The UK tech market is cautious at the top and selective underneath. Through a subdued 2025, businesses held back on broad hiring but kept spending on specialist skills, with clear demand hotspots in AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. So the picture isn't a slowdown everywhere. It's a shift towards people who can do a specific, high-value job.
That split shows up in the entry-level numbers. UK tech graduate jobs fell 46% in a year, with a further 53% drop projected according to Institute of Student Employers figures reported by The Register, and entry-level postings are down 30% since ChatGPT launched as techUK notes from Adzuna data. Meanwhile the wider labour market sits in a 'low hire, low fire' pattern, with vacancies below pre-pandemic levels the Low Pay Commission's 2025 report finds. Yet demand for scarce specialisms keeps climbing: AI skills demand rose nearly 200% in a year Accenture data reported by The Register shows, and the professional, scientific and technical sector posted the largest volume rise in vacancies over August to October 2025 per ONS vacancy figures for November 2025.
Because the talent pool is small and it isn't growing fast enough. The UK cyber security workforce sits at roughly 143,000 people, with growth accelerating only moderately from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 the government's Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 report states. Set that thin supply against the demand for a person who can own an information security management system, and competition gets sharp quickly.
The shortage is felt across the sector, not just in the biggest firms. 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy the AI Labour Market Survey 2025 records, drawing on the Cyber Security Skills 2024 report. Adjacent roles are stretched too: IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, some 193,000 workers, are among the occupations in critical demand the government's Occupations in Demand 2025 data shows. An ISO 27001 lead needs to speak to all of them, so you're hiring at the busy intersection of several scarce skills.
In plain terms, this person owns the information security management system, the framework of policies and controls that ISO 27001 asks for. Day to day that means running risk assessments, keeping the Statement of Applicability current, preparing for internal and external audits, managing supplier and access risk, and building the evidence trail a certification body expects. Just as important, they translate the standard into habits the whole team can follow, so security becomes routine rather than a once-a-year scramble.
Start by writing the role around outcomes, not just certificates. Say what the first audit needs to prove, which systems carry the most risk, and who this person works with. That clarity helps you assess people on evidence: ask a candidate to walk you through a real risk assessment they've run or an audit finding they've closed. It's a faster read of capability than a keyword-matched CV.
Widen your route in, too. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 the government's AI Labour Market Survey 2025 reports, a reminder that grown-your-own routes now do real work in this sector. Lean on the domestic pool where you can: for IT and engineering professionals, the vast majority of new hires come from the resident labour force the government's Professionals in IT and Engineering review notes. And move at pace. In a market where specialist people field several conversations at once, a slow, unclear process loses you the person you liked most.
We built our AI recruitment agent for exactly this kind of scarce, specialist hire. We search 15 million candidates to find the security lead who fits your controls and your team, then handle the recruitment end to end so you can keep the business moving. 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 hiring an ISO 27001 security lead, tell us what the role needs to own and let us bring you a shortlist to meet.
