In 2020, the Skilled Worker visa was introduced as a means to allow individuals to come to the UK to work for an approved employer in an eligible job. Initially, the introduction of the Skilled Worker visa was greeted with praise as it lowered the skills threshold for the sponsorship of migrants, meaning that a wider range of sectors could benefit from the sponsorship regime (e.g. care, retail, and butchers).
However, many lower-skilled occupations which depended on EU workers missed out on qualifying for sponsorship. Their absence from the Skilled Worker visa scheme has meant that the vacancies left by EU workers are not being fulfilled as is shown in the labour shortage in the UK.
Whilst businesses are right to invest in automation, training and apprenticeships - the impacts of this investment will take a generation to produce benefits. This is time which many businesses do not have.
Brexit has caused labour shortages in the UK which have been unfulfilled by the Skilled Worker Visa. The absence of EU workers has been felt in a range of sectors including: hospitality, hotels, warehousing, meat production and construction. However, in recent weeks, the labour shortage in the UK has often been discussed using the example of HGV drivers.
When it comes to HGV drivers in the UK it is thought that there is a shortage of around 1,000 drivers. The shortage of HGV drivers has been driven by the Government’s lack of action which in turn has created a scenario whereby drivers are being recruited by competitors who can offer higher salaries. Moreover, the UK’s departure from the EU means that the UK offering HGV drives to come to the UK for 3-months is unattractive as in EU countries they are able to benefit from permanent employment.
The lack of benefits for EU citizens to work in the UK post-Brexit combined with the vacancies which cannot be fulfilled through the Skilled Worker visa has created the labour shortage in the UK which we are witnessing today.