It's harder than most sectors, and the numbers make that plain. In 2025 there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year according to Make UK's Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. These aren't short gaps between candidates. They're roles that stay open for months because the right skills are scarce.
Employers feel it across the board. Skills shortages sit at the top of manufacturers' barriers to growth at 75%, ahead of recruitment at 36% and talent retention at 32% in Barclays Corporate's analysis of the UK manufacturing skills shortage. When three in four firms name the same problem, it stops being a hiring issue and becomes a growth issue.
The pressure is sharpest in technical work. 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) reports. If you're hiring engineers today, you're competing in one of the tightest talent markets in the country.
The hardest roles sit where new technology meets a shortage of people who can run it. Technical engineering and specialist sustainability skills lead the list of roles employers can't fill the IET found in its 2025 skills research, and that gap is widening as the work itself changes.
Automation and digital change are reshaping what good looks like. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cited automation and half (50%) cited wider digitalisation as trends changing jobs and skills needs, while 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK set out in its 2030 Skills report. In plain terms: firms need people who can solve problems and adapt, not just operate a single machine.
The skills gap is now holding back the technology meant to fix productivity. 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. Without the right people, the tools stay on the shelf.
Start by widening the pool, not narrowing the spec. When 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles as the IET reports, a long wish-list of must-haves shrinks your options further. Separate the skills someone needs on day one from the skills they can learn, and write the job around the first group.
Hire for adaptability, because the roles keep moving. With 74% of manufacturers expecting demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK found, the person who can learn a new system matters more than the person who already knows your old one. Build that into your interviews and your scoring.
Move faster, too. With 55,000 long-term vacancies unfilled per Make UK's 2025 report, the best technical people rarely stay on the market for long. A slow process loses them. Shortlist quickly, give clear feedback, and keep the steps between first contact and offer to a minimum.
When skills are this scarce, reach and speed decide who you hire. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched people in under a minute and can book an interview in under three minutes, so you spend your time with the right people rather than sifting the rest. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you've a hard-to-fill role open today, tell Reed.ai what good looks like and we'll start matching.
