TIGA urges the Government to retain the Shortage Occupation List

By December 10, 2012 March 7th, 2018 Press Releases

TIGA, the trade associationrepresenting the UK games industry, said today that the Government should not
abolish the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). The UK games industry is set for
growth as Games Tax Relief comes into effect in April 2013. Yet scrapping the
SOL could slow business recruitment and have a negative impact upon businesses
and growth.

The SOL
enables games developers to fill vacancies for software developers (SOL 2132),
artists (SOL 3411), graphic designers (SOL 3421) and for producer and
production manager roles (SOL 3416) relatively quickly.  This is because
the SOL enables employers to look outside of the UK/EU labour markets for staff
without having to advertise within the UK/EU.

The
Government’s plan to eliminate the SOL will remove the existing fast track
recruitment process and instead force employers to advertise for 28 days in the
UK/EU market before
looking outside of these markets. Additionally, employers are required to
advertise on the Job Centre Plus website, which is not an effective route for
finding personnel to work in the games industry. This policy will have a
negative impact on some games businesses because it could slow down their
recruitment process and delay operational activities.

TIGA believes that the Government should
retain the Shortage Occupation List and software developers (Shortage Occupation Code 2132) producer and production manager roles
(Shortage Occupation Code 3416),artists
(SOL 3411), and graphic designers (SOL 3421) should be kept on the list. The Government could
also consider adding game designers and audio effects roles to
Shortage Occupation Code 2132.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“The games
industry requires a highly skilled workforce to operate effectively. TIGA
research indicates that the industry suffers from some skills shortages and so some
games studios need to recruit from outside of the European Economic Area. The
advent of Games Tax Relief – a measure which TIGA has consistently campaigned
for – will increase the demand for highly skilled development staff, as several
thousand new jobs will be created. If the Government eliminates the SOL then
some studios will take longer to fill vacancies, important business activities
could be delayed and business growth held back.

“TIGA therefore
recommends that the Government retains the SOL, keep software developer,
artists, graphic designers, producer and production roles on the SOL, and
consider adding game designers and audio effects roles to the List.

“If the Government
insists upon removing the software developer and producer and production roles
from the SOL then there should be a substantial transition period to give
studios, universities and training providers an opportunity to meet skill
needs.

“Abolishing the
SOL does nothing to help business or contribute to economic growth. The
Government should think again.”

Giselle Stuart, General Manager, Ubisoft Reflections in Newcastle, said:
“To grow a studio and compete on an international
level, it is vital that we are able to source experts, if not available in the
EEA, from overseas and build strong teams around these people.”

Notes to editors:

The Government plans to eliminate the
Shortage Occupation List (SOL) on the UK Borders Agency website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-k-shortage-occupation-list).TIGA
research has previously indicated that Games
Tax Relief should generate and safeguard 4,661 direct and indirect jobs over
five years.

About TIGA:

TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s
games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games
developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have games
publishers, outsourcing companies, technology
businesses and universities amongst our membership. Since 2010, TIGA has won 14 business awards and has been nominated a
finalist for 16 other awards.

TIGA’s
vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games
business.  We focus on three sets of activities: political representation,
generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the
competitiveness of our members.  This means that TIGA members are
effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the
media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their
businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial
opportunities.

For further information, please contact
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email: richard.wilson@tiga.org. 

Cookies

We use cookies on our site to track activity and visitor numbers - please help us by allowing us to use them on your visit.