According to Jobbatical, the number of companies obtaining sponsorship licences for hiring overseas talent increased by 44% in August compared to last year.
The relocation platform sent a Freedom of Information Request to the Home Office. This showed that employers were obtaining sponsor licenses in spite of new regulations implemented by the Conservative Government earlier this year, pushing up the salary thresholds for visas and adding health surcharges.
Jobattical reported that as of 30 August 2024 over 105,000 UK companies held sponsor licences – and almost 120,000 licences in total.
The majority of these sponsor licenses were issued for the Skilled Worker Route, which allows foreign nationals to work in the UK with a job offer by a UK-based employer who has a licence, and if they earn over PS38,700. It said that the number of skilled worker licenses increased by 46%.
Global Business Mobility was the second most popular route for companies hiring foreign workers, with just under 10%.
The Home Office has revealed that major companies like Pizza Hut and Telefonica hold this license. Other employers include eBay, Fujitsu, Compass Group, eBay. It has also issued to tens of thousands of small-to-medium-sized businesses.
Jobbatical discovered that companies with headquarters in London held a majority of sponsor licenses. According to the company’s research, 60% of senior Londoners believed that hiring international workers was a key part of their strategy.
Karoli Hindriks said that it is too early to tell how the Labour Government might alter the visa landscape.
She said that despite a more liberal approach to immigration, the government has made it clear they intend to reduce the overall number of immigrants. It’s therefore likely that some of the conservative measures will continue in force.
But these sponsor license numbers speak for themselves. Businesses of all sizes intend to continue using international recruitment in their recruitment strategies despite the barriers.
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The reasons for this are many, and they clearly show that there is not enough of the correct workers in the UK.
a recent study by Indeed shows that UK employers have relaxed English language requirements in order to combat labour shortages.
