Demand for foreign engineers jumps 71 per cent in just one year

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Demand for foreign engineering skills has surged by 71 per cent over the past year, according to data obtained by Integro Accounting.

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Data obtained from the Home Office under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the number of work permits issued to foreign engineering professionals jumped from 5,620 in 2021 to 9,617 in 2022, the highest level in five years.

The category which saw the largest percentage increase was civil engineers, where the number of work permits issued nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022, from 804 to 1,565.

Integro Accounting attributed this surge to the Brexit transition period ending on January 1, 2021, which brought an end to freedom of movement between the UK and EU, and meant that EU citizens became subject to the same points-based immigration system as non-EU workers.

Long-term skills shortages in the engineering sector have been worsened by a convergence of factors in recent years – Brexit, the pandemic and the new off-payroll working rules have all prompted an exodus of engineering talent from the UK labour market, according to Integro.

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Engineering recruitment