Demand is strong and supply is tight. In 2025 there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year Make UK – Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. That shortfall sits right where automation roles cluster, on the factory floor and in the control room.
The wider engineering picture backs this up. 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). When most employers compete for the same technical people, the standards they name in job ads become a filter, and a signal of what good looks like.
Vacancy volumes confirm the pull. In August to October 2025, the largest volume increase in vacancies was in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, which rose by 5,000 ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025. Automation engineering feeds directly into that category.
Read enough open ads and a pattern appears. Employers are naming the digital and cognitive skills that automation forces. Six in ten manufacturers (59%) cited automation and half (50%) cited 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. That is why control systems, PLC programming, robotics integration and data literacy keep surfacing in the same job descriptions.
These roles also sit in wider demand for systems thinkers. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of around 193,000 workers, are among the occupations in critical demand in 2025 Occupations in demand 2025, Explore Education Statistics, GOV.UK. Automation engineers who bridge operational technology and IT are exactly the profile employers describe when they list integration standards and safety certifications.
Retention pressure sharpens the picture further. 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026 Engineering and Technology Jobs (IET) / Rise Technical. When skilled people are this mobile, the standards an employer names in an ad are also a pitch: they tell an experienced engineer whether the work is credible and current.
Start by treating the standards in your job ad as a two-way test. The frameworks and certifications you name filter applicants, but they also tell strong people how serious the role is. Be specific about the control platforms, safety standards and integration work involved, rather than listing every acronym you can think of.
Widen the entry routes, too. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report, a shift that shows employers building talent rather than only buying it. Automation teams can do the same, pairing named standards with structured on-the-job training.
Then move quickly. With 79% of technical professionals open to a move in 2026 Engineering and Technology Jobs (IET) / Rise Technical, a slow process loses the very people your standards were meant to attract. Shortlist against the named standards, contact matched people early, and keep interviews focused on demonstrable skill.
We read the standards in your role and match against a database of 15 million people, then rank a shortlist in seconds and contact matched people fast, so you reach experienced automation engineers before they move on. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. Tell us the standards your role needs, and we'll shortlist against them today.
