Recruitment agency RE Recruitment has been named one of only two agencies nationally to be granted a licence to recruit overseas poultry workers under the Seasonal Worker visa scheme.
The Seasonal Worker visa route is a new initiative which enables organisations in the poultry supply chain to recruit overseas workers without them needing to be part of the Government’s Settlement Scheme.
The licence has been awarded until 2024 following a competitive tender process.
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.
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. Our specialist team will be working with companies all over the country to ensure they are sufficiently staffed with a skilled workforce.”
Companies looking to recruit temporary workers will be able to use RE Recruitment to search for candidates to fill seasonal vacancies. The recruitment process will involve processing and securing temporary visas so that workers can enter the UK to begin their employment.
For the poultry sector, companies can use the visa to recruit seasonal workers for the role of:
- butcher
- bird or game dresser
- killer or plucker
- poulterer
- poultry processor
- poultry sticker
- trusser
- food operative
- poultry catcher or handler
- poultry vaccinator
- poultry meat packer