Hiring in manufacturing is tight, and controls roles sit right at the pressure point. The latest figures show 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's 2025 skills research. That scarcity is only part of the story. Churn is high too: 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026 Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report, covering over 500 employers and 1,000 candidates.
Demand is set to climb as the sector automates. The UK could add £150 billion to GDP by 2035 through targeted innovation and digital investment, yet it ranks just 24th in global robotics density today Make UK's Making it Smarter report. The gap is real: the UK used only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020, substantially behind international peers the government's Smart Machines Strategy 2035, citing the International Federation of Robotics. Closing that gap means hiring and keeping people who can design, commission and maintain automated systems.
When integrators merge, the work doesn't disappear, it concentrates and broadens. Engineers who once specialised in one PLC brand or one panel-build task now span programming, networking, data and commissioning across larger, more complex projects. The skills mix is shifting fast. Six in ten manufacturers (59%) cite automation and half (50%) cite wider digitalisation as the trends changing jobs and skills needs, and 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK's 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap report.
Consolidation also raises the bar on retention. With four in five technical professionals open to moving, employers who can't offer growth lose people to those who can Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report. That's pushing larger firms to build from within: 40% of manufacturers plan to upskill their existing workforce specifically for redeployment as automation and digitalisation take hold, a figure that rises among firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK's Executive Survey 2026. The controls career path is widening, and the people who ride it combine hands-on engineering with software and problem-solving.
Start by hiring for the path, not just the panel. Because 74% of manufacturers expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to rise by 2030, weight your assessment towards problem-solving, systems thinking and adaptability alongside the obvious PLC and SCADA experience Make UK's 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap report. Someone who can learn a new platform quickly is often worth more than one who knows only the brand you run today.
Move quickly and offer a clear route to grow. With 79% of technical professionals planning to change employers in 2026, strong people are in play and slow processes lose them Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report. Pair that speed with an internal development plan: the 40% of manufacturers investing in upskilling for redeployment show that growth and retention go together Make UK's Executive Survey 2026. Spell out training, project variety and progression in the first conversation, not the leaving interview.
When controls roles are hard to fill and good people move fast, you need reach and speed. We search a database of 15 million candidates and manage recruitment end to end, from a ranked shortlist to a booked interview, so your team can focus on the work rather than the admin. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you're building a controls team for an automated future, start a role with Reed.ai today.
