Vertical farming sits inside a wider shift in how the UK makes and grows things. The demand for automation and digital skills shows up clearly in manufacturing, the sector vertical farms most resemble. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cited automation and half (50%) cited wider digitalisation as trends changing their jobs and skills needs, while 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK's 2030 Skills: Closing the Gap report.
The gap is already biting. Over 50% of manufacturers cite skills shortages as the main barrier to AI adoption, and only 2% say AI is widely embedded across their operations a 2026 Make UK report on AI, skills and the future of UK manufacturing. For vertical farms running sensors, climate control and robotics, that shortage lands on the same roles they need most.
There's real upside in closing it. The UK ranks just 24th in global robotics density, and targeted innovation and digital investment could add £150 billion to the UK's GDP by 2035 Make UK's Making it Smarter report. Vertical farming is one of the places that investment is turning into controls and automation jobs now.
A vertical farm is a controlled environment: lighting, nutrients, temperature and humidity are all managed by software and hardware. So the briefs read like advanced manufacturing briefs. Think controls engineers, automation technicians, PLC and SCADA specialists, data analysts and people who can keep digital systems running reliably.
These are the cognitive and digital skills the data points to. With 74% of manufacturers expecting demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030 Make UK's 2030 Skills report, vertical farms are competing for the same talent as factories, logistics and energy.
It isn't only new hires. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, and that figure increases for firms with more than 1,000 employees the Make UK Executive Survey 2026. Growers can move people into monitoring and controls roles rather than hiring every skill from scratch.
Start with the system, not the job title. Write the brief around the outcome, keeping a climate-controlled grow environment stable and productive, then list the controls, data and automation skills that deliver it. This helps you reach people from adjacent sectors who have the same core abilities.
Widen the pool on purpose. The same AI and automation skills that run a vertical farm already run retail and logistics operations, where sectors were already actively integrating AI to improve customer insights and streamline functions such as inventory management and supply chains GOV.UK's AI adoption research. Someone who has managed supply-chain automation can often learn your grow systems fast.
We search a database of 15 million candidates to match the controls, automation and data skills your vertical farm needs, and we manage the process end to end. 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 and let's build your shortlist.
