SOC 2020 code 5214 · Skilled trades occupations
Whether this occupation can be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa, its going rate, the job titles filed under the code, and the licensed sponsors advertising these jobs.
Temporary Shortage List
Pipe fitters (SOC 5214) is on the Temporary Shortage List, so jobs in it can be sponsored for a new Skilled Worker visa, including switching and applying from outside the UK.
Annual salaries for a 37.5-hour week, from Appendix Skilled Occupations (updated 3 Aug 2026).
The going rate is £46,000 a year for a 37.5-hour week. For a job on the Temporary Shortage List the minimum is £33,400 or the going rate, whichever is higher: £46,000.
Sources: Appendix Skilled Occupations, Temporary Shortage List, Skilled Worker salary rules, when you can be paid less.
The ONS coding index files 15 job titles under this code. A note in brackets is the setting the title applies to: the same title can sit under another code elsewhere. The code on a certificate of sponsorship follows the job’s duties, so check them with or the employer.
We have not read an advert we could place in this code since October 2025. We read visa sponsorship adverts from Reed and Adzuna every 4 hours.
From Appendix Skilled Occupations and the Temporary Shortage List (GOV.UK), the ONS SOC 2020 coding index, and job adverts we read and match to the Home Office register. We place an advert in a code from its title, so some adverts may be in the wrong code. Whether a person can be sponsored also depends on their own circumstances. This page is information, not immigration advice. Profile built 7 Oct 2026.
Pipe fitters (SOC 5214) is on the Temporary Shortage List, so jobs in it can be sponsored for a new Skilled Worker visa, including switching and applying from outside the UK.
The going rate is £46,000 a year for a 37.5-hour week. For a job on the Temporary Shortage List the minimum is £33,400 or the going rate, whichever is higher: £46,000.
The ONS coding index files 15 job titles under 5214, including boiler pipe fitter, brine pipe man, gas distribution engineer, pipe engineer, pipe erector, pipe fitter, pipe fitter-welder, pipe layer. The employer chooses the code on the certificate of sponsorship from the job's duties, not its title.