The Migration Advisory Committee Recommended Changes To The Shortage Occupations List

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended as part of its proposals published on 12 September 2011 that 29 occupations, which in practical terms means 70,000 jobs, on the shortage occupation list should be closed to migrant workers. This means that the current total number of 260,000 posts available to migrant workers on the shortage occupation list will be reduced to 190,000. The occupations that will be removed from the list include vets, biology teachers, obstetrics and gynaecology consultants and orchestral musicians. The Committee also proposes to add a further 33 occupations to the list for which it has identified a shortage in the UK labour market. These include 2D/3D video game and film animators, consultants in emergency medicine, environmental scientists, geochemists and managers involved in decommissioning nuclear power stations. According to The Guardian the actual number of tier-two skilled migrants coming to work in shortage occupations is limited to 20,700 a year, and applications are running at just over half of the limit.