The backdrop is cautious but competitive. Through a subdued 2025 economy, most businesses took a careful approach to hiring, yet clear demand hotspots held up for specialist tech skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. For finance teams, that mix matters: the economic signals say slow down, but the skills signals say move now.
The pull towards AI is hard to overstate. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200 percent in a year, with London alone accounting for 80 percent of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all technology vacancies in the UK Accenture data reported by The Register. With so much of the demand concentrated in one city, and finance a big part of it, teams that wait will be competing hardest in the tightest market.
Government is trying to widen the pool. During London Tech Week 2025, the UK government announced a partnership to upskill 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030, equivalent to around 20% of the UK workforce techUK's coverage of the AI skills partnership. That is promising for the years ahead, but it does not fill a finance team's vacancy this quarter.
The shape of AI hiring is shifting, which changes who you look for. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025. That tells us employers are no longer only chasing senior specialists: they are building AI capability through earlier-career routes too, which gives finance leaders a second, often overlooked, way to secure skills.
The scale of the opportunity is wide. Across AI-related occupations, the net change ranges from roughly 696,000 jobs in an automation scenario to 1,072,000 in a technological opportunities scenario, with replacement demand rising from 3,077,000 to 3,193,000 jobs GOV.UK labour market and skills projections. Replacement demand is the quiet story here: even where roles do not grow, people leave and need replacing, so finance teams will keep hiring regardless of the headline numbers.
Seniority matters in this sector too. In financial services, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles rather than RQF 3 to 5 the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. In plain terms, that points to degree-level and above: finance teams are competing for people who combine regulatory knowledge with AI and data skills, a narrow and sought-after group.
Start by defining the skill, not the job title. AI capability sits across data analysts, risk modellers, automation leads and finance-savvy engineers, so write the role around what the person needs to do and which regulatory knowledge they need to hold. That keeps your shortlist wider and more honest.
Then move quickly and keep two routes open. With demand concentrated and senior-level roles the norm in this sector, the best people are often in process elsewhere within days. Run a fast, respectful process, and consider earlier-career and apprenticeship hires alongside senior specialists, given how much that share has grown. Building capability can be as effective as buying it in.
Finally, sell the work, not just the salary. People with AI and finance skills can choose where they go, so be specific about the problems they will solve, the data they will touch and the autonomy they will have. Clarity wins the people who have options.
This is where speed and reach count. 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. If you are planning your 2026 AI and finance hires, start now and let us build your shortlist while the market is still moving.
