Demand is strong, but supply is tight. 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. The pressure is felt at board level too: manufacturers name skills shortages (75%), recruitment (36%) and talent retention (32%) as their top barriers to growth Barclays Corporate – Skills shortage in UK Manufacturing.
Engineering-heavy sectors like sustainable aviation fuel sit right in the middle of this. Some 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). New plants need people faster than the current pipeline can supply them.
Sustainable aviation fuel production is process manufacturing at its core, so the roles look familiar to anyone from refining, chemicals or biofuels: process engineers, plant and process operators, control-room technicians, maintenance and instrumentation engineers, and quality and compliance specialists. What sets these roles apart is the sustainability layer, and that is precisely where the shortage bites, with technical and specialist sustainability skills named as the hardest to recruit for Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
The work itself is changing as fast as the fuel. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cite automation and half (50%) cite 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 process operators who can read data, solve problems and work alongside automated systems, not just run a fixed sequence.
Employers are already responding by growing their own talent. Some 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, a figure that rises for firms with more than 1,000 employees Make UK Executive Survey 2026. For a new sustainable aviation fuel site, that is a chance to move experienced process people across from adjacent sectors.
Start with the skills you can teach and the ones you cannot. With 76% of engineering employers struggling to recruit for key roles Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), holding out for a perfect match on every requirement is rarely realistic. Look for strong process fundamentals and problem-solving, then build the sustainability specialism through training and redeployment, which is already how 40% of manufacturers are approaching automation change Make UK Executive Survey 2026.
Widen the pool beyond your own sector. Process operators and maintenance engineers from refining, chemicals, food and energy often transfer well. Then move quickly. When recruitment (36%) and retention (32%) are named among the top barriers to growth Barclays Corporate – Skills shortage in UK Manufacturing, a slow process loses you the people you most want, and a clear, fast, well-communicated hiring journey becomes a genuine advantage.
Finally, plan for the skills of 2030 now. With 74% of manufacturers expecting demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK – 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap, hire for how someone thinks and adapts, not only what they operate today.
Finding the right process and engineering people is the hard part, and that is where we help. We search a database of 15 million candidates and shortlist the ones who match your role, so you can reach experienced process operators and engineers across manufacturing quickly. 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. Ready to hire for your next process role? Tell us what you need and start today.
