Top 5 In-Demand Jobs in the UK in 2021 – UK Shortage Occupation List

When it comes to the workforce,  being in demand is always advantageous. If you are fortunate enough to work in a field where there is a high demand, you will have your pick of a variety of openings and will be able to negotiate favorable terms and pay.

Being in a shortage occupation makes it easier and faster to find suitable employment and switch between employers for migrant workers planning to come to the UK or who are already in the UK.

Here are the five most in-demand roles in the UK in 2021:

• Project Manager – According to Glassdoor, there are currently around 27,000 project management vacancies in the UK, and these are just the ones it is aware of. Part of the reason project managers are in such high demand is that they are needed in all industries.

• Software engineers – those with strong software development skills continue to be in hot demand in the UK.  Glassdoor currently has around 15,000 vacancies for software engineers.  That said, given that the average pay for software engineers is now £55,000, you won’t have much of a problem meeting the minimum salary requirement for the Skilled Worker visa.  The vacancies on offer are also spread across the country, meaning that you will have the pick of places to live in the UK.

• Operations Managers – operations managers, play a key role in keeping businesses ticking over, whether they provide services, manufacture products, or deal with shipping and transport.  Glassdoor currently has around 14,000 vacancies for operations managers of different types, including technical ops managers, head of operations, operations planners and even global operations managers.  The base salary for operations managers is around £42,500 but can easily rise to double this for senior operations directors.  Operations managers are not on the SOL, but they are one of the eligible Skilled Worker visa occupations, hence a great option for prospective migrant workers coming to the UK.

• Business analyst – IT Business Analyst are included on the shortage occupation list, requiring only 80% of the going rate of £29,280 (£14.44 per hour).  There are currently around 10,000 vacancies for Business Analyst roles across the UK and over 6,000 specifically for IT Business Analysts.

• Nurses – it will come as little surprise to most that there is a huge demand for nurses in the UK.  Nurses are listed on the healthcare-specific shortage occupation list, and as of November 2020, there were around 36,000 vacancies across the UK.  So acute is the shortage, according to NHS Digital, in the second quarter of 2020/21, nearly 10% of all full-time nursing roles in the UK were vacant.  If you have nursing qualifications, you will be in considerable demand in the UK.  In addition, as you will be able to apply for the UK’s Health and Care visa, your application will be fast-tracked, and you will not need to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge meaning you can access the NHS at no cost (this is normally £624 per person per year).

This is only a small selection of the many in-demand jobs in the UK.