The UK government has extended the Seasonal Worker visa scheme for five years to tackle labour shortages in the food and agriculture sector, promoting business stability, automation investment, and domestic worker recruitment.
To alleviate the labour crisis, promote automation investments, and draw in domestic labourers for the food and agriculture industries, the UK government has decided to prolong the Seasonal Worker visa program for another five years, ending in 2029.
The government extended the Seasonal Worker Visa program to give farms and agricultural enterprises stability, recognising the vital role that migrant workers play in the food supply chain.
Details regarding allocating 43,000 visas for the horticulture industry and 2,000 for the poultry industry
for 2025 will be made public later this year.
A further 10,000 visas have been removed by the government, by industry demand, and only 2,000 remain. With an emphasis on automation to lessen dependency on migrant labour in the long run, the Seasonal Worker visa program will be extended until 2029.
Notwithstanding the temporary
extension of visas, the government is attempting to close the skills gap
between food producers and educational institutions by promoting the food and
agriculture sectors as more desirable career options for domestic workers
through industry-education collaboration and regional recruitment strategies.
Foreign people can work temporarily in some UK sectors, such as horticulture for up to six months and poultry production from October 2 to December 31st, with a Seasonal Worker visa. A job offer from a registered sponsor is a requirement for eligibility.
The Seasonal Worker route, which is
approved by current poultry and horticulture scheme operators, requires
employers who want to hire seasonal workers to be approved sponsors. Individual
firms are not permitted to apply for a sponsor license.
Employers granted a license must
fulfil all sponsor duties, including those specific to approved scheme
operators, or risk license downgrading, suspension, or revocation.
The paper that the Migration Advisory Committee is scheduled to release in 2024 might provide more information and suggestions regarding the Seasonal Worker visa pathway.
The food industry greatly benefits from the UK's extended Seasonal Worker visa policy, which fosters automation and the development of domestic workforces, provides stability for enterprises, and paves the path for a healthy agricultural economy going forward.
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