!nooticers

Canine beauticians, DJs and pilates instructors are among the categories of overseas workers eligible to apply for UK skilled worker visas, an Oxford academic has found.

As the government promises a white paper later this year to slash the numbers entering the UK to work, a list of specific and in some cases unusual "middle-skilled" jobs to which foreign workers can still apply has been identified.

Analysis of Home Office data over three years to March 2024 shows that 334 visas were granted for "animal care service occupations", which include dog groomers, dog walkers, stable hands, kennel assistants and veterinary nursing assistants.

Over the same period, 167 fitness and wellbeing instructors, who include pilates and yoga teachers and lifestyle coaches, were given skilled worker visas.

Keir Starmer is launching an immigration policy drive amid a poll surge by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.

The list of occupations also includes "costume interpreters" – the people wearing period dress who greet visitors at museums and National Trust properties.

The anomalies were unearthed by Robert McNeil, a researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. "Many of these roles may well be challenging and require particular skills, but they might not be the sort of things that are front of mind for most people when they imagine roles that are critical for UK employers to recruit from overseas," he said.

He found them among more than 300 designated jobs on the "eligible occupations" skilled worker visas list, after flitting past professions usually associated with visa applicants such as nursing, care work, the civil service, the diplomatic corps and banking.

In a blog post on Tuesday, McNeil said the jobs were on the list because of changes introduced after the UK left the EU. "At the same time as ending free movement, the government reduced the skills threshold to allow middle-skilled jobs to qualify for work visas. Previously, only graduate jobs qualified in the system that applied to non-EU citizens.

"When people think about such middle-skilled jobs, roles like plumbers, bricklayers or engineering technicians spring to mind. But defining what is actually middle-skilled is not straightforward," he said. "Some of the results are surprising."

The "middle-skilled" list also includes "air travel assistants" – cabin crew and staff who check baggage at airports. In the year ending March 2024, 869 visas were issued for these roles. Cemetery managers, homeopaths and cycling instructors are also on the list.

Ministers have promised to tighten the rules around visas after repeatedly saying they want to reduce overall migration. Starmer accused the Conservative government of conducting an "open borders experiment" in November after revised official figures showed net migration to the UK hit a record 906,000 in 2023.

The white paper is expected to be published in spring as part of Starmer's plans to see off the political challenge from Reform. Among the proposals included in the document will be moves to reduce legal immigration, including by linking migration to skills and ensuring more British workers are trained to fill jobs commonly recruited from abroad.

It is also expected to take into account a Migration Advisory Committee review ordered by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to limit overseas hiring by technology and engineering companies.

But Labour is also keen to show the UK remains open to high-skilled workers by reviewing visa routes. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told a breakfast event at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people, visas particularly in the areas of AI and life sciences."

Home Office sources say that while the "eligible occupations" list is eclectic, applying for a visa is just the first step in being able to come to the UK to work. Foreign workers also need to be sponsored by an employer and most are required to be paid a minimum of £38,700. The required income drops to just less than £31,000 or lower if the applicant is under 26 or engaged in certain types of higher education.

Asked to respond to McNeil's findings, a government spokesperson said: "We are grateful for the work skilled international professionals do in the UK. However, it is clear that we must end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth. That's why, under our Plan for Change, we will publish a white paper to set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to the broken immigration system, as we aim to link our immigration, skills and visa systems to boost the domestic workforce."

Geopolitical Analysis

"We lost the 20 rangs of soft power because of Drumpf, we need them ALL", says the geopolitical experts on ARR SLASH DRAMA @nuclearshill @JimieWhales

"We don't need ANY RINGS", says @Dude

You're both wrong.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

If one ring rules them all, the lesser rings are COMPLETELY USELESS!!

They're cuck rings, they literally bind you to the One Ring.

While we're wasting our taxpayer money on the 19 cuck rings, CHINA is taking the One Ring for herself. That's geopolitical suicide.

USAID knew this, so... why are they wasting our money?

Simple.

FRAUD

Rangs of Soft Power

Here's an accounting of the 19 lesser rings we WASTED our money on:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky

1. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Musical in Ireland

2. Transgender Opera in Colombia

3. Peruvian Transgender Comic Book Series

Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

4. Electric Vehicles for Vietnam

5. Tourism Promotion in... Egypt.

6. "Condom" Purchases for Gaza

7. A Fish Farm in Afghanistan (That Was Immediately Abandoned)

8. A (Failed) Sesame Street Adaptation in Pakistan

9. A Mango Farming Initiative in Haiti (That Didn't Sell Any Mangoes )

10. DEI Advancement in Serbian Workplaces

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

11. S*x Reassignment Surgeries in Guatemala

12. A (Failed) Program to Teach Kenyan Youth How to Use Instagram to Become Influencers

13. A Reality TV Show in Afghanistan to Promote Democracy

14. Training Mongolian Yak Herders to Use Social Media

15. A Gender Studies Degree Program in Bangladesh

16. A Climate Change Board Game for Young Activists in the Philippines

17. A "Hip-Hop Dance for Empowerment" Program in Senegal

18. A Workshop on Writing Feminist Poetry in Kyrgyzstan

19. A Program to Train Ukrainian Farmers to Write Grant Applications in English

Not only did they spend millions trying to acquire 19 worthless rings, but they LOST FIVE of them. The sesame street ring, the fish farm ring, the Mango ring, and last but not least, our Kenyan Influencer ring was pawned for a Dodge Hellcat.

All this to say we only needed the one ring TO RULE THEM ALL, we only need the AIDS ring for teaching Africans not to pound sand into their foreskin. Obviously Mordor refers to Africa because it's "Where the Shadows Lie". Shadows are black, what else is black? You guessed it. BIPOCs.

I was talking to @PegMeMommy about Valentine's Day. I was telling him about how me and my siblings got our mom flowers and stuff for Valentine's Day. During the conversation he said he had never heard of kids getting their mom something for Valentine's Day, and he doesn't know anyone who does this. For me, this is the opposite: Where I'm from, everyone gets their mother something. Now both of us are wondering which is normal.

Decided to make a poll!

Do you buy your mother something Valentine's Day?

I'm a motherfricking Fenkell Ave 7 mile neighbor til the death. I fricks with neighbors as far as Joy Rd and McGraw and them neighbors. I don't frick with too many Eastside neighbors cause they're too fricking grimey. What y'all banging?

Satanic Panic 2.0 will be upon us faster than you think. pic.twitter.com/cujE1JZAmm

— Hypnotic (@RealHypnotic1) February 9, 2025

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/kingdom-come-deliverance.39433/page-250

No, we are all being played. I was there at GG1, I know how he did it. We have to stop. He’s using everyone. I said this to Endy too. Vavra is a two faced opportunist.

— Grummz (@Grummz) February 8, 2025

Interesting how videogames were super important to idiots like this until they got what THEY wanted. Now that their side is losing, they wheel out the old "Its just videogames. Why do you care so much?" argument. Every single time. https://t.co/gXbBwzbBPH

— The Critical Drinker (@TheCriticalDri2) February 9, 2025

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/kingdom-come-deliverance.39433/page-243

Libs ownership status: pwnd

has no threads abput this lol

Edit: as per note

https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1iqwbok/defense_stocks_drop_after_trump_says_pentagon/

https://old.reddit.com/r/news/comments/1iorzko/defense_stocks_drop_after_trump_says_pentagon/

He went on and on about how there was nothing canada or mexico could do to prevent the tariffs and then he rolled over in less then 48 hours. And as a canadian im not gonna forget about this anytime soon. Ill keep buying canadian.

Lol, he straight up said that the tarrifs were contingent on whether canada/mexico met his demands regarding illegal immigration/human trafficking/fentnyl which they did. Him threatening tarrifs worked and him not having to implement them is a good thing for the economy. How embarrassing tho

edit: dumb with the same illiterate sentiments

https://old.reddit.com/r/GenZ/comments/1ih85fc/did_trump_just_immediately_fold/

Coming soon! pic.twitter.com/BETCBf4s3N

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 5, 2025

pic.twitter.com/J8iDhSEewa

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) February 5, 2025

The Trump Resort, Gaza in 2030 pic.twitter.com/8ERR1Nyiz5

— Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) February 5, 2025

🫳🏼
🇵🇸
🗑️

— Hashem (@HashemAllMighty) February 5, 2025

Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/5zn6HMLSJd

— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) February 5, 2025

Think bigger pic.twitter.com/vxZJpXvxEq

— Kitty Surprise (@KittySurprise1) February 5, 2025

Confetti was needed 🎉 pic.twitter.com/H5TP1H2AIE

— Caт Вee ✡︎🪶 (@CatShoshanna) February 5, 2025

Women want to be men so bad, they envy us so deeply, they invented the idea of the “clitoris”, a mystical hidden penis that somehow nobody can find https://t.co/DBojMb1I9Y

— HowlingMutant (@Howlingmutant0) February 21, 2025

I know celebrities are hesitant to weigh in on hot button issues, so I appreciate Sheryl Crow making an argument here—not through words alone, but through her actions— that Congress should not force taxpayers to subsidize NPR.

Bravo 👏 https://t.co/ZbOLPKvSHk

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) February 15, 2025

Expect to hear "but cheap eggs tho" 1000+ times the next four years under President Pete BootEdgeEdge gets elected in 2028 after pledging to return to normalcy (again).