Shortage Occupations
This is an official list of occupations for which the government recognises qualified staff are in extremely short supply. Many of these are well publicised professions in the medical field, but there are others in several different fields, and the list below is current but subject to change.
The shortage of skilled staff in these areas is recognised as being so severe that recruitment efforts would be deemed a futile exercise. If an individual qualifies by The Border and Immigration Agency's standards to do a particular job from the list below, there is also no real question over whether or not the job, or the person, meets the skills threshold.
An application of this type can normally be prepared within a few days (providing all relevant information and documentation can be supplied) and approved by Work Permits (UK) within 5-10 working days.
Border and Immigration Agency Shortage Occupation List
Click on industry area below
Engineering occupations:
Transportation and Highways Engineers:
Engineers who are required to have a transport-related degree, or a degree and at least 2
years relevant experience from a civil background in the following specialisms:
- Traffic Engineer or Transport Planner
- Highways Design Engineer or Highways Planning Engineer
Ground Engineering:
- Geoenvironmental Engineer
- Geotechnical Engineer
- Geological Advisor
- Geological Analyst
- Geological Associate
- Geological Engineer
- Geologist / Hydrogeologist
- Geology / Reservoir Engineer
- Geomechanics Engineer
- Geophysical Specialist
- Geophysicist
- Geoscientist
- Geosupport Engineer
- Engineering Geologist
- Ground Engineer
- Contaminated Land Specialist
Electrical Engineers
- Overhead Electricity Linesworkers.
Healthcare Occupations
- Doctors:
- Salaried GP’s
Dentists:
- Salaried General Dental Practitioners
- Salaried Assistant Dentists
- Salaried Vocational Dental Practitioner
- Consultants in Dental Specialities
Consultant posts in the following specialist areas:
- Accident & Emergency
- Additional Dental Specialities
- Anaesthetics
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Chemical Pathology
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Clinical Neurophysiology
- Clinical Oncology
- Clinical Radiology
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus
- Endodentics
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Gastroenterology
- General Adult Psychiatry
- General Internal Medicine
- General Surgery
- Genito-urinary Medicine
- Geriatric Medicine
- Haematology
- Histopathology
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Medical Microbiology & Virology
- Medical Oncology
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Nuclear Medicine
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Occupational Health
- Old Age Psychiatry
- Opthalmology
- Oral & Maxillo-facial Surgery
- Orthodontics
- Otolaryngology
- Paediatric Cardiology
- Paediatrics
- Palliative Medicine
- Plastic Surgery
- Psychotherapy
- Public Health Medicine
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Renal Medicine
- Respiratory Medicine
- Rheumatology
- Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery
- Urology
General:
- Audiologist
- Audiological Scientist
- Clinical Psychologist
- Dietician
- Occupational Therapist
- Pharmacists
- Pharmacy Technician
- Pre-Registration Cytogeneticists
- Senior Physiotherapist
- Speech & Language Therapist
- Social Worker
- State Registered Scientists in Cytogenetics
- Biomedical Scientist / Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer (MLSO)
- Qualified HPC Registered Diagnostic & Therapeutic Radiographers, including
Ultrasonographers
Nurses:
- Midwives
- Registered Nurse employed or engaged at Band 7 or Band 8 of Agenda for Change or their
- Independent sector equivalents
- Registered Nurse employed or engaged in the following specialities:
- Audiology
- Sleep/Respiratory Physiology
- Neurophysiology
- Cardiac Physiology
- Operating Theatre Nurse
- Clinical Radiology
- Pathology
- Critical Care (nurses working in wards with a Level 2 or Level 3 classification)
Other Occupations
- CAA Licensed Aircraft Engineers
- Teachers – All posts in England covering compulsory schooling
- Veterinary Surgeon
- Quantity Surveyors
