Government announces new visa scheme for HGV drivers and poultry workers

Over the weekend the government announced a new visa scheme for HGV drivers and poultry workers. As part of the scheme, 5,000 HGV drivers and 5,500 poultry workers will be eligible to work in the UK until Christmas Eve. The announcement followed stories from businesses across the economy facing labour shortages and the CBI’s recent media intervention calling on the government to introduce temporary access to visas for shortage roles.

As CBI members have been telling us that labour and skills shortages are widespread and affecting numerous sectors - from construction and manufacturing to retail and hospitality – the CBI will continue to call on the government to take action on shortages across the whole economy.

These include:

Temporary access to visas for shortage roles

• Immediately updating the Shortage Occupations List by accepting the Migration Advisory Committee’s September 2020 recommendations and urgently starting a new, comprehensive review
• Treat shortages in skilled HGV drivers the same as o