Closed call for evidence

Guidance for representative bodies

Updated 5 November 2025

Background information

This call for evidence (CfE) is a key component in stage 2 of our review for the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) where we will make recommendations for the occupations to be included on the list.

As outlined in the commissioning letter, for occupations to be placed onto the TSL, there must be a proper workforce strategy (henceforth referred to as ‘jobs plans’) in place which aims to maximise the use of the UK workforce and includes agreed training plans with skills organisations. This evidence will be collected through government sector leads responses to the CfE.

This strand of the CfE is for representative bodies who wish to provide evidence supplementary to the jobs plans.

Complementing jobs plans

We ask that the evidence you provide in your submission is supplementary to that within the relevant jobs plan. You may already be speaking to the relevant teams in government, but if you would like to submit further evidence, please contact the representative listed within the occupation mapping document on the CfE page of our website.

We would encourage anybody wishing to engage to support jobs plans to do so as early as possible to give sector teams time to absorb the information into the plans.

The call for evidence process

CfE responses can be submitted through our online survey platform Qualtrics.

The CfE will begin with a series of questions about your organisation. This will then be followed by a series of questions for each occupation you wish to submit evidence for before the closing questions about your submission.  

Evidence should only be submitted on occupations that were identified during stage 1 of our review as being potentially crucial to the delivery of the Industrial Strategy or building critical infrastructure. For full background on the occupations proceeding to stage 2 please see our stage 1 report. We will not consider evidence submitted on other occupations nor any submissions relating to occupations at RQF1-2 or RQF6+.

The first 2 main questions within the occupational summary section have a word limit of approximately 750 words, with the final question on action having a limit of around 1,000 words.

We are not able to accept attachments to submissions, though hyperlinks can be included. We recognise this may pose challenges for respondents, but these measures are necessary due to resource constraints.

Submitting information on occupations

You will need to complete a series of questions for each occupation you wish to be considered for the TSL.

The information you provide should focus on the key issues for the occupation, and be specific with examples backed by data. Where you rely on data, please provide details on what this is based on, for example the methodology and the sample used.

Section A: occupation

Please select the appropriate SOC code from the drop down. For ‘NEC’ (not elsewhere classified) occupations please also state the relevant job titles which fit within that SOC code.

If you are unclear where a job title sits within the SOC framework, please use the Cascot SOC 2020 identifier and enter the name of the job you want to find an occupation code for in the text box at the top of the page.

Section B: shortage and drivers

This section relates to the current and recent shortage, the drivers behind this, and relevant background information to the role. Key considerations for this could include:

• background information
  • the main responsibilities and activities for this role
  • the role this occupation plays within the sector
  • the specific qualifications or experience needed for this role
  • how long it takes to get the relevant qualifications or experience, and any other stocks of workers that have transferable skills relevant to this role
• evidence of shortage
  • how long the occupation has been in shortage
  • any regional/national patterns to the shortage across the UK, and if so, where they are
  • the scale of the current unmet demand for the occupation
  • the concentration of the shortages relative to levels of employment, and any data and sources that supports this
• drivers of shortage
  • why the occupations are hard to fill and the barriers to recruitment or retention
  • any barriers within the educational system
  • any factors specific to the occupation such as the nature of the occupation, pay, conditions or location

Section C: the future

This section relates to recent employment trends and what future employment might look like for this occupation over the next 5 to 10 years.

Key considerations for this could include:

• demand, supply and shortage estimates
• if using any different or additional data sources, a clear methodology and explanation of how it deviates from the recommended benchmarks such as Skills England data
• what is driving the “demand” or “need”, i.e. is the stated demand to maintain the current size of the occupation (replacement demand) and/or to meet a certain level of growth in the occupation or sector
• how this might vary at a regional or devolved nation level
• key policies or government commitments that are affecting the demand and supply of workers
• any seasonality to this supply

Section D: actions

This section relates to the actions that have been, or are being taken, to address any shortfall.

Clearly linking actions to the relevant SOC code will help signal the commitment to increasing recruitment from the domestic workforce. Where this is possible, we suggest splitting this out into a bullet point list to highlight what the action is, the intended impact and the relevant timeframe.

Key considerations for this could include:

• previous actions
  • linking to specific barriers, the actions the sector has already taken (or has in progress) to overcome difficulties in filling hard to fill vacancies
  • the actions that the sector has taken to train new domestic workers
  • how employers have been involved in the development of training for the sector
  • the impacts existing strategies have had and the evidence for this
• new actions
  • new actions planned to address the shortages, and how these actions differ from previous actions taken to address shortage
  • how the intended impacts of these actions will be ensured and measured
  • the anticipated timeline for these actions
  • key milestones, for example the dates when new funding will be spent, when new courses will start to enrol students, when increased volumes of students will start courses, when increased volumes of students will enter the workforce
  • who is responsible for realising impact of each initiative
  • relevant devolved nation or region-specific initiatives
• final considerations
  • the impact, if any, of the occupation not being on the Temporary Shortage List
  • why migration should be the response to this shortage
  • how the risk of exploitation of both domestic and migrant workers in the sector will be managed