UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – UK architects face recruitment challenges as stricter post-Brexit visa rules raise salary requirements and remove architecture from the shortage occupation list.
Firms in the architecture sector are calling on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to urgently reassess the post-Brexit visa salary regulations, warning they are undermining the industry’s efforts to meet Labour’s housing targets.
What do architecture firms claim about post-Brexit visa changes?
Architecture companies have said after changes to immigration rules last April, they were hit hard by the removal of the profession from the shortage occupation list and the increase in the minimum salary required for obtaining a visa, which was raised from £26,000 to £45,900.
Kingsley Napley and Bates Wells two law firms representing major London architectural firms including Zaha Hadid Architects, Make Architects, and HTA Design, revealed that Ms. Cooper had not responded to their letter sent in December.
The firm is urging the Home Secretary to provide an answer, lower the salary threshold, and reinstate the profession to the shortage occupation list, now referred to as the immigration salary list.
How are new salary thresholds affecting graduate retention at HTA design, according to Caroline Dove?
Caroline Dove, a partner at HTA Design, which specialises in housing, argued that the rise in salary requirements undermines efforts to meet Labour’s goal of constructing 1.5 million new homes.
The firm has approximately 240 employees, but she stated they are unable to keep overseas graduates who come to London for training. Rather than offering full-time positions, they are now being compelled to part ways.
Ms Dove stated,
“The senior ones are not a problem at that new threshold. People come here to be trained because it’s a great place to learn. There are great schools of architecture, and we are very thorough in what people need to know to be an architect.”
She added,
“We train them in things they need to know so they’ve got the standards and the legal context to operate, and yet we can’t afford to hold on to them.”
The HTA Design partner stressed the urgent need for skilled professionals to design and execute housing projects. She highlighted that a lack of architects and landscape architects is a major problem.
Ms Dove also slammed the decision to exclude international architectural graduates, who have received British training, due to the recent increase in the salary threshold.
How did Camilla Rich react to new visa rules on recruitment?
The HR manager at Make Architects, Camilla Rich, stated that the change had a major effect on the firm’s operations.
She stated,
“It’s not just the increase in salary but also the knock-on effect it has on other visa costs, sponsoring qualifications, and ensuring fair pay across all our salary bands.”
Ms Rich mentioned that the new regulations have made it harder to hire overseas, restricting the firm’s capacity to bring in top talent, particularly for graduate positions.
How did the CEO of Zaha Hadid Architects and Marcia Longdon from Kingsley Napley respond to new visa changes?
An immigration partner at Kingsley Napley, Marcia Longdon, stated that the recent changes were significantly disrupting companies’ ability to fill roles and keep projects moving forward.
She highlighted that clients are finding the salary threshold to be unreasonably high for the sector.
Mouzhan Majidi, chief executive of Zaha Hadid Architects, whose iconic designs include the swimming pool at London’s Olympic Park and BMW’s headquarters in Leipzig, emphasised that the global success of Britain’s architecture sector relies on the recruitment of skilled architects.
Bates Wells and Kingsley Napley are also urging the government to instruct the Migration Advisory Committee to carry out an in-depth review of the industry, to gather more proof that justifies the policy shifts.
How many homes does the Labour government want to deliver?
The Labour government has pledged to construct 1.5 million houses within this parliament term to tackle the housing shortage in the UK. However, critics and the think tank Centre for Cities argue that Keir Starmer’s administration will not be able to complete its housing target.