In order to retain its competitive edge, the UK invites skilled professionals to work in the UK under the Tier 2 visa program. Under this program, workers whose occupations are listed on the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List can apply to work in the UK on a long-term basis. Among the popular professions on the list are IT, finance, teaching, healthcare, and engineering. Y-Axis can help you take advantage of this talent shortage in the UK and position yourself to gain a work permit to the UK.
If skilled workers must come to the UK, they need to have a Skilled Worker visa, (formerly the Tier 2 visa). You can apply for this visa if you have been offered a skilled job in the UK. The salary requirement for this visa is £25,600, or the specific salary requirement for the occupation or the ‘going rate’.
The UK work visas are classified into four main groups
Let’s have a look at the Top in-demand occupations in the UK.
With the ever-changing tech world, the demand for IT and Tech skills has become invaluable to companies following the trends. Below is the list of top skills in demand in the UK.
Programming Languages
Java Script is used for Front End Technologies. Many businesses use these languages to streamline processes across systems.
DevOps
It is one of the fastest-growing In-Demand digital skills in the UK.
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
This is also an In-Demand IT Skill in the UK. This skill includes jobs like:
Cloud Computing
Because of the need for data storage and computing power, the cloud computing market has become a popular business solution and a fast-growing industry in recent years.
Cybersecurity
The rise of cybersecurity attacks in the UK in recent years has made this IT skill one of the most in-demand digital skills in the UK.
CRM
The 14% increase in CRM skills since last year has made up more than 7.2 million professionals globally.
Job Title | Average starting salary |
Dev Ops Engineer | £40,000 |
Software Engineer | £35,000 |
Python Developer | £35,000 |
Data Scientist | £31,000 |
Software Developer | £27,000 |
Cyber Security Specialist | £25,000 |
Mobile Application Developer | £20,000 |
Industry | Count of Companies |
Information Technology | 4,074 |
Retail | 2,714 |
Manufacturing | 2,372 |
Management | 2,362 |
Hospitality | 2,064 |
HR & Admin | 2,024 |
BFSI | 1,505 |
Engineering (Construction) | 807 |
Industry | Count |
IT | 5,641 |
BFSI | 2,651 |
Engineering | 1,264 |
Healthcare | 2,712 |
Hospitality | 983 |
Sales & Marketing | 1,247 |
Education | 2,629 |
Automotive | 435 |
Oil & Gas | 488 |
FMCG | 321 |
Accounting | 510 |
Restaurants | 1,411 |
Pharmaceuticals | 415 |
Chemicals | 159 |
Construction | 1,141 |
Biotechnology | 311 |
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing | 954 |
Telecommunications | 250 |
Non-Profit/Volunteering | 883 |
Machinery | 655 |
Industry | Designation | Most Common Skills | Top Hiring Locations | Remote Jobs Availibility |
Information Technology | Machine Learning Engineer | Deep Learning, TensorFlow, Machine Learning, Python | London, Cambridge, Edinburgh | 18.10% |
Data Scientist | ||||
Software Engineer | ||||
Data Engineer | ||||
Site Reliability Engineer | Terraform, Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS) | London, Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne | 41.30% | |
DevOps Consultant | ||||
System Administrator | ||||
Salesforce Administrator | Salesforce.com Administration, Salesforce.com Implementation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | London, Leeds, Sheffield | 28.20% | |
Salesforce Consultant | ||||
Customer Relationship Management Analyst | ||||
Business Analyst | ||||
Computer Vision Engineer | Computer Vision, OpenCV, Image Processing | London, Edinburgh, Cambridge | 26.50% | |
Software Engineer | ||||
Machine Learning Engineer | ||||
Data Engineer |
Aache, Spark, Hadoop, Python (Programming Language) |
London, Edinburgh, Manchester | 27.40% | |
Data Analyst | ||||
Business Intelligence Developer | ||||
Back End Developer | Go (Programming Language), Git, Amazon Web Services (AWS) | London, Manchester, Glasgow | 43.80% | |
Full Stack Engineer | ||||
Web Developer | ||||
Procurement | Import Specialist | Freight Forwarding, Customs Regulations, International Logistics | London, Felixstowe, Manchester, Dover | 3.40% |
Import Manager | ||||
Import Clerk | ||||
Freight Forwarder | ||||
Import Export Specialist | ||||
Sales & Marketing | Business Development Representative | Product Management, Product Strategy, Agile Methodologies | London, Glasgow, Oxford | 21.10% |
Strategy Associate | ||||
Vice President of Products | ||||
Director of Product Management, Chief Product Officer, Vice President of Product Strategy, Head of Product, Product Team Manager | ||||
Human Resource | Chief Human Resources Officer | Succession Planning, Culture Change, Talent Management, Employee Engagement, | London, Belfast, Manchester | 13.70% |
Talent Management, Chief People Officer, Vice President of Human Resources, Director of HR Operations | ||||
Diversity and Inclusion Manager | ||||
Talent Acquisition Specialist | Recruiting, Sourcing, Interviewing | Greater Manchester, Leeds | 23.00% | |
Talent Acquisition Manager, Recruiter, Delivery Consultant, etc. | ||||
Education | Career Counsellor | Coaching, Career Development, Training Delivery | London, Birmingham, Manchester | 20.60% |
Career Advisor | ||||
Writing/ Publishing & Media Communications | Content Designer | User Experience (UX), Content Strategy, Web Content Writing | London, Edinburgh, Manchester | 21.60% |
Content Coordinator, Brand Designer | ||||
Copywriter, Editor, Content Manager | ||||
Pharma/ Healthcare | Laboratory Operations Manager | Life Sciences, Molecular Biology, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) | Glasgow, London, Manchester | 2.00% |
Laboratory Supervisor | ||||
Laboratory Assistant | ||||
Medical Laboratory Scientist | ||||
Laboratory Operations Manager | ||||
Environmental Science/ Health & Safety | Sustainability Manager | Sustainable Development, BREEAM, Sustainability Reporting, Environmental Awareness | London, Manchester, Bristol | 8.30% |
Public Health Officer | ||||
Project Manager, | ||||
Public Health Specialist |
Industry | Employment number |
Supermarkets in the UK | 1,288,724 |
Hospitals in the UK | 852,944 |
Charities in the UK | 836,335 |
Temporary-Employment Placement Agencies in the UK | 708,703 |
General Secondary Education in the UK | 695,038 |
RANK | NAME | REVENUES ($M) |
1 | Walmart | $5,59,151 |
2 | Amazon | $3,86,064 |
3 | Apple | $2,74,515 |
4 | CVS Health | $2,68,706 |
5 | UnitedHealth Group | $2,57,141 |
6 | Berkshire Hathaway | $2,45,510 |
7 | McKesson | $2,31,051 |
8 | Amerisource Bergen | $1,89,893.90 |
9 | Alphabet | $1,82,527 |
10 | Exxon Mobil | $1,81,502 |
The Skilled Worker visa allows skilled professionals to build their professional careers in the UK. The duration for stay as per the U.K. Skilled Worker is for a maximum period of 5 years. The Skilled Worker Visa is a points-based visa and applicants must score a minimum of 70 points for their application to be considered. The points are awarded based on:
If you satisfy these parameters, you can then apply for the Skilled Worker Visa.
The Tier 2 visa is subdivided to allow for the following professionals:
If you have successfully received a Skilled Worker visa, you can:
You can apply for this visa three months before you begin working in the UK. The starting date will be mentioned in the certificate of sponsorship you will receive from your UK employer.
You will get the decision on your visa within three weeks of your application. With the UK government including more occupations in the Shortage Occupation List, the processing time is expected to be reduced for many applicants.
You can stay for a maximum of 5 years on this visa. The duration of a work visa depends on the length of your job contract. If you have not exceeded the maximum duration for your visa type, you can extend your stay. You will need to apply for an extension, either online or at a premium service center for UK visas.
You can stay for a maximum of 5 years and 14 days on the Tier 2 visa or the duration mentioned on your certificate of sponsorship (plus 1 month) whichever duration is shorter.
The documentation required for the UK Tier 2 Visa includes:
The Skilled Worker dependent visa is for children and partners of those who have come to the country on a Skilled Worker visa or have applied for one.
The following persons qualify for a Skilled Worker dependent visa:
The partnership between spouses and partners should be genuine and they should plan to live together for the duration of their stay in the country.
Maintenance funds: Skilled Worker dependents have no recourse to public funds as such; in their application, they must prove access to adequate financial means for the period of stay in the UK and if there are dependents, they must demonstrate an additional £ 630 available for each dependent.
Age: The principal applicant and dependent must be at least 18 on the date of arrival in the United Kingdom, or when the visa is issued.
Other requirements: You must not be a previous holder of a UK visa for students, or a short-term study visa on or after April 2015, or have been given leave on or after April 2015 as a parent of a Tier 4 student (child).
Furthermore, you will have to qualify for the general grounds for admission. You must have a clear history of immigration, with no case of overstaying. When your spouse or relative’s visa expires, you must have no intention to stay in the UK.
Application process:
As a holder of Skilled Worker dependent visas, you can:
You cannot access public funds, work as a doctor in training, as a dentist, or as a sports instructor for professionals
Tier 2 visa applications are evaluated on the basis of the UK’s point-based system. One must have at least 70 points to qualify for the visa. You can score 30 points with a job offer with an employer sponsorship certificate. You can score another 30 points if your occupation finds a place in the Skills Shortage list. With these 60 points, it will be relatively easy to get the remaining points to qualify.
Finding a UK employer who can sponsor a Tier 2 visa
It will be easy to find one in the ‘Register of Sponsors Licensed Under the Points-based System’ which is available to the public. This contains a list of all the employers who have permission to sponsor international employees.
Y-Axis, the perfect choice to unlock cross-border opportunities. Contact us right now!
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If skilled workers wish to move to the UK, they need to have the Skilled Worker visa. You can apply for this visa if you have been offered a skilled job in the UK. The salary requirements for this visa are £25,600, or the specific salary requirement for the occupation or the ‘going rate’.
You must also have been offered a COS-Certificate of Sponsorship from the licensed sponsor in the UK. The names of licensed sponsors will be in the Skilled Worker sponsor list. Your area of work must correspond with the work of your sponsoring organization.
You should receive a decision on your UK Skilled Worker Visa within 3 weeks if you apply from outside the UK. You can apply a maximum of 3 months prior to the date you are due to begin to work in the UK. The date will be specified on your Certificate of Sponsorship.
The salary requirements for this visa are £25,600, or the specific salary requirement for the occupation or the ‘going rate’.
There are 3 major steps involved in submitting an application for UK Skilled Worker Visa:
Step # 1: Sponsorship licence
The employer undertakes the first stage. They will apply directly for a sponsorship licence to the UKVI – UK Visas and Immigration and will be accordingly assessed.
Step # 2: Certificate of Sponsorship
The application for COS – Certificate of Sponsorship is filed by the approved sponsor for the occupation they would like to be filled by a non-resident worker. The immigrant can apply for the Work Visa once the COS is assigned.
Step # 3: Applying for the Skilled Worker Visa
The prospective employee will submit the Visa application in the final stage. This is with their unique COS number and evidence for fulfilling the requirements for Skilled Worker Visa.
The application fee will depend on how many years you plan to work in the UK, and whether your job is on the skill shortage list.
Apart from the application fees you will have to pay a health surcharge of £624 per year [for each year of your stay]. To be refunded in case your application is rejected.
Additionally, the applicant must have a minimum of £1,270 in their bank account to demonstrate that they can support themselves financially in the UK.
You must have an offer of employment from a licensed employer who can sponsor employees from outside the country.
The employer or sponsor will verify if you have the skills to do the job you will be hired for and if you are qualified for the visa. If they are satisfied, they will give you a certificate of sponsorship with which you can apply for the visa.
You can get your visa decision within 5 days if you are willing to pay an extra amount of £500 for this priority service. You also have the option of paying £800 for the super priority service to get a decision.
You can:
You cannot:
With the introduction of the Skilled Worker visa, European Union (EU) citizens will be treated on par with citizens of other nations. As long as the UK was a member of the EU, those from EU countries had a right to work in the UK. With Brexit they will no longer have this right and will have to apply for a work visa just like others.
No preference will be given to PhD holders. However, every candidate must have a score of 70 points to qualify in the defined parameters like specific skills, qualifications, salaries and professions.
IELTS is not mandatory. The English language requirements for the visa have to be meet by either IELTS for UKVI (General) with a minimum score of 4 bands in all the four modules or UK NARIC report for the Bachelor’s or Master’s qualification.
Yes, the dependent spouse can work full time.
Yes, education will be free for children below 18 years of age just like UK citizens or PR holders.
No, they have to pay the fees as per the NHS charges.
The visa can be applied for either 3 years or more than 3 years (up to a maximum of 5 years).
After 5 years they can apply for FLR and after another 2 years apply for ILR.
If a candidate’s job is on the shortage occupation list – in that specific area of the UK – they can be paid 80% of the usual going rate of their job in order to qualify for the UK Skilled Worker visa.
Education and healthcare sectors in the UK have a separate shortage occupations list.
Under specific situations, a candidate might still be eligible even if their salary is below £25,600 or the usual going rate for their job.
A candidate might be paid between 70% to 90% of the usual going rate for their job and yet qualify for Skilled Worker visa. Provided their salary is at least £20,480 per year and – their job is in a shortage occupation, or they have a STEM PhD qualification relevant to their job etc.
Apart from working on the job you have been sponsored for you can take up a supplementary job. You can also study on the visa provided you have the appropriate permission from the government.
The application fee will depend on how many years you plan to work in the UK, and whether your job is on the skill shortage list.
· Application Fees for stay up to 3 years – 610 pounds
· Application Fees for stay more than 3 years -1,220 pounds
· Application Fees if your job is in Shortage Occupation List for stay up to 3 years – 464 pounds
· Application Fees if job in Shortage Occupation List and you wish to stay for more than three years -928 pounds
· UK NARIC Fees 49.50 pounds
Apart from the application fees you will have to pay a health surcharge of 624 pounds when you apply, which will be refunded if your application is rejected. You should also have proof that you have the funds to support yourself which is 1,270 pounds.