Automation is now the single biggest force reshaping factory jobs. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cited automation, and half (50%) cited wider digitalisation, as trends changing jobs and skills needs, according to Make UK's 2030 Skills report. That shift is pulling specialist engineers onto production lines, including the food and drink lines that run high-volume, repetitive processes well suited to robots.
There's plenty of room to grow. 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, Make UK's Making it Smarter report found. The gap is real: the UK used only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020, which the Government's Smart Machines Strategy 2035 flagged as substantially behind international peers. For employers, that lag is an opportunity, and the people who close it are robotics and automation engineers.
Demand is tilting towards higher-order thinking, not just machine minding. 74% of manufacturers expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030, Make UK's 2030 Skills report reports. On food and drink lines, that means robotics engineers who can design, program and maintain pick-and-place systems, vision inspection and end-of-line packing, plus the data and problem-solving skills to keep lines running.
Upskilling sits alongside fresh hiring. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, Make UK's Executive Survey 2026 found, and that figure rises for firms with more than 1,000 employees. So the typical team blends new robotics specialists with operators retrained for higher-value work around the machines.
The barrier isn't appetite, it's people. 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, according to a Make UK report covered by The Manufacturer. When the talent pool is tight, the firms that move quickly and define the role clearly tend to win the best engineers.
Start with the problem, not the job title. Decide which line or process you're automating first, then write the role around the outcomes: throughput, uptime, changeover speed, quality. Be specific about the systems in play, from programmable logic controllers to vision and robotics platforms, so applicants can self-select accurately.
When you're ready to hire, we search a database of 15 million candidates to surface robotics and automation engineers who match the specific line you're building. We manage recruitment end to end, from a ranked shortlist to a booked interview, so your team stays focused on production. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai about your role and we'll get started today.
