As the UK government unveils sweeping reforms to its immigration system under the new White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, engineering businesses across the North of England face fresh uncertainty. With a national STEM skills gap already nearing crisis levels and regional salaries often falling below national averages, the proposed restrictions on visa eligibility, salary thresholds, and English language requirements are likely to hit northern firms especially hard. Kathleen O’Donnell and Sean Pearce of Sheffield-based global immigration law firm Fragomen unpack what these changes mean in practice for employers striving to recruit and retain international talent in construction, manufacturing, and advanced engineering.

On 12 May, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the new White Paper, “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, which outlines significant changes to the UK’s regular migration framework and may significantly impact the engineering sector in the North of England. The government aims to reduce net migration, phase out low-skilled recruitment, integrate immigration policy with the UK’s industrial and skills strategies and enhance compliance. These reforms are likely to increase the burden on engineering firms, particularly smaller and medium-sized enterprises, as they try to employ suitable workers for their businesses.

Meeting these stricter requirements will undoubtedly be challenging. Recent data suggests acurrent shortfall of over 173,000 workers in the STEM sector, rising to one million by 2030. Although the North of England has seen innovation through centres such as Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the IESAM in Newcastle, the region continues to face significant skills shortages in construction and manufacturing, especially for skilled trades, engineers and technical staff. The White Paper adds to the uncertainty by promising that salary thresholds for skilled workers will need to rise, but with the average electrical engineer’s salary in Yorkshire standing at £46,500 according to Indeed and the existing going rate at £53,500, it is unclear whether regional firms will be able to afford the talent they need.

The White Paper also focuses on Skilled Workers, introducing further restrictions on roles the government classifies as ‘lower-skilled’. Employers had previously been able to recruit international candidates below RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework) level 6, but the new proposals will explicitly prevent those without at least an undergraduate degree from being sponsored as Skilled Workers —unless their roles appear on the new Immigration Shortage List (ISL), which is still under development. –The ISL will be part of an engagement programme between government and the sector, aimed at developing domestic workforce strategies in sectors with high immigration levels. This process is expected to create considerable uncertainty, as trade bodies present their case to central government regarding which jobs should be included. ; Regional leaders such as metro mayors, trade body leaders and large manufacturers will need to advocate strongly for their priorities.

The proposed reduction of the Graduate visa from two years to 18 months is another important development. Firms employing graduate engineers will need to anticipate forthcoming changes to visa status and support employees in switching to Skilled Worker visas sooner than planned. Businesses should review their use of the Graduate visa and ensure that graduate engineers’ job profiles and salaries meet Skilled Worker requirements if they intend to remain in the UK.

Finally, stricter English language requirements are likely to present a barrier for engineering graduates without UK degrees. These individuals will need to demonstrate an advanced level of English (B2). Businesses should ensure their candidates can meet this requirement at the interview stage, as failure to do so could complicate their visa applications.

Acting now will help regional employers and institutions prepare ahead of legal changes. Given the North of England’s lower median salaries and ongoing skills shortages, early planning will support applications to the Temporary Shortage list and enable more effective workforce planning based on talent availability and cost.

Kirsty Moore is a Manager and Sean Pearce an immigration paralegal at the global immigration law firm Fragomen. Visit www.fragomen.com