The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has completed the 2023 review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).

MAC recommended only 8 additions to the UK-wide SOL and a further 2 additions to the Scotland-only SOL. 

Aligned with one of BRC's asks, the MAC recommended that pharmaceutical technicians should be included on the SOL (see pages 70-71 for more detail). Follow this link to read our response. 

For this latest review of the SOL, the Government stated MAC could consider RQF 1-2 occupations for potential inclusion on the SOL. However, MAC did not deem any of the evidence for RQF 1-2 occupations to meet the high bar of evidence for inclusion.

More broadly, MAC expressed concern regarding the risk of exploitation by adding low-wage jobs to the SOL and therefore recommended that the Government abolish or heavily reform it to address this issue. As an alternative, they propose MAC could be commissioned to examine individual occupations or sectors where labour market issues seem particularly acute and the extent to which immigration policy may, or may not, be a helpful part of the solution.

If the Government continues with the operation of the SOL, the next minor review of the SOL will launch in Spring 2024.