- 8
- 11
- 6
- 2
i don't want to have to imagine what you'll look like once the twink death sets in
- 12
- 33
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" β 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" β 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 Β£38,700. The required income drops to just less than Β£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."
- 19
- 16
antifa
westboro baptist church
anonymous
β¦
I feel like they used to be a pretty big deal in the 2000-2010s. And now you never hear about them anymore.
Edit
Also long time ago I heard anything about ISIS or maybe I just stopped watching the news??
- whyareyou : ableism
- 54
- 37
- 1
- 15
Dude, get some sumo guys on an NFL offensive line. Held back Micah Parsons like he wasnβt even trying. π€― pic.twitter.com/ULHNetBkfp
— MacMally π (@MacMallyMMA) February 26, 2025
- 23
- 30
!sex_havers good for him but she's going to raise tard baby
- 2
- 3
I saw the face of God,
It was a thing neverending,
My eyes forever trying to grasp,
Cast adrift, a visage too vast to hold.
/
It was a thing without angles, edges, or depth,
It was a thing from a time long before them,
It was the first time I felt grateful,
To possess a mind too feeble, to comprehend.
/
My good man, the man of science,
He was not so lucky a soul,
Somehow the ant managed to grasp,
A single crevice and hold on, for but a moment.
/
A moment I will never understand,
'cept for this, the man was changed,
I could not sense it right then,
'cept for the stars that now felt too cold to bear.
/
We walked back to the car,
And traveled down an hours long road, without break,
We couldn't even drift our eyes away no longer,
And so carried on in silence, staring at our hands.
/
We parted ways without a word,
And as I said, I was fortunate,
That I could not comprehend,
And so I went about life,
With the additional knowledge of "don't go there. Don't frick with that."
/
My good man of science on the other hand,
They say he disappeared,
and after months of searching,
There still hasn't been a trace.
/
That's not the worst that bothers me though,
It is the fact that I at times must pass through his town,
And more and more people now I see,
Prefer to stare at the ground, unwilling to recognize the stars.
/
I think he brought back some understanding with him,
And now it is in the very ground where he lived,
But thankfully I am just an average fool,
And all I need to know about the place," Don't go there. Don't frick with that."
/
Lucky me, I know a few other routes that skip the town entirely.
- 3
- 16
Personally, I'm quite willing to give some of the Aussie outback to Israel.
- TotalVatniggerDeath : he will be assassinated if he tries to cut defense budget
- 20
- 32
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/
Despite OP's claim that there are no threads about this on Reddit, there are over 17 posts using this specific link.
Helpful [27] Not Helpful [3]- 7
- 8
January 1st, 1:30am. I text her "happy new year A". She leaves it on read, then at 11pm, almost 24 hours later she replies back, "happy new year [my name] !!". I only saw it after mysteriously waking up at exactly 3am. Life felt so good for a moment there. Watched the sunrise, listened to the birds singing, etc etc. We haven't talked in a while so it was definetly a surprise for her.
I'm not texting her ever again unless she does it first which is unlikely. Though I can't help but wonder why she decided to respond and why I woke up at exactly 3 o'clock.
- BigBlackCockatiel : Looks like generic gatcha mmo trailer
- 30
- 23
!kino Ne Zha 2 might actually make over 2 billion dollars and be a strong contender against Avatar 3 later this year.
https://old.reddit.com/r/boxoffice/comments/1iqwxwa/in_china_ne_zha_2_grossed_an_incredible/