The entry-level picture has shifted fast. Adzuna data shows a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched, with graduates facing the toughest job market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. In tech specifically, the UK cut graduate jobs by 46% in the past year, with a further 53% drop projected, according to figures from the Institute of Student Employers The Register.
Yet the demand for new talent hasn't disappeared. It's moving into apprenticeships. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. In other words, as the graduate front door narrows, the apprentice route is widening to feed the teams building automation.
Automation is reshaping where skills are needed. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cite automation and half (50%) cite wider digitalisation as trends changing jobs and skills needs, and 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap. These are the problem-solving, judgement and learning skills that apprentices build on the job.
The gap is visible in the numbers. In engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a 9-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. That gap is exactly where apprenticeships come in: a way to grow junior capability when it's scarcer in the open market. Alongside hiring, firms are retraining existing people. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, a figure that rises for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026.
Start by hiring for capacity to learn, not just a finished skill set. With demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills set to grow by 2030 Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap, the people who adapt fastest matter more than the people who already know one tool. Build a pipeline that mixes apprentices with experienced hires so you're training the next generation while you deliver today.
We help you find the right people to build and run automation teams, from apprentice-level talent to experienced engineers. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds, and manage the process end to end so you can move fast without losing quality. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you're building an automation team this year, start your search with Reed.ai today.
