Industry body British Marine is calling on employers to submit evidence after the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) opened Stage 2 of its review of the UK’s new Temporary Shortage List (TSL) . Introduced earlier this year, the TSL allows businesses to sponsor overseas workers in RQF-level 3-5 roles vital to critical infrastructure—boat builders, marine engineers and electronic technicians among them—without meeting the full Skilled Worker salary thresholds.
The MAC will now scrutinise each of the 82 occupations against three tests: demonstrable long-term shortage, appropriateness of migration to address that shortage, and employer plans to train domestic labour. Only roles that pass will remain on the final list due in July 2026. Employers and trade bodies have until 2 February 2026 to submit data on vacancies, recruitment costs and productivity impacts.
For global mobility teams the review matters because the TSL provides a faster, cheaper pipeline for mid-skill talent. If an occupation is removed, sponsors could face higher salary floors and the Immigration Skills Charge, or lose sponsorship eligibility altogether. Marine employers are being urged to quantify how shortages threaten net-zero shipbuilding, defence contracts and export orders.
The review also signals a broader policy pivot: ministers have hinted the TSL could eventually replace the existing Shortage Occupation List, aligning with the industrial strategy and tightening salary discounts. Mobility programmes should track the MAC consultation and prepare workforce-planning scenarios for different list outcomes.
The MAC will now scrutinise each of the 82 occupations against three tests: demonstrable long-term shortage, appropriateness of migration to address that shortage, and employer plans to train domestic labour. Only roles that pass will remain on the final list due in July 2026. Employers and trade bodies have until 2 February 2026 to submit data on vacancies, recruitment costs and productivity impacts.
For global mobility teams the review matters because the TSL provides a faster, cheaper pipeline for mid-skill talent. If an occupation is removed, sponsors could face higher salary floors and the Immigration Skills Charge, or lose sponsorship eligibility altogether. Marine employers are being urged to quantify how shortages threaten net-zero shipbuilding, defence contracts and export orders.
The review also signals a broader policy pivot: ministers have hinted the TSL could eventually replace the existing Shortage Occupation List, aligning with the industrial strategy and tightening salary discounts. Mobility programmes should track the MAC consultation and prepare workforce-planning scenarios for different list outcomes.
