The technical trades that power AI and automation are stretched thin. In 2025, 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). Manufacturing tells a similar story: there were 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing in 2025, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year Make UK – Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025.
These gaps matter more now because they sit right in the path of AI adoption. 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. The technology is ready. The people who can build, run and secure it are the bottleneck.
Cyber security shows what steady investment can do. There are approximately 143,000 individuals in the UK cyber security workforce, with growth moderately accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. Demand across adjacent digital roles is just as sharp: IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of 193,000 workers, are among the occupations in critical demand, with three out of five indicators in critical demand in 2025 Occupations in demand 2025, Explore Education Statistics, GOV.UK.
The people who choose these fields are in a strong position, and they know it. 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026, according to recruitment firm Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report surveying over 500 employers and 1,000 candidates Engineering and Technology Jobs (IET) / Rise Technical. When the skilled people you need are already thinking about their next move, retention and hiring become the same problem.
There's also a worrying squeeze at the entry point. In engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a nine-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. Fewer junior roles today means fewer experienced specialists tomorrow, which deepens the shortage these fields already face.
The talent pool is largely homegrown. For the engineering profession, the vast majority of new hires come from the resident labour force, indicating low reliance on international recruitment GOV.UK - Professionals in IT and engineering. That makes the UK-based people who choose these careers the whole game, and it makes how you find and keep them decisive.
Start by taking the barriers seriously. Manufacturers' top barriers to growth are skills shortages at 75%, recruitment at 36% and talent retention at 32% Barclays Corporate – Skills shortage in UK Manufacturing. Those three are linked. Hire for potential, not just the perfect CV, and you widen the pool while easing the squeeze at entry level.
Above all, cast a wide net across the whole UK labour market rather than fishing in the same small pond as everyone else. The specialists exist. The task is reaching them before they're already committed elsewhere.
This is where we help. We search 15 million candidates to surface the engineers, technicians and security specialists who match your role, and we manage recruitment end to end so you can keep building. 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 in one of these neglected fields, tell us the role and Reed.ai will get started.
