The gap is real, and it's concentrated in security. Even as fewer employers overall report trouble filling roles, the AI Labour Market Survey 2025 from Gardiner & Theobald points to the Cyber Security Skills 2024 findings, where 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy. That's a persistent shortage in exactly the discipline that protects everything else you build.
The workforce is growing, but slowly against demand. The government's Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 report puts the cyber security workforce at roughly 143,000 people, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024. Meanwhile Accenture data reported by The Register shows demand for AI skills rose nearly 200% in a year, with London accounting for 80% of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all technology vacancies in the UK.
So the picture is clear: specialist demand is racing ahead of supply. Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026 notes that against a subdued 2025 economy, businesses hired cautiously but kept spending on demand hotspots including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security. When you can't buy the skill on the open market fast enough, you build it.
Because upskilling now sits alongside recruitment as a way to fill the same gap. techUK reports that during London Tech Week 2025 the UK government announced a partnership to upskill 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030, equivalent to around 20% of the UK workforce. That's a national bet on training as a route into scarce skills, not just a nice-to-have.
The entry routes are shifting too. The DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025 shows apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025. Teams are growing talent through structured learning rather than waiting for the perfect finished profile to appear. Apply that logic to cyber security, where the shortage is sharpest, and AI training becomes a way to raise your defensive capability from the people you already have.
Think of it as a hire in disguise. When you fund AI security training for an analyst, you're adding capability the same way a new starter would, only faster and inside a person who already knows your systems. That's why the investment reads on the balance sheet like a cyber hire.
Start with the skill, not the job title. With demand for AI skills up nearly 200% in a year according to Accenture data reported by The Register, rigid role specs will screen out capable people. Define the two or three security outcomes you need, then look for adjacent skills you can grow, whether through hiring or structured training.
Widen your entry routes. Given that the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025 shows apprenticeships growing from 3% to 19% of AI hires since 2020, blend experienced hires with apprentices and internal upskilling. A mixed pipeline is more resilient when the specialist market is this tight.
When you do need to bring someone in, speed and reach matter. We search 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched people in under a minute and book an interview in under three minutes, so you can move on scarce AI and cyber skills before the market does. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai the security skills you need and we'll surface your shortlist today.
