Demand for skilled people is running ahead of supply. In 2025 there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year Make UK – Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. The pressure is sharpest in technical roles: 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
The shortage is also slowing modernisation. 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 The Manufacturer / Make UK – AI, Skills and the Future of UK Manufacturing. So hiring is not just about filling a gap today. It shapes whether a plant can adopt new technology at all.
Automation is rewriting job descriptions. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cited automation and half (50%) cited wider digitalisation as trends changing jobs and skills needs, and 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap. A live maintenance role now reads like a hybrid: mechanical and electrical fundamentals, plus data, fault diagnosis and problem-solving on connected systems.
There is real headroom for that shift. 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 Making it Smarter: Global Lessons for Accelerating Automation and Digital Adoption in UK Manufacturing - Make UK. That lag is echoed in utilisation: the International Federation of Robotics reported the UK used only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020 Smart Machines Strategy 2035 - GOV.UK. As that density rises, maintenance teams become the people who keep the new machines running.
Start by hiring for the trajectory, not just today's task. With automation reshaping roles, look for people who can learn systems quickly and reason through faults, not only those who already know your exact kit. The cognitive and problem-solving skills flagged in the 2030 Skills report are a useful screen Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap.
Pair that with a plan to grow talent in-house. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, and this figure increases for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026. Combine selective external hires with internal development, write job adverts around capability and outcomes, and move quickly when the right person appears, because competition for technical skills is intense.
We search 15 million candidates to build a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched people in under a minute and book interviews in under three minutes, so you reach scarce maintenance and engineering talent fast. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Start your shortlist today with Reed.ai and see who we surface.
