- An independent report reveals the scale of technical skills shortages in the UK’s Digital and Technologies sector
- Barriers to entry and progression and misalignment between educational pathways and industry needs are the biggest challenges influencing the technical skills gap
- Developing alternative technical career pathways, enhanced data reporting and greater collaboration between universities, Centres for Doctoral Training, and industry are cited as potential solutions
- The UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy is establishing a Frontier Industries Skills Coalition to translate the recommendations into practical actions
The Technical Skills Landscape in the Digital and Technologies sector report projects that up to 120,000 extra technical professionals may be needed by 2035 to match growth in the UK’s Digital and Technologies sector.
New insights reveal ‘widespread’ and ‘persistent’ technical skills shortages in the Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, Engineering Biology, Quantum Technologies, and Semiconductor industries.
These six frontier industries are part of the Government’s Digital and Technologies Industrial Strategy 8 (IS-8) sector and fundamental to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
Published by Frontier Economics and commissioned by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS), the report highlights some key strengths but warns of intensifying cumulative shortfalls by 2035.
Barriers to entering and progressing in the sector and misalignment between educational pathways and industry needs are cited as the biggest challenges.
Workforce insights from the report include:
- The AI, Cyber Security, and Semiconductors industries face the most acute shortages, with a projected cumulative shortfall of up to 79,000 technical professionals by 2035 in the UK.
- Significant diversity and inclusion challenges persist. On average, men hold around 78% of roles relevant to these six industries. Where data exists, persistent under-representation of ethnic minorities and disabled people is reported.
- Demographic imbalances risk compounding future shortages – for example, 40% of the UK Semiconductors workforce is expected to retire within 15 years.
The report makes several recommendations to improve technical workforce diversity, secure the future talent pipeline through alternative career pathways, and increase collaboration and alignment between universities and industry.
High-impact solutions include:
- Standardising data collection across industries to unlock detailed workforce analysis to help improve workforce diversity and enhance future skills forecasting.
- Investigate alternative technical career pathways such as apprenticeships, T Levels and V Levels, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy.
- Align university curricula with industry needs and increase collaboration between universities, Centres for Doctoral Training and industry.
A new Frontier Industries Skills Coalition is now being established by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy. It will convene partners across government, industry, universities and research institutes to translate the recommendations into practical actions.
Activities will include strengthening collaboration between education and industry, improving the visibility of technical careers and supporting the alignment of workforce development activity across the UK’s frontier industries.
Dr Kelly Vere MBE, Director for the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy said the report identified valuable insights for the sector. She said:
“The report highlights a critical and growing technical skills challenge across the UK’s Digital and Technologies sector – and it is one we must address collectively.
“The findings show the scale of workforce demand across the six frontier industries that underpin innovation, research and economic growth. They also highlight structural issues, including fragmented workforce data, persistent diversity challenges and insufficient visibility of technical career routes.
“The recommendations provide a clear direction for action. The priority now is bringing the right partners together to turn these insights into practical change. As the organisation that commissioned this work, the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS) will work with government, industry, universities and research organisations to convene a cross-sector coalition and support a coordinated response, helping to align activity, share effective practice and ensure the technical workforce is central to future skills planning.
“This is not a challenge any one organisation can solve alone. It will require collaboration across the system to build, support and sustain the technical workforce needed for the UK’s frontier industries.”
Thomas Badger, Principal at Frontier Economics added:
“The UK has real strengths across the Digital and Technology frontier industries, but persistent shortages in technical skills risk becoming a brake on their continued growth.
“While government has elevated skills to the top of the policy agenda, our research shows there are still important gaps in the evidence about where shortages are most acute and how best to respond.
“We hope the evidence and insights presented here will help inform ongoing decisions by both policymakers and industry leaders and contribute to a continued evidence-based approach to skills policy.”
Professor Mark Jefferies, Head of Research Partnerships at Rolls-Royce, said:
“A diverse and highly-skilled technical talent pool is essential for Rolls-Royce. This report underlines the urgent need for deeper collaboration between industry, universities, and Centres for Doctoral Training to ensure graduates are truly job-ready to meet the demands of the Digital and Technologies sector. I welcome this new coalition, spearheaded by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy, as a vital step in closing the national skills gap.”
The report was published by Frontier Economics and commissioned by the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy.
ENDS
Download the report (pdf): Technical Skills Landscape in the Digital and Technologies sector
Download policy recommendations (pdf): Technical Skills Landscape in the Digital and Technologies Sector Policy Recommendations
Estimated cumulative shortfall in technical professionals to 2035 in industry:
| Frontier industry | 2025 | 2030 | 2035 |
| ACT | 0 – 100 | 100 – 700 | 300 – 1,500 |
| AI | 600 | 3,500 – 7,900 | 6,600 – 38,700 |
| Cyber security | 600 – 1,000 | 3,700 – 8,400 | 6,900 – 21,000 |
| Engineering biology | 300 – 600 | 2,000 – 5,800 | 3,700 – 17,000 |
| Quantum technologies | 200 – 500 | 1,000 – 5,500 | 1,900 – 20,700 |
| Semiconductors | 400 – 900 | 2,700 – 7,400 | 5,000 – 18,900 |