How UK Businesses Can Tap Into the Next Generation Labour Market

The media has been telling us for months that the UK is in the grip of an acute labour and skills shortage. This state of affairs is often attributed to the consequences of Brexit and a complex and restrictive UK immigration system.

It can certainly be argued that these issues have had, and are still having, an impact on the UK labour market. However, there are several ways to ensure that UK employers can tap into the next generation of workers early on in their careers. It seems that many employers are not aware of how to get these workers into their organisations, and therefore are not taking advantage of what is available to them.

Most businesses automatically consider the Skilled Worker visa category for any prospective employees requiring permission to work in the UK. However, this visa comes with restrictions on salary and skill level, often excluding positions for new entrants to the labour market.

If employers learn to harness the entire breadth of the UK immigration system, it will allow them to secure their future workforce and stay ahead of the competition.

There are a number of visa categories that allow young people to stay in the UK after studying, or come to the UK to gain work experience.

The Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa category allows employers to attract future talent at the earliest point in their careers.

It is a temporary work route that invites young people (even if they are under 18 years of age) to come to the UK via an approved scheme in order to gain knowledge and experience of the UK labour market. This includes work experience, internships and training.businesses

Organisations will have to register with one of the several dozen schemes available, working with the administrator of the relevant scheme to sponsor the applicant. Familiar elements of the Skilled Worker sponsorship duties can be found in the GAE, for example the employer has to inform the scheme administrator if the visa holder fails to show at work, or if their or the migrant’s circumstances change in any way.

Different schemes have different lengths and can range from a few weeks for work experience, to up to two years for internships.

Most schemes will require the employer to pay the national minimum wage and comply with UK working time laws. However, depending on the structure of a work placement for example, these requirements may not apply.

The Graduate visa allows international students who have completed an eligible course of study in the UK to remain in the country to find a job, usually for an additional two years. There are no restrictions on salary (other than the standard national minimum wage requirements) or skill level, and the holder does not require sponsorship from the employer.

Many students will obtain this visa themselves at the end of their studies. This means that employers can “snap up” Graduate visa holders straight after they have finished their studies for entry level jobs right across their organisation.

Another visa category that allows young adults aged between 18 and 30 from certain countries to come to the UK to work is the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS). It is available to nationals of countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan (amongst a few others) and usually allows the holder to work in the UK for up to two years. Again, only national minimum wage requirements apply, and sponsorship is not necessary.

This visa category is relatively straightforward, so most eligible young adults apply for this independently and make their way to the UK to find employment.

The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa facilitates the move of recent graduates from top global universities to employment in the UK, usually for up to two years. The applicant must have graduated from a university endorsed by the UK authorities at the time of receiving their degree within five years of making the application.

While it may be the case that some of these visa holders already have some work experience, many will still be in the early stages of their careers and UK businesses can offer them a long-term employment path.

Employers who understand how to maximise use of the above visa options for their organisations will attract new talent early in their careers and will be able to offer them permanent positions before their competitors do.

Having a clear recruitment strategy and immigration policy that articulates how to attract new talent, setting milestones to ensure that the employee and the business can establish if they are a good fit, and ensuring the employees who add value to the organisation in the future are put on a long-term visa path will help assist.

Regarding long-term plans, it is important to note that none of the visas discussed here lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR, also called permanent residence or settlement). Employers will therefore need to move any young people holding these visas to a different visa, usually Skilled Worker, before their “work experience” permissions expire. At that point, the position they hold must meet all relevant Skilled Worker visa requirements.