The Home Office has confirmed a raft of trades has been added to the government’s Shortage Occupation List which temporarily eases visa restrictions in sectors where employers are struggling to fill vacancies.

The relaxed rules will now apply to:

• Bricklayers and masons
• Roofers, roof tilers and slaters
• Carpenters and joiners
• Plasterers
• Construction and building trades not elsewhere classified

Eddie Tuttle, Policy, Research and External Affairs Director at the Chartered Institute of Building, said: “We very much welcome this announcement which in our view is long overdue.

“The addition of these roles to the Shortage Occupation List is something we have called for and we’re glad the industry’s voice has been heard as the construction sector directly plays a vital role in the UK economy and is an enabler to so many others.

“While we acknowledge our industry needs to work harder to attract workers from here in the UK, there is an immediate skills shortage which must be addressed and without a good supply of skilled workers from abroad, as well as homegrown talent, projects large and small including the likes of schools, hospitals, new homes and key infrastructure simply won’t happen.”