Demand is high and supply is tight. The latest figures show 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). That gap is the backdrop to every software hire you plan right now. If you size a role on an old job description, you compete for the same scarce profiles as everyone else.
The pressure is not only about finding people. It is about keeping the ones you have. Research found that 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026, based on a survey of over 500 employers and 1000 candidates Engineering and Technology Jobs (IET) / Rise Technical. When that many people are open to moving, the market moves fast, and a role written on last year's assumptions ages quickly.
The shape of demand is shifting by seniority. In engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a 9-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. That gap tells you something practical: the market is leaning towards proven, experienced contributors, so sizing a role as 'junior to save budget' may leave you waiting while the work stalls.
Where you look matters too. For the engineering profession, the vast majority of new hires come from the resident labour force, which points to low reliance on international recruitment GOV.UK - Professionals in IT and engineering. In plain terms, most of your software talent is already in the UK, so the real contest is clarity and speed, not reach into distant markets.
Start with the work, not the title. Write down the three or four problems this person must solve in their first quarter, then the systems, languages and decisions those problems touch. That list is your live role evidence. It tells you the real seniority, the must-have skills and the nice-to-haves, and it stops you copying a template that no longer fits the team. It also matters because 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Then test your sizing against the market before you post. If 76% of employers struggle for key roles Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a role packed with ten must-haves will likely sit open. Trim it to what the work truly needs, and you compete for a wider, more realistic pool of people who can do the job.
Once your role is sized on real evidence, we match it against a database of 15 million candidates and return a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds, so you see who fits the work rather than the title. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Ready to size your next software hire and see who matches? Try us with your next engineering role today.
