The wider UK labour market sets the backdrop. Right now it reads as 'low hire, low fire': recruitment is weaker, redundancies have only edged up, and vacancies sit below pre-pandemic levels Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK. That caution runs through logistics and supply chain too, where employers are hiring deliberately rather than at volume.
But caution is not the whole story. There are clear demand hotspots for specialist skills, with businesses taking a measured approach while still competing hard for data and technical talent Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). Sustainability reporting is creating exactly this kind of hotspot inside supply chains: employers need people who can measure, verify and report on emissions across a network of suppliers.
The pull towards specialists shows in the vacancy data. Across the UK, the largest volume increase in vacancies recently landed in professional, scientific and technical activities, up by 5,000 in a single quarter ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025. Supply chain teams are drawing on this same pool as reporting duties grow.
Reporting turns sustainability from a policy statement into a data problem. That shift is creating demand for hybrid roles: supply chain analysts who understand carbon accounting, compliance leads who can map supplier data, and operations managers who can act on what the numbers say. Data skills sit at the centre of it.
Demand for data and AI capability is climbing fast across the economy, with AI skills demand rising nearly 200% in a year The Register (Accenture data). Supply chain employers are competing for the same analysts, so a logistics vacancy that needs carbon data modelling now sits alongside every other business chasing that skill set.
There is a second dynamic to watch: how teams build these skills. Employers are increasingly growing capability in-house rather than only buying it in. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. For supply chain leaders, that points to a mixed approach: hire experienced reporting specialists, then train operations staff to keep the data flowing.
The entry-level picture is tighter, so relying only on junior hires is risky. UK entry-level job postings have dropped by around 30% since ChatGPT's launch techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?, and in engineering, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% against -10% for senior roles GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. Supply chain teams that want long-term reporting capability need to plan how they grow it.
Start with the skill, not the job title. Reporting duties cut across roles, so define what the person actually needs to do: pull supplier emissions data, validate it, and turn it into a report an auditor accepts. That clarity helps you widen the pool beyond people who already hold a 'sustainability' title.
Second, blend hiring and training. With specialist demand high and experienced reporting talent scarce, the smartest teams pair one or two senior hires with structured development for existing staff. The rise of apprenticeships as a route into technical work shows this model is already proven at scale GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report.
Third, move quickly on the people you do want. In a low-hire market, the strongest specialists still get multiple offers, so a slow process loses them. Set your shortlist criteria up front, agree who interviews, and keep the steps between first contact and offer short. Speed and clarity are your advantage.
When you need to move fast on the right person, we help. We search a database of 15 million people and rank a shortlist for you, so you spend your time on strong matches rather than sifting. That matters most when you are hiring for scarce reporting and data skills where the best people do not stay on the market long.
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. That covers finding the right person and managing the process from first contact through to offer. If you are building a team to meet new sustainability reporting duties, tell us the skills you need and we will start matching people today.
