• Shortage Occupations List

Shortage Occupation List 2023

The Shortage Occupations List is maintained and updated by the Home Office and is intended to give an indication of where there are skills shortages within the current UK labour market. This is particularly important for applicants for the Skilled Worker Visa, who will need to have been offered a job that is represented on the list.

Employers and HR departments looking outside of the UK labour market to fill a particular role in their organisation should also check whether the job they are offering is on the Shortage Occupations List before preparing a certificate of sponsorship. There may be more than one type of UK work visa they can sponsor in order to bring in an employee from overseas, but any employee intending to apply for a Skilled Worker Visa specifically must be taking up a role which is on the Shortage Occupations List.

The Shortage Occupations List

The table below shows the UK’s official Shortage Occupations List as of 15 May 2023.

In addition to those occupations listed, the following jobs were added by the Home Office on 18 July 2023 and are now eligible for certificates of sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa:

  • Bricklayers and masons
  • Roofers, roof tilers and slaters
  • Carpenters and joiners
  • Plasterers
  • Builders
  • Individuals working in the fishing industry

‘Occupation code’ refers to the UK Office for National Statistics code for each specific occupation. Employers will require this to complete the certificate of sponsorship and to determine if they need to pay an additional immigration skills charge. More guidance for employers seeking to sponsor an employee’s visa can be found here.

The ‘Annual salary’ column shows the minimum salary and equivalent hourly rate that an employee will need to be paid in order for them to be eligible for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker Visa. These salaries are based on a 37.5-hour working week and must be pro-rated for any other weekly working pattern.

Occupation code Job type Areas of the UK where there is a shortage Annual salary (80% of going rate)
1181 Health services and public health managers and directors – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £33,040 (£16.94 per hour)
1242 Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £22,640 (£11.61 per hour)
2111 Chemical scientists – only jobs in the nuclear industry Scotland only 80% of going rate: £22,800 (£11.69 per hour)
2112 Biological scientists and biochemists – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £24,480 (£12.55 per hour)
2113 Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the construction-related ground engineering industry:
engineering geologist
hydrogeologist
geophysicist		 England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,080 (£13.37 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		 England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,080 (£13.37 per hour)
2114 Social and humanities scientists – only archaeologists England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £20,480 (£10.50 per hour)
2121 Civil engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £27,760 (£14.24 per hour)
2122 Mechanical engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,400 (£13.54 per hour)
2123 Electrical engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £31,440 (£16.12 per hour)
2124 Electronics engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £27,120 (£13.91 per hour)
2126 Design and development engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £27,280 (£13.99 per hour)
2127 Production and process engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £25,600 (£13.13 per hour)
2129 Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,720 (£13.70 per hour)
2135 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £30,080 (£15.43 per hour)
2136 Programmers and software development professionals – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £27,200 (£13.95 per hour)
2137 Web design and development professionals – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £21,440 (£10.99 per hour)
2139 Information technology and communications professionals not elsewhere classified – only cyber security specialists England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £25,680 (£13.17 per hour)
2216 Veterinarians – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,960 (£13.83 per hour)
2425 Actuaries, economists and statisticians – only bio-informaticians and informaticians England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,880 (£13.78 per hour)
2431 Architects – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £26,320 (£13.50 per hour)
2461 Quality control and planning engineers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £25,280 (£12.96 per hour)
3111 Laboratory technicians – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £15,120 (£7.75 per hour)
3411 Artists – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £16,400 (£8.41 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).		 England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £16,960 (£8.70 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 a full member of the Association of British Orchestras.		 England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £24,960 (£12.80 per hour)
3416 Arts officers, producers and directors – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £23,360 (£11.98 per hour)
3421 Graphic designers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £18,400 (£9.44 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. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £18,480 (£9.48 per hour)
6145 Care workers and home carers – private households or individuals (other than sole traders sponsoring someone to work for their business) cannot sponsor Skilled Worker applicants England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland No going rate – the salary must be at least £20,960 per year or £10.75 per hour
6146 Senior care workers – all jobs England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 80% of going rate: £14,880 (£7.63 per hour)

Demetris Demetriou

Demetris is a dual-qualified lawyer in the UK (Solicitor) and Cyprus (Advocate) with 10+ years of experience in UK immigration. He completed his legal studies at University College London and City University London. Over the course of his career, he held key roles as Head of Immigration at Legal 500 firms and within the Big4, overseeing teams of 15+ fee earners handling 2000+ applications annually.

Demetris went on to co-establish his firm in London and continues to offer innovative solutions and strategic immigration planning to multinationals, SMEs, and private clients.

He personally represented 1500+ clients in 30+ visa routes including investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, sole representatives, students, family visas, global talent, UK ancestry, administrative reviews and appeals. Demetris has managed corporate relocations, conducted immigration law training and implemented post-Brexit immigration policies for corporate clients.

Demetris has been featured in various events and publications focusing on UK immigration, notably at the Cambridge Network, the Westminster Policy Forum and most recently at DGEMS, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.

Tatiani Preifelt

Tatiani has a wealth of expertise in global mobility and corporate immigration. Her ample skills were acquired within leading immigration practices including three out of the Big4 firms in both the UK and Sweden. Tatiani went on to co-establish her firm in London where she continues to advise clients predominantly in corporate, business and skilled work migration.

Having personally relocated to 10 different countries, Tatiani understands the importance of an expedient and successful immigration process and takes pride in delivering a seamless experience to her clients as well.

Over the course of her career, she has assisted over 500 individuals and businesses to obtain the appropriate visa permits in the UK.

Her awarded academic work at The University of Oxford, The London School of Economics, and at The Geneva University is in the fields of Political Science, International Human Rights Law, and Global Migration Governance.

She regularly provides immigration training and has recently participated as a speaker and panellist at DGEMS 2023, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.