Staffing permit rate higher for States, IT and finance

Thursday 07 February 2019

Permits for non-locals working in the public, financial or digital sectors are more likely to be approved than any other industry, the latest Population Office statistics suggest.

Although higher numbers of applications came in for work permits in agriculture, construction and hospitality, proportionally, staffing applications from the finance and digital and the States appear to have more chance of being approved on average.

Annual Business Licence statistics for 2018 indicate that, across 12 different industries, staffing applications from the public, finance and digital sectors have higher approval rates on average – despite recruitment shortages in the agricultural and hospitality sectors.

The statistics detail the number of applications received seeking permission to employ non-local staff across the different sectors, broken down by the kind of permit that was sought.

Pictured: The statistics analyse data regarding registered and licensed work permits granted in Jersey throughout the last year (Business Licensing/Population Office).

The figures show that throughout last year: 

• the digital sector had 100% of their 42 registered and licensed applications approved;

• law and finance had an average of 94% of their 147 registered and licensed applications approved;

• the States didn’t make any registered applications, but had 95% of their 35 licensed applications approved.

This comes amid calls for more support in both the agricultural and hospitality industries to combat recruitment shortages.

Local vegetable farmer Christine Hellio previously told Express that, when it comes to recruitment policies, “there are certain needs which are not met to help the farmers. Otherwise, I don’t see where farming is going to be left.”

Pictured: Vegetable farmer Christine Hellio has previously raised concerns about the recruitment shortage facing the agricultural industry.

Concerns from the agricultural industry via the Jersey Farmers’ Union (JFU) prompted Home Affairs Minister to make an additional 130 seasonal work permits for non-European workers available to local farms this year.

These permits were initially set as being valid for seven months, but they were then extended to nine months to ensure Jersey’s daffodils could be harvested on time.

According to the Population statistics, agriculture had just 66% of their registered permit applications approved.

Pictured: The Population statistics detail successful applications across 12 different sectors in the island (Business Licensing/Population Office).

Meanwhile, representatives from the Hospitality sector have joined their farming colleagues in hitting out at policymakers for their industry’s struggles to recruit.

A bistro chef recently mounted a challenge against the States upon finding out that he wouldn’t be receiving any licenses for kitchen staff, calling for the government to support his industry which he said was “at breaking point."

The statistics show that of the 290 applications for registered licenses in the hospitality sector, only 58% were approved. The statistics also show that the hospitality sector is above and beyond the industry hit most by registered permissions being removed, with 1246 hospitality permissions revoked since 1 July 2013.

Elsewhere in the report, the nationality break-down of non-local workers in Jersey is detailed, showing that by far the highest proportion of foreign workers in Jersey are British (2427), followed by Portuguese (653) and Polish (205) workers.