How Capital City Partnership and Scotland’s Migration Service helped employers understand their options for international recruitment and visa sponsorship.

Employers can face challenges finding and retaining the skilled people they need. International recruitment can help organisations access a wider talent pool, but many employers are unsure where to start or how sponsorship works in practice.

To help address this, Capital City Partnership worked with Scotland’s Migration Service to deliver a webinar for employers in Edinburgh.

Connecting employers with practical support

Capital City Partnership supports employers across Edinburgh through its employment and skills work. Its Employer Engagement Project for Ethnic Minorities (EEPEM) toolkit provides practical resources to help organisations build more inclusive, equitable and diverse workplaces.

The toolkit includes information on recruitment, retention, equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as immigration and sponsorship. This helps employers understand how international recruitment can form part of a wider approach to attracting and supporting a diverse workforce.

Working with Scotland’s Migration Service gave employers the opportunity to explore the immigration aspects in more detail.

Understanding the options available

The webinar introduced practical options for employers looking to recruit or retain international workers.

Employers were guided through three main routes:

  • recruiting someone who already has the right to work in the UK, such as a Graduate, Student or Family visa holder
  • becoming a licensed sponsor to recruit an eligible worker from overseas
  • using sponsorship to retain a valued employee whose current immigration permission is due to end

The session also covered Skilled Worker salary requirements, sponsorship duties and the steps involved in applying for a sponsor licence.

By helping employers understand these options early, the partnership aimed to make international recruitment feel clearer and more manageable.

Further support for employers

Employers can explore Capital City Partnership’s wider resources on inclusive recruitment, retention and immigration through the EEPEM Employer Engagement Toolkit (joinedupforbusiness.org).

To find out more about visa sponsorship and international recruitment, watch the webinar hosted by Capital City Partnership.

If you need advice that is specific to your organisation, you can book a free appointment with an immigration lawyer from Scotland’s Migration Service.