UK Skilled Worker Visa: Shortage Occupations

With the introduction of the Skilled Worker Visa in December 2020, employers in the UK who wish to hire individuals from abroad under the Skilled Worker visa can do so only if the occupation is in the Skill Shortage Occupation List.

The occupations in the list are decided by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) which chooses the occupations based on the needs of UK businesses. A job on the shortage list indicates that there are not enough native U.K workers to meet the talent requirements in that particular sector. In order to hire for jobs on the list, employers need not apply for the resident labor market test.

Occupation code	Job types included on the shortage occupations list	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: £30,720 (£15.15 per hour)
1242	Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £21,360 (£10.53 per hour)
2111	Chemical scientists – only jobs in the nuclear industry	Scotland only	80% of going rate: £21,360(£10.53 per hour)
2112	Biological scientists and biochemists – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £23,760(£11.72 per hour)
2113	Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the construction-related ground engineering industry:	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £29,200(£14.40 per hour)
	engineering geologist
	hydrogeologist
	geophysicist
2113	Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the oil and gas industry:	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £29,200(£14.40 per hour)
	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
2114	Social and humanities scientists – only archaeologists	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £20,720(£10.22 per hour)
2121	Civil engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £28,000(£13.81 per hour)
2122	Mechanical engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,720(£13.18 per hour)
2123	Electrical engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £29,600(£14.60 per hour)
2124	Electronics engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,760(£13.69 per hour)
2126	Design and development engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £27,280(£13.45 per hour)
2127	Production and process engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,480(£13.06 per hour)
2129	Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,160(£12.90 per hour)
2135	IT business analysts, architects and systems designers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £29,280(£14.44 per hour)
2136	Programmers and software development professionals – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,640(£13.14 per hour)
2137	Web design and development professionals – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £20,800(£10.26 per hour)
2139	Information technology and communications professionals not elsewhere classified – only cyber security specialists	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £25,440(£12.54 per hour)
2216	Veterinarians – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,000(£12.82 per hour)
2425	Actuaries, economists and statisticians – only bio-informaticians and informaticians	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £26,240(£12.94 per hour)
2431	Architects – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £28,000(£13.81 per hour)
2461	Quality control and planning engineers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £24,400(£12.03 per hour)
3411	Artists – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	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.	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £23,840(£11.76 per hour)
	The company must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by a UK industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland or Wales).
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.	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £22,000(£10.85 per hour)
	The orchestra must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by the Association of British Orchestras.
3416	Arts officers, producers and directors – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £24,000(£11.83 per hour)
3421	Graphic designers – all jobs	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	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	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	80% of going rate: £18,240(£8.99 per hour)
5434	Chefs – only skilled chefs where all of the following requirements are met:	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland	£29,570 – see description
	the pay for which points are awarded is at least £29,570 per year; and
	the job requires 5 or more years’ relevant experience in a role of at least equivalent status; and
	the job is not in either a fast food or standard fare outlet; and
	the job is in one of the following roles:
	executive chef – limited to 1 per establishment
	head chef – limited to 1 per establishment
	sous chef – limited to 1 for every 4 kitchen staff per establishment
	specialist chef – limited to 1 per speciality per establishment