The wider UK labour market is subdued. The Low Pay Commission describes it as 'low hire, low fire', with weaker recruitment, only slight increases in redundancies, and vacancies sitting below pre-pandemic levels Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK. That caution shapes how automation teams plan their headcount today.
Engineering feels this at the junior end especially. Entry-level hiring in engineering has fallen to -19%, against -10% for senior roles, a nine-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. So the pipeline of new HMI and controls talent is thinner than it was, which pushes pressure onto experienced hires.
There are bright spots. The largest volume increase in UK vacancies over August to October 2025 was in professional, scientific and technical activities, up by 5,000 ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025. Demand for specialist tech skills, including AI and data, remains a hotspot even in a cautious year Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). HMI development sits right where automation meets that specialist software demand.
An HMI developer builds the human-machine interface: the screens and controls where operators actually run a line. It's the point where operators meet the machine, so the job needs both software craft and shop-floor empathy. That mix is rare, and the supply side is tightening.
For engineering roles, the vast majority of new hires come from the resident UK labour force, showing low reliance on international recruitment GOV.UK - Professionals in IT and engineering. In plain terms, you're fishing in a domestic pool, so a slow or unclear process loses people quickly.
The junior pipeline that would normally refill this pool is under strain across tech. UK tech graduate jobs were cut by 46% in a year, with a further 53% drop projected The Register. Adzuna has recorded a 30% drop in UK entry-level postings since ChatGPT launched techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. One route back in is apprenticeships, which rose from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report, a model automation teams can borrow to grow their own HMI talent.
Start with a clear role definition. Separate the software skills (SCADA platforms, PLC integration, scripting) from the human ones (watching how operators work, designing screens that reduce errors under pressure). Ask for evidence of both. Someone who can talk about an alarm layout they simplified tells you more than a list of platforms.
Move quickly. In a domestic talent pool where good people get few offers but strong ones, speed to first contact matters. Book interviews promptly, keep your assessment practical, and give feedback fast. A tidy, respectful process is a genuine advantage when recruitment overall is soft Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK.
Build your own supply too. With entry-level engineering down GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK, apprenticeships and internal moves from controls or operations into HMI development are a realistic long-term answer, not just a nice-to-have. Grow the empathy in-house and teach the tooling.
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