Many students, interns and professionals dream of finding an expat job in London. I remember moving to London with only one suitcase over 10 years ago, scared and lonely for my first expat experience.
If you are looking for a job in London as a foreigner, there are several ways to look for a job: online databases, the UK’s online service Find a Job, and various recruitment agencies. However, in order to get a job in the UK, it is important to get your qualifications and skills officially recognized (keep reading to find out more).
You can look for the typcal jobs in London, like finance, marketing and web opportunities, but in this article, we have compiled a list of the jobs and sectors currently in demand in the UK, to give you a better idea of the UK employments markets needs as stated by the government in their official Shortage Occupation List
2018 Shortage Occupation List - Best expat jobs in London
Engineers
There are various engineering positions in the UK, including Civil, Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical Engineers across industries like oil and gas, railway and construction.
IT Professionals
Another profession in high-demand in London is related to the IT world. The are several roles mentioned, including IT specialist managers,IT business analysts, systems designers, programmers and software development professionals.
Health Professionals
The British health system is always looking for foreign professionals to complement their medical staff. The vacant positions include: clinical radiology, emergency medicine, old age psychiatry, HPC registered diagnostic radiographer, nuclear medicine practitioner, radiotherapy physics practitioner, radiotherapy physics scientist, sonographer orthotist, prosthetist and nurses.
Dancers
Skilled classical ballet dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognised United Kingdom ballet companies (e.g. Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet) are highly requested too.
Also contemporary dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognised United Kingdom contemporary dance companies (e.g. Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre and Rambert Dance Company) are sought after for several dance companies in London and the rest of the UK.
Musicians
Finally, in the art industry, skilled orchestral musicians who are leaders, principals, sub-principals or numbered string positions, and who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK orchestras (including London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) are included in the list.
Visual effects
The following jobs in visual effects and 2D/3D computer animation for the film, television or video games sectors are desired: 2D supervisor, 3D supervisor, computer graphics supervisor, producer, production manager, technical director, and visual effects supervisor.
Chefs
In the British kitchen, there is always a huge demand for international, skilled chefs. Please note that chef's pay is at least £29,570 per year after deductions for accommodation, meals etc but the job requires five or more years relevant experience in a role of at least equivalent status to the one they are entering. The roles available are executive chef, head chef, sous chef and specialist chef.
Now that you have a better idea of the best jobs for expats in London, you need to make sure your skills are recognised.
Recognition of your skills in the UK
Before you get too excited, remember that you first need to put your professional skills and qualifications in order (i.e. officially recognised).
The best way is to get it done officially by the NARIC, the National Recognition Information Centre, the designated United Kingdom national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills. This agency performs this official function on behalf of the UK Government for a fee.
Once you've found your ideal job and translated your documents and certifications for the UK, you are ready to enter the game, making sure your CV stands out and getting ready for the interviews.
Read more about living and working in London: