From no licence to first hire: a software company's first sponsored employee

A construction-technology firm had never sponsored anyone. It needed an account executive who required sponsorship. The licence came first, then the hire, on a single continuous instruction.

At a glance

• Client: Software company serving construction and infrastructure, around 150 staff
• Worker: Account executive
• Matter: Sponsorship certificate assignment and Skilled Worker application
• Context: Follows the same firm's sponsor licence application, which was approved
• Instructed: 7 September 2026

How they found us

The employer first came to us in July 2026 for its sponsor licence. It instructed us for this hire 52 days later.

The challenge

• The company held no sponsor licence at the outset, so the hire was impossible until that was resolved.
• Once the licence was approved, the company had to move immediately from holding a licence to using it correctly for the first time.
• The client wanted to proceed as fast as possible, with priority service.
• First-time sponsors have no internal experience of assignment, reporting or record-keeping to fall back on.

What we did

• Delivered the licence first, then the hire. The two stages were run as connected instructions rather than as separate transactions.
• Analysed the role and coded it. The account executive role mapped to the occupation code for sales accounts and business development managers.
• Confirmed the salary position. The role sat comfortably above the relevant thresholds, which removed the most common point of failure.
• Handled the employer side as well as the worker. The employer was covering the costs and was new to sponsorship, so the advice covered its obligations, not just the application.

Why it matters

For a company hiring internationally for the first time, the licence is not the finish line. The first sponsorship is where the duties become real: assignment, reporting, record-keeping, and the obligation to notice when something changes. Getting the first one right sets the pattern for every hire after it.