shortage occupation list
Shortage Jobs is a portal dedicated to publishing only shortage occupations from licensed sponsors on a daily basis.
You can create a job alert for your preferred skill and get regular alerts only for shortage occupations for the UK skilled worker visa.
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