Demand for new skills is rising fast, and the hiring gap is real. In 2025 there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year according to Make UK's Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. That tells us the roles exist. The challenge is connecting the right people to them.
Employers feel the pressure keenly. Manufacturers name skills shortages (75%), recruitment (36%) and talent retention (32%) among their top barriers to growth in Barclays Corporate's analysis of the skills shortage in UK manufacturing. When three of the biggest barriers are all about people, hiring well becomes a growth strategy, not just an HR task.
The plant floor is changing, and so are the jobs on it. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cite automation and half (50%) cite wider digitalisation as trends changing their jobs and skills needs, and 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 according to Make UK's 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap report. Advanced materials and smart machines are opening routes into roles that blend hands-on know-how with digital and problem-solving skills.
There is plenty of headroom to grow. The UK ranks just 24th in global robotics density, and targeted innovation and digital investment could add £150 billion to the UK's GDP by 2035 per Make UK's Making it Smarter report. International figures back this up: the UK used only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020 as the GOV.UK Smart Machines Strategy 2035 reports the International Federation of Robotics finding. As adoption rises, so will the need for people who can install, run and maintain these systems.
Skills are the limiting factor today. Over 50% of manufacturers cite skills shortages as the main barrier to AI adoption, and only 2% say AI is widely embedded across their operations according to The Manufacturer's coverage of Make UK's AI and skills research. The opportunity is clear: the firms that build these skills first will pull ahead.
Start by hiring for adaptability, not a fixed job description. With automation reshaping tasks, the people who thrive are those who can learn new systems. That is why 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, a figure that increases for firms with more than 1,000 employees in Make UK's Executive Survey 2026. Hiring and upskilling work best together.
A few practical moves help. Write role profiles around skills and potential, not years served. Widen your search beyond the usual pool, since the people who fit a changing plant floor may come from adjacent sectors. And move quickly: when 55,000 long-term vacancies sit unfilled per Make UK's Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025, a slow process means losing good people to faster employers.
This is where we can help. Reed.ai searches a database of 15 million candidates to surface people matched to your plant roles, managing recruitment end to end so you can focus on building your team. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you are hiring for the next generation of plant careers, tell us what you need and we will start matching today.
