To support ongoing engagement with the Home Office and the wider sector FIS is tracking the impact of changes to the labour market.

FIS has repeatedly raised concerns that interior systems installers (dryliners, ceiling fixers, partitions installers etc) have not been included as an eligible occupation for the skilled worker route in the new UK Points Based Immigration System and that no construction workers have been included on the shortage occupation list.  This omission means that from the 1st July, if an EU worker (excluding Ireland) has not applied to work in the UK through the Settlement Scheme, they will not be eligible to work.

Across the sector, at the start of 2020, it is estimated that the workforce relied on some 40% of trade operatives from the EU.  As a consequence of these changes, the annual recruitment target for UK national has doubled, putting huge strain on the training infrastructure (particularly against the background of COVID-19) and for every 5% of EU workers that opt not to return to work in the UK or continue working in the the UK beyond the 1st July we see this target double again.

With reports of Labour Shortages already as things start to pick up in 2021, we are calling on companies in the sector to complete our short market survey.