What does engineering hiring look like in the UK right now?

It's tight, and sustainability sits at the heart of the squeeze. According to the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in 2025, 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list. That tells us something important: the growth opportunity in sustainability reporting software is real, but the people who build and run it are hard to find.

For engineering firms, sustainability reporting software is no longer a back-office tool. It's how you prove emissions data to clients, satisfy procurement teams and keep bidding for the contracts that drive revenue. The question isn't whether to invest. It's whether you can staff it fast enough to turn the investment into growth.

Which roles and skills are driving this shift?

The roles sit where engineering meets data and reporting. Think sustainability engineers who understand carbon accounting, software developers who build and integrate reporting platforms, data analysts who turn raw readings into audit-ready numbers, and ESG specialists who map it all to regulation.

These are exactly the hybrid skills in shortest supply. The same IET research from 2025 found 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills at the top of the list. When one person needs both deep engineering knowledge and data fluency, the pool shrinks fast, and the firms that move quickly tend to win.

How can engineering firms hire well for these roles?

Start by defining the real problem, not the job title. A firm that needs cleaner emissions reporting might need a data analyst with engineering context, not a second full-stack developer. Write the brief around outcomes: what the person must deliver in their first six months.

• Prioritise transferable skills: someone from environmental consulting or industrial data can learn your stack faster than you expect.
• Widen the net beyond obvious job titles, because the best sustainability-software talent often sits in adjacent sectors.
• Move quickly on strong matches, since specialist candidates in short supply rarely stay on the market for long.
• Be clear about purpose: engineers drawn to sustainability work want to see the impact of what they build.

Speed and clarity matter most. When the skills are scarce, a slow, vague process loses people to firms that respond in days, not weeks.

How do we help you fill these roles?

This is where we come in. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people with the engineering, data and sustainability skills these roles demand, then rank a shortlist for you to review. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. Tell us the role you're building for, and we'll start the search today.

Sources

• Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)