The way UK employers build automation teams is shifting from pure external hiring to developing people they already have. In manufacturing, 40% of firms are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, and that figure increases for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026. That tells you something important: automation roles are increasingly being filled through structured development, not just open vacancies.
The entry route into these roles is changing too. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. When employers hire through apprenticeships and redeployment, they tend to pair the role with a professional development pathway, and for engineering-led automation work that pathway often points towards chartership.
The roles most likely to fund a chartership route sit where automation meets regulated engineering disciplines. Think controls and automation engineers, manufacturing and process engineers, robotics engineers, and systems or mechatronics engineers in larger manufacturers. These are exactly the firms most active on upskilling: the appetite to redeploy existing staff into automation work is strongest among firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026, and those firms usually have the training infrastructure to support a chartered pathway.
The growth in apprenticeship-based entry also matters here. As apprenticeships have climbed from 3% to 19% of AI hires between 2020 and 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report, more automation roles now come with a defined progression ladder. For engineering apprentices and junior automation engineers, that ladder frequently runs through incorporated and then chartered status, funded by the employer as part of retention.
Start by deciding whether you're buying skills or building them. With 40% of manufacturers looking to upskill their existing workforce for redeployment Make UK Executive Survey 2026, the best hires are often people with transferable engineering foundations who you can develop into automation specialists. Write the job around potential and pathway, not just a fixed checklist of tools.
Then make the development route visible in the role itself. Because apprenticeships now account for 19% of AI hires GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report, strong early-career talent expects a clear progression story. Spell out the chartership support, the mentoring, and the timeline. Move quickly once you find the right person: in a competitive engineering market, a slow process loses good people to employers who commit faster.
We help you find the right person for automation and engineering roles fast, searching a database of 15 million candidates and managing the process end to end. 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 with a chartership pathway, start your next role with Reed.ai today.
