Published 28 January 2020, reported by David Sapsted
Relocate Global spoke to business leaders seeking their reactions to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendations published on the 28th of January, for a post-Brexit immigration system.
Migrate UK’s MD Jonathan Beech was asked for his evaluation of the MAC report, alongside directors from the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Institute of Directors
Jonathan said, “The report overall suggests that the MAC has been frustrated with the lack of data provided by the Government in order to recommend a new Points-Based system.”
“There are certainly particular sectors with more winners and more losers. The construction industry has been given a major boost after the MAC suggested adding a list of construction jobs including carpenters and joiners, glaziers, window fabricators and fitters to the proposed plan to lower the skill level for vacancies from RFQ Level 3+ and above from the current minimum RQF Level 6. This could be a major advantage to the construction sector, worried that their vacancies were being phased out as ‘low skilled’. On the other side, the hospitality sector will be hit hardest due to the proposed qualifying salary threshold still remaining high at £25,600 (down from £30,000) and there being no regional variation.”
“Recommendations made have included, to maintain the work sponsorship based system; amend an existing category to meet the government’s requirement for a ‘Points Based System’; and look into changing the rules for settlement in the UK.”
“The report calls for a review on whether the Shortage Occupation list jobs are still needed for medium and high skill levels under the new system, as there will be no cap on numbers and no Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) – advertising the vacancy.“MAC has proposed the actual Points Based System as a variation of the current Tier 1 Exceptional Talent route, but with major changes including an overall annual cap on those admitted, a monthly draw from this pool with those selected invited to submit a full application and those invited to apply should be those who have the highest number of points in the pool using a points-based system. Points will be awarded on characteristics such as qualifications and age with extra points for having studied in the UK and priority areas such as STEM and creative skills. Overall the report has brought much needed clarity to how the UK immigration system could look like post-Brexit but of course it’s still pending publication of the Government’s white paper in March.”
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