The UK has plenty of room to automate, and that gap is shaping demand for talent. 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, according to Make UK's Making it Smarter report. Earlier benchmarking tells the same story: UK utilisation of industrial robots substantially lags internationally, using only 101 robots per 10,000 workers in 2020, as set out in the government's Smart Machines Strategy 2035.
As more operations automate, the people who design, program and maintain those systems become harder to find. 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, per The Manufacturer's coverage of Make UK research. In other words, the ambition is there. The talent to deliver it is not yet keeping pace.
Logistics and retail are no longer waiting. Sectors like retail and logistics were already actively integrating AI to improve customer insights and streamline functions such as inventory management and supply chains, according to the government's AI Adoption Research. Warehouse robotics sits at the centre of that: conveyor control, robotic picking, automated storage and retrieval, and the software that ties it together all need controls and automation engineers.
That demand competes directly with manufacturing for the same people. Six in ten (59%) manufacturers cited automation and half (50%) cited wider digitalisation as trends changing jobs and skills needs, and 74% expect demand for cognitive and meta-cognitive skills to increase by 2030, as found in Make UK's 2030 Skills report. Recruitment is already tight across the board: 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list, reports the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
And these professionals are willing to move. 79% of UK technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026, according to Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report. When controls talent is this mobile, the sector that moves fastest and treats people best wins the hire.
Start by widening where you look. If 79% of technical professionals plan to change employers in 2026, per Rise Technical's 2025/26 Insights Report, many of your best candidates are already working somewhere else and open to the right move. That means sourcing across sectors, not just within logistics, and valuing transferable controls skills from manufacturing, energy and process engineering.
Move quickly. With 76% of engineering employers struggling to recruit for key roles, as the Institution of Engineering and Technology reports, a slow process loses people to employers who respond in days. Keep interview stages tight, give clear feedback, and be specific about the systems a new hire will work on.
Then build as well as buy. 40% of manufacturers are looking to upskill their existing workforce, specifically for redeployment as a result of automation and digitalisation, with that figure rising for larger firms, according to the Make UK Executive Survey 2026. Pairing external hiring with internal development eases pressure on a shortage that every sector is drawing from at once.
Finding mobile controls and automation talent fast is exactly what we're built for. 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're hiring for warehouse robotics or wider automation roles, tell us what you need and we'll get started today.
