The market is selective, not slow. Businesses took a cautious approach to hiring through 2025, but there were clear demand hotspots for specialist skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. Employers are spending carefully and hiring where the return is obvious.
That caution shows up in the broader data. The wider labour market is now described as 'low hire, low fire', with weaker recruitment and vacancies sitting below pre-pandemic levels the Low Pay Commission's 2025 report. Yet the professional, scientific and technical sector still saw the largest volume increase in vacancies, up by 5,000 from August to October 2025 ONS vacancies data for November 2025. Demand is concentrated, and it favours specialists.
AI is a big part of that shift. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200% in a year, with London accounting for 80% of AI-related job postings Accenture data reported by The Register. For software companies, the question is no longer whether to hire technical talent, but how to attract people who can help a product win in a crowded field.
A developer advocate sits between your product and the people who use it. They write documentation and tutorials, speak at meetups, answer questions in communities, and carry real feedback back to your engineering team. When developers trust that voice, they try the product, stick with it and recommend it. That is how adoption compounds.
The role matters more now because entry-level supply is shrinking. The UK tech sector cut graduate jobs by 46% in the past year, with a further 53% drop projected Institute of Student Employers figures reported by The Register. Adzuna has seen a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched techUK's analysis of entry-level hiring. With fewer junior developers entering the market, the people who mentor, teach and build community become far more valuable.
Employers are also rethinking how they build technical skills in-house. Apprenticeships rose from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025. A strong developer advocate supports that shift, turning documentation and onboarding into a genuine learning path for newer talent.
Start with proof, not job titles. Ask for a talk, a tutorial, an open-source contribution or a community thread they are proud of. A good advocate leaves a public trail. You want someone who can code well enough to earn respect and communicate clearly enough to teach.
Speed matters because specialist demand stays high even in a cautious market. Around 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy the AI Labour Market Survey 2025, a reminder that in-demand technical roles rarely stay open long. If your hiring process drags, the person you want accepts an offer elsewhere.
We built Reed.ai to match specialist roles like this without the wait. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds and book interviews in minutes, so you spend your time meeting the right people instead of scanning CVs. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us what your developer advocate needs to do, and we will start surfacing matches today.
