Recruitment firm granted licence to recruit overseas poultry workers
RE Recruitment is one of only two recruitment agencies nationally to be granted the licence, which enables organisations to recruit overseas workers without them needing to be part of the Government’s Settlement Scheme.
James Gibbs, managing director at RE Recruitment, said: “We are delighted that RE Recruitment has been selected to lead the search and recruit overseas temporary workers in the poultry industry, allowing us to support an important British industry during its busiest time of the year.
‘Sufficiently staffed’
“Our specialist team will be working with companies all over the country to ensure they are sufficiently staffed with a skilled workforce.”
The licence has been award until 2024, allowing RE Recruitment to acquire personnel from inside and outside of the EU, processing and securing temporary visas so that workers can enter the UK to begin their employment.
The Temporary Visa Scheme for poultry, to which the Government has committed 2,000 visas each year until 2024, was announced in 2021 and designed to ease the seasonal pressures on the poultry industry. Visas will be available for workers arriving from 1 November 2022, and they must leave the UK by 31 December 2022.
Stubborn labour shortages
In June, Food and Drink Federation chief executive highlighted the ‘significant’ and ‘stuborn’ labour shortages that still plague the food and drink industry, despite figures from the Office of National Statistics highlighting employment growth in the sector in the first quarter of the year.
As a result, more businesses are now looking into more advanced technologies to deal with the uncertain economic outlook and a more prevalent shortage of skilled workers.
Meanwhile, potato supplier Branston is launching a drive to find new recruits to join its prepared foods factory near Lincoln as demand for its products continues to grow.
