The appetite is there, but the people are not yet. 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 the technology is moving faster than the workforce behind it, and that gap is where new roles open up.
The scale of the shortage is hard to ignore. 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. For employers rolling out pick-and-place lines, every unfilled post slows the return on that kit.
There is also plenty of runway for automation itself to grow. The UK's utilisation of industrial robots substantially lags internationally, using only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020 Smart Machines Strategy 2035 - GOV.UK. As more sites catch up, the demand for people to run that equipment climbs with it.
Automation does not simply remove jobs, it reshapes them. 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. In practice, that means more line technicians, maintenance engineers, quality roles and data-literate process improvers around each line.
Much of this hiring happens from within. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, a figure that increases for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026. So the question is often who you train and who you bring in fresh.
The wider direction of travel backs this up. Occupations in Digital, Adult Social Care, Construction and Engineering have the greatest additional employment demand between 2025 and 2030 GOV.UK - Assessment of priority skills to 2030 (Skills England). Electronics sits squarely in that digital and engineering overlap.
Start by naming the competition for talent honestly. Manufacturers' top barriers to growth are skills shortages (75%), recruitment (36%) and talent retention (32%) Barclays Corporate – Skills shortage in UK Manufacturing. If recruitment and retention are both on that list, speed and candidate experience matter as much as the job spec.
The firms that treat automation as a workforce plan, not just a capital purchase, tend to fill these roles faster. Pair every new line with a clear answer to who runs it, who maintains it and who improves it.
When you are ready to hire, we can move at the pace your lines demand. We search 15 million candidates to find the people who can run and improve your electronics operations, and we manage recruitment end to end so your team stays focused on production. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai about the roles your pick-and-place lines are opening, and we will get started.
