Hiring is tight and the squeeze sits where digital work lives. The Institution of Engineering and Technology found that 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). That pressure lands hardest on commissioning teams, where digital twins now sit alongside traditional plant work.
The demand is being driven by a wider shift on the shop floor. Research reports that 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. Commissioning a line is no longer only a physical job; it is a modelling and data job too.
The UK has room to grow into this. The Smart Machines Strategy notes the International Federation of Robotics reported UK utilisation of industrial robots substantially lags internationally, using only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020 Smart Machines Strategy 2035 - GOV.UK. As that figure rises, every new automated cell needs an engineer who can commission its virtual twin as well as its physical kit.
The brief is widening from wiring and start-up into simulation. A digital twin is a live virtual copy of a machine or line that engineers test against before they touch the real thing, which means commissioning now includes validating the model, running virtual tests and tuning the line once it feeds back real data. The UK ranks just 24th in global robotics density, and targeted innovation and digital investment could add £150 billion to the UK's GDP by 2035 Making it Smarter: Global Lessons for Accelerating Automation and Digital Adoption in UK Manufacturing - Make UK. Capturing that value depends on people who can bridge physical and virtual.
The people problem is the bottleneck, not the technology. Over 50% of manufacturers cite skills shortages as the main barrier to AI adoption, and only 2% say AI is widely embedded across their operations The Manufacturer / Make UK – AI, Skills and the Future of UK Manufacturing. In response, 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation Make UK Executive Survey 2026. Many commissioning engineers are being retrained into digital-twin work rather than hired fresh.
Retention makes the maths harder. Rise Technical found that 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026 Engineering and Technology Jobs (IET) / Rise Technical. And the pipeline looks thin at the bottom: 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. The people who can commission a digital twin are in short supply and open to moving.
Start by writing the brief around the mix the role really needs. Ask for the physical commissioning experience, then the modelling and data skills on top: simulation tools, PLC and controls knowledge, and the cognitive problem-solving that is expected to grow by 2030 Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap. Be clear about which of those you will train for and which you need on day one.
Speed and reach decide most of these hires. When the brief is this specific and the candidates this mobile, the slow part is finding and contacting the right few people before someone else does.
This is where we help. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you are building a commissioning team for an automated line, tell Reed.ai the brief and let's find the right person.
