UK Skilled Worker visa for construction and skilled trades

The salary rates, by trade

Why the Immigration Salary List matters more here than anywhere else

This is the part that decides whether the route works for you.

To qualify you must clear two separate tests, and the higher figure governs:

1. The general salary threshold: £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) for most applicants
2. The going rate for your occupation: the table above

Look at bricklayers. The going rate is £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). But the general threshold is £41,700. So the threshold, not the trade rate, is what actually blocks most applicants.

Being on the Immigration Salary List is what unlocks the lower threshold of £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025), which then lines up with the trade going rate. That is why six of these trades are viable and the others are considerably harder.

A bricklayer on the Immigration Salary List needs £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). A sheet metal worker, doing comparable work, needs £41,700. Same industry, £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) against £33,400, decided entirely by which list the occupation sits on.

Registration: the claim that is usually wrong

There is no licence, no register and no protected title for electricians in the UK. You do not "register as an electrician".

What exists is narrower. Certain domestic electrical work in England and Wales (replacing a consumer unit, work near a bath or shower) needs building regulations sign-off. An installer who belongs to an authorised competent person scheme can self-certify that work. An installer who does not must notify building control instead. That is a paperwork route, not a licence to practise, and it does not affect your visa.

Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own building standards systems.

Gas work is the genuine exception. Anyone working on gas appliances in domestic premises must be on the Gas Safe Register, and the requirement attaches to the business as well as the individual. This one is legally mandatory and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive.

For bricklaying, carpentry, roofing, stonemasonry, plastering, welding and vehicle mechanics: no statutory registration exists. Employers may ask for a CSCS card to get you on site, but that is an industry scheme, not law.

What sponsors look for

Trade sponsors are typically smaller firms than in healthcare or IT, and many have never sponsored anyone. A firm must hold a sponsor licence before it can employ you. Check the Home Office register of licensed sponsors before investing time in an application.

If the UK numbers do not work: the trades that Canada is actively selecting

Canada's Express Entry runs a trades category in 2026. IRCC's list names, among others, bricklayers, carpenters, roofers and shinglers, welders, sheet metal workers, plumbers, electricians and heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics. Stonemasons, plasterers and vehicle mechanics are not named in the current list. The requirement is at least 12 months of full-time experience in a listed trade within the past three years. Candidates in a category can be invited at lower scores than the general pool, and a provincial nomination adds 600 points.

For UK trades with a going rate below the general threshold and no Immigration Salary List entry, the new entrant reduced threshold can apply to people early in their career or switching from a Student or Graduate visa. It reduces the threshold, not the going rate.

Our assessment checks you against every open UK and Canadian route in about three minutes and shows your score, where you stand and the first thing that would raise it. No card needed for that. Seeing every route in full needs a plan.

See where you stand →