Data and sources

The UK engineering skills gap, in numbers

The UK engineering skills gap is the shortfall between the engineers employers want and the people with the skills to fill those roles. Every figure here names its source and date, and was last checked 22 October 2026.

The short answer

UK engineering employers report a skills shortage. 76% say they struggle to recruit for certain skills (IET, September 2025), one in four UK job adverts relates to engineering (Royal Academy of Engineering, November 2025), and 48% of skilled trades vacancies, a group that includes electricians and mechanics, were hard to fill because applicants lacked skills (Department for Education, 2025). Automation, maintenance and digital skills are all named. We do not quote a single "missing engineers" total, because published estimates differ and rest on different methods.

This page is the data behind how EDWartens UK describes itself: the UK platform for engineers.

1. The shortage in numbers

Demand is high and hiring is hard

1 in 4

of UK job adverts now relate to engineering.Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report, 5 November 2025

76%

of UK engineering employers struggle to recruit for certain skills.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 30 September 2025

1.6x

Projected employment growth in engineering occupations by 2030, compared with non-priority sectors (Skills England projections).Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report, 5 November 2025

27%

of all UK vacancies were hard to fill because applicants lacked skills, experience or qualifications (2024).Department for Education, Employer Skills Survey 2024 (full UK research report, IFF Research), November 2025 (updated June 2026)

46,000 vacancies, £4bn

About 46,000 unfilled manufacturing vacancies cost UK manufacturers about £4bn a year in lost output.Make UK and BDO, Manufacturing survey (274 companies), 15 September 2025

6.4 million

people work in engineering-related roles in the UK, nearly one-fifth of the workforce.Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report (editors' notes), 5 November 2025

2. Automation and controls

Automation is both the skill employers want and the one they lack

30%

of engineering employers say they lack automation skills.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 6 October 2025

38%

of engineering employers name automation as a top digital skill needed for growth.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 6 October 2025

145 adverts, £60,000 median

Permanent UK PLC engineer adverts in six months, with a median advertised salary of £60,000 (ITJobsWatch).ITJobsWatch, PLC Engineer jobs in the UK, Live page, read 22 October 2026 (six months to 22 October 2026)

This is the work our Professional Module trains for: Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA. See the PLC engineer salary guide for pay by experience.

3. Maintenance and skilled trades

Skilled trades vacancies are the hardest to fill

48%

of skilled trades vacancies were hard to fill because of a lack of skills, experience or qualifications: the highest of any occupation group.Department for Education, Employer Skills Survey 2024 (full UK research report, IFF Research), November 2025 (updated June 2026)

The Department for Education's Employer Skills Survey groups electricians, mechanics and similar roles as skilled trades. That is the closest national measure to maintenance and electrical engineering work. It is not a count of maintenance engineers alone, so we do not present it as one.

Our free courses and the Lab's panel, MCC and fault-finding simulators cover electrical and maintenance skills.

4. AI and digital skills

Employers expect digital skills to matter, and are not yet training for them

74% vs 39%

Employers saying advanced digital skills will be critical over the next three years, against those prioritising them for training.Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report, 5 November 2025

58% / 18%

Engineering employers using AI at all, against those using it regularly.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 6 October 2025

57% vs 46%

Employers struggling to recruit digital skills: England against Scotland.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 6 October 2025

Our self-paced AI Module teaches machine learning, computer vision and MLOps on industrial data.

5. Regions

Where the controls jobs are advertised

639 adverts; Midlands 216, North 127

Permanent UK adverts citing SCADA in six months, with the Midlands and the North of England leading the regional counts.ITJobsWatch, SCADA jobs in the UK, Live page, read 22 October 2026 (six months to 22 October 2026)

ITJobsWatch tracks IT-focused adverts, so the sample is small and regions overlap. It shows where automation and SCADA roles are advertised, not where every engineer is needed. The Midlands and the North of England have many, which is where much of UK manufacturing sits.

Search live UK jobs, filtered by region.

6. What employers say

Training has not kept up

45%

of engineering employers do not think the education system is fit for purpose.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 6 October 2025

50%

of engineering employers cite lack of time as a barrier to upskilling or reskilling their staff.Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey, 8 October 2025 (EngineeringUK's summary of the IET survey)

7. How EDWartens helps

We train engineers, then show employers the evidence

The shortage is a skills problem as much as a headcount problem, so we work on both ends.

What we do not claim

We do not guarantee a job, and we do not claim to close the gap on our own. We help individual engineers build and prove skills, and we help employers find them. A certificate from us is not a regulated qualification.

Sources

Every figure, where it came from

Last checked 22 October 2026.

One in four UK job adverts now relate to engineering.
Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report. Published: 5 November 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Skills England projections cited in the report expect engineering occupations to see one of the highest rates of employment growth by 2030, outpacing non-priority sectors by a factor of 1.6.
Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report. Published: 5 November 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
About 6.4 million people work in engineering-related roles in the UK, nearly one-fifth of the workforce.
Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report (editors' notes). Published: 5 November 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
76% of UK engineering employers say they struggle to recruit for certain skills.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 30 September 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read in the IET's press release and in EngineeringUK's summary of the survey (8 October 2025): https://www.engineeringuk.com/latest-news/news-articles/the-iet-publishes-results-of-engineering-and-technology-skills-survey/
27% of all UK vacancies were skill-shortage vacancies in 2024, down from 36% in 2022 but above the 16% to 23% range of 2011 to 2017.
Department for Education, Employer Skills Survey 2024 (full UK research report, IFF Research). Published: November 2025 (updated June 2026). Checked 22 October 2026.
Make UK and BDO report that unfilled manufacturing vacancies, about 46,000, cost the sector £4bn in lost output every year.
Make UK and BDO, Manufacturing survey (274 companies). Published: 15 September 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
30% of UK engineering employers say they lack automation skills.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 6 October 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read as reported by Electronic Specifier on 7 October 2025 (https://www.electronicspecifier.com/?p=164931) from the IET release; the IET page itself blocked automated access.
Automation is one of the top digital skills engineering employers say they need for growth, named by 38%.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 6 October 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read as reported by Electronic Specifier on 7 October 2025 (https://www.electronicspecifier.com/?p=164931).
ITJobsWatch counted 145 permanent UK PLC engineer adverts in the six months to 22 October 2026, with a median advertised salary of £60,000.
ITJobsWatch, PLC Engineer jobs in the UK. Published: Live page, read 22 October 2026 (six months to 22 October 2026). Checked 22 October 2026.
ITJobsWatch tracks IT-focused adverts, so samples are small. A guide, not a census.
48% of vacancies for skilled trades occupations were skill-shortage vacancies, the highest of any occupation group. Skilled trades in the survey include electricians and mechanics.
Department for Education, Employer Skills Survey 2024 (full UK research report, IFF Research). Published: November 2025 (updated June 2026). Checked 22 October 2026.
A skill-shortage vacancy is one that is hard to fill because applicants lack skills, experience or qualifications. 22,712 employer interviews across the UK.
74% of engineering employers say advanced digital skills will be critical over the next three years, but only 39% are prioritising them for training.
Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre, Engineers 2030 final report. Published: 5 November 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
58% of engineering employers use AI in some way, but only 18% use it regularly.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 6 October 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read as reported by Electronic Specifier on 7 October 2025 (https://www.electronicspecifier.com/?p=164931).
In England 57% of engineering employers struggle to recruit digital skills, compared with 46% in Scotland.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 6 October 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read as reported by Electronic Specifier on 7 October 2025 (https://www.electronicspecifier.com/?p=164931).
ITJobsWatch counted 639 permanent UK adverts citing SCADA in the six months to 22 October 2026 (median £55,000), of which 216 were in the Midlands and 127 in the North of England.
ITJobsWatch, SCADA jobs in the UK. Published: Live page, read 22 October 2026 (six months to 22 October 2026). Checked 22 October 2026.
Regions overlap and ITJobsWatch tracks IT-focused adverts, so treat them as a guide.
45% of engineering employers do not think the education system is fit for purpose.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 6 October 2025. Checked 22 October 2026.
Read as reported by Electronic Specifier on 7 October 2025 (https://www.electronicspecifier.com/?p=164931).
50% of engineering employers cite lack of time as a barrier to upskilling or reskilling staff.
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), 2025 UK Engineering and Technology skills survey. Published: 8 October 2025 (EngineeringUK's summary of the IET survey). Checked 22 October 2026.

Questions

About the skills gap

Is there a shortage of engineers in the UK?

Employers say so. In the IET's 2025 survey, 76% of UK engineering employers said they struggle to recruit for certain skills, and one in four UK job adverts now relates to engineering (Royal Academy of Engineering, November 2025). Estimates of the exact number of missing engineers vary, so we do not quote one.

Which engineering skills are hardest to find?

It depends on the survey. The IET found 30% of engineering employers lacking automation skills, and the Department for Education's Employer Skills Survey 2024 found 48% of skilled trades vacancies, a group that includes electricians and mechanics, were hard to fill because of a lack of skills, experience or qualifications.

Where in the UK are automation and controls jobs?

ITJobsWatch, which tracks IT-focused adverts, counted 639 permanent UK adverts citing SCADA in the six months to 22 October 2026, of which 216 were in the Midlands and 127 in the North of England. The sample is small and regions overlap, so treat it as a guide. Our job board lists live roles across the UK.

What is EDWartens doing about it?

We train engineers (Professional Module, AI Module, 190+ free courses), give them the EDWartens Lab and job simulations to practise on, let them prove their skills with verifiable certificates and a public profile, and introduce them to UK employers through a free job board and talent pool. We do not guarantee a job.

How often is this page updated?

We last checked every source on 22 October 2026. Each figure shows who published it and when. If a source changes, we update the figure or remove it.

Engineers reviewing a laptop beside an automated assembly line

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