The picture is uneven, and that's the story. Demand for specialist skills is strong while general hiring stays cautious. Across August to October 2025, the largest volume increase in vacancies came from the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, up by 5,000 according to the ONS Vacancies and jobs bulletin for November 2025. That's where a lot of technology work sits.
The sector itself is sizeable. The updated Digital and Technology definition now counts 107,082 companies, about 5.2% of all UK companies per GOV.UK Digital and Technologies sector economic statistics. Against a subdued 2025 backdrop, businesses took a careful approach to hiring, but clear demand hotspots emerged for AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security as Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook set out. So the money is moving towards specialists.
And the AI pull is dramatic. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200% in a year, with London alone accounting for 80% of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all UK technology vacancies according to Accenture data reported by The Register. When one skill set grows that fast, it takes a bigger share of every posting list.
Two trends are pulling in opposite directions. At the top, specialist and architecture-level roles are in critical demand: IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of roughly 193,000 workers, showed three of five indicators in critical demand in 2025 per the GOV.UK Occupations in Demand 2025 statistics. Cyber security remains tight too, with 70% of cyber firms reporting at least one hard-to-fill vacancy according to the AI Labour Market Survey 2025.
At the entry level, the story reverses. Adzuna recorded a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched, and graduates are facing the toughest market since 2018 as techUK reported on entry-level and graduate jobs. In technology specifically, graduate jobs fell 46% in a year with a further 53% drop projected per Institute of Student Employers figures reported by The Register. That squeeze at the bottom makes AI and specialist roles loom even larger in the mix.
There's a route back in, though. Apprenticeships have climbed from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 according to the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025. Employers are rebuilding early-career pipelines through structured, on-the-job routes rather than traditional graduate schemes.
Start by naming the skill, not the title. AI roles vary wildly, so define the specific work: model deployment, data engineering, applied research or governance. With demand hotspots concentrated in AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security as Computer Weekly noted, a precise brief helps you find the right person faster.
Second, plan for scarcity where it bites. Architecture and analyst-level roles sit in critical demand per GOV.UK Occupations in Demand 2025, so move quickly once you meet someone strong. For most engineering hiring, the resident labour force supplies the vast majority of new hires, which points to home-grown pipelines rather than long international searches according to GOV.UK's Professionals in IT and Engineering review.
Third, invest in the people you already have. Over 50% of manufacturers cite skills shortages as the main barrier to AI adoption, and only 2% say AI is widely embedded according to the Make UK report covered by The Manufacturer. That gap is a chance: reskilling can meet demand faster than a cold external search alone.
When AI roles take a bigger share of postings and specialist skills are scarce, speed and reach matter. We search a database of 15 million candidates and manage recruitment end to end, so you can focus on choosing the right person rather than chasing the process. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Ready to fill your next AI or technology role? Tell Reed.ai what you need and see your shortlist.
