It's tight, and the cost of the gap is clear. In 2025 there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year Make UK's Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. Employers feel it most at the hiring stage. Skills shortages (75%), recruitment (36%) and talent retention (32%) rank as manufacturers' top barriers to growth Barclays Corporate's analysis of the skills shortage in UK manufacturing.
The pressure isn't easing either. Demand for key occupations will grow by nearly 25% in the next decade, with 1.8 million new priority jobs expected by 2035 Skills England's landmark skills report. That's why so many manufacturers are stepping closer to schools and colleges now: the people they'll need in five years are in classrooms today.
Automation and digital tools are redrawing the job map. 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's 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap report. In plain terms, that means more problem-solving, data handling and adaptability alongside traditional hands-on craft.
Engineering sits right at the centre of this shift. Occupations in Digital, Adult Social Care, Construction and Engineering have the greatest additional employment demand between 2025 and 2030 Skills England's assessment of priority skills to 2030. The prize for getting it right is large: targeted innovation and digital investment could add £150 billion to the UK's GDP by 2035, with the UK currently ranked just 24th in global robotics density Make UK's Making it Smarter report.
Start by building the pipeline, not just filling the vacancy. Early links with schools and colleges, apprenticeships and work experience put your brand in front of future engineers and technicians before they choose a path. It's a long game, but it's the one that answers a 25% rise in demand for key occupations over the next decade Skills England's landmark skills report.
Next, hire for potential and plan to develop it. Many firms already do: 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, and that figure rises for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK's Executive Survey 2026. So screen for the cognitive and meta-cognitive skills that 74% of manufacturers expect to need more of by 2030 Make UK's 2030 Skills report: curiosity, adaptability and the willingness to learn new systems.
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