Most retailers in the UK have experienced concerns over talent shortages in their sector. Thanks to the seismic shift in the retail industry towards e-commerce, driven largely by the Covid-19 pandemic, retail firms have required more high-skilled talent to fill tech roles within their operations.
As the retail and wholesale sectors adopt state-of-the-art automation, in a bid to optimise the efficiency of business models, highly skilled tech workers are increasingly important. Data-driven retailers need to lean more heavily on such professionals, as firms look to optimise overheads and operate with reduced hierarchical layers.
Recruiting these skilled workers is likely to be a global challenge for even the biggest retail giants. According to reports, internal research conducted by Amazon suggests it could run out of prospective staff to operate its US-based warehouses as soon as next year. In fact, Korn Ferry believes that by the turn of the next decade, over 85 million jobs could be unfilled due to a talent shortage, many of which span the retail sector.
How has Brexit impacted the recruitment of skilled workers for retailers?
Pre-Brexit, retail and hospitality sectors – and indeed most other industries – enjoyed free movement of people, allowing them to cast their net far and wide with relatively minimal administrative legwork required. That all changed once the UK left the European Union (EU).
Since then, retail businesses have had to familiarise themselves with a new way of recruiting top talent, especially those living overseas. UK-based retailers can still hire skilled workers, they just need to obtain a sponsor licence first. Sponsor licences are awarded to employers for a maximum four-year window, after which they must reapply for their licence.
Businesses with a sponsor licence can issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to top talent recruited from overseas to work in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa. It was recently found that the UK’s retail industry was looking much further afield than Europe to make the most of its sponsor licences. In fact, the number of high-skilled visa applications from non-EU countries to work in the UK’s retail and wholesale sector had risen 67% since the pandemic.
Retailers looking to cast their net for talent to improve their operational efficiency must be serious about their overseas recruitment. The application process for sponsor licences is stringent and maintaining said licences involves adhering to a thorough compliance framework. A framework that’s defined in accordance with the Home Office’s regime.
Are there any retail roles ineligible for workers to be sponsored?
Yes, there are several retail positions that aren’t covered by the new sponsor licence framework. That’s because they aren’t deemed necessary for a ‘skilled worker’. However, there is a general feeling within both the retail and hospitality sectors that these positions have shortages that are just as critical to their day-to-day operations.
These positions include shelf stackers, security guards, check-out operators and cashiers, as well as retail and sales assistants.
If you’d like to learn more about the growth of skilled worker visa applications from non-EU countries check out this report. You can also click here to learn more about how some tech talents believe that a degree is no longer essential when getting their feet on the retail career ladder.
