Industry Insights
A practical look at the UK automation skills gap, the evidence behind it, and why hands-on PLC confidence matters for learners, employers and technical education.
UK industry needs people who can understand control systems, connect devices, work with PLCs, interpret signals and solve faults on physical equipment. The challenge is that many learners and employees do not get enough practical exposure before they are expected to deal with live automation systems.
Engineering employers increasingly need digital and automation capability, while colleges, employers and training providers are under pressure to make technical learning more practical, current and industry-relevant.
The UK has a large engineering and technology workforce, but demand remains strong. EngineeringUK reports that 6.4 million people work in engineering and technology roles in the UK, around 19% of all jobs. It also highlights that engineering and technology roles account for 25% of job adverts, meaning demand for this type of work is larger than its current share of employment.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology gives a sharper view of the digital side of the problem. Its UK engineering and technology skills statistics show that automation and cyber security are the top digital skills employers say they need for growth, both at 38%. The same evidence says 30% of engineering employers lack automation skills.
That matters because automation is no longer a specialist topic hidden away in a few advanced factories. It touches production lines, packaging machinery, water systems, logistics, food and drink, energy, maintenance, building services and process control. Even when a person is not a controls engineer, they may still need to understand what a PLC is doing, why an input is missing, why an output is not switching or why a machine has stopped.
Make UK has warned that the UK is falling behind global leaders in robotics and AI adoption. Its work with Sage argues that targeted innovation and digital investment, especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers, could add £150 billion to UK GDP by 2035. The same report points to digital skills training as one of the things holding automation adoption back.
Robot adoption gives a useful snapshot of the wider issue. International Federation of Robotics data, reported through industry analysis, places the UK around 24th globally for robot density, with roughly 104 industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers compared with a world average of 132. Different reports vary slightly depending on the reporting year, but the message is consistent: the UK is not yet using automation at the level of many comparable industrial economies.
That does not mean every business needs more robots tomorrow. It means more people need the confidence to assess, maintain, improve and integrate automated systems sensibly. Technology investment only works when the workforce can use it properly.
Modern sites need people who can support automated equipment, not just call a specialist every time a machine stops.
Young engineers develop capability faster when PLCs, HMIs, sensors and outputs are physical, visible and safe to experiment with.
Training environments need to reflect the type of industrial technology learners will actually meet in work.
When people talk about the automation skills gap, it is easy to jump straight to software. Programming matters, but industrial automation is wider than code. A real system includes wiring, power supplies, sensors, actuators, safety devices, networks, HMIs, documentation and fault-finding decisions made under pressure.
A learner may understand a ladder logic diagram on screen but still struggle when a pushbutton is wired incorrectly, a proximity sensor uses the wrong signal type, a safety relay prevents restart, or an output is healthy in software but not switching a real device. That is where hands-on experience becomes valuable.
Automation can feel abstract until learners see the full loop. Press a button. Watch an input change. See the PLC logic respond. Trigger an output. Hear a relay click. Spot the difference between a software fault and a wiring fault. That moment is where theory becomes practical understanding.
Simulation has its place. It can help explain logic flow, machine sequences and basic program structure. But simulation does not fully recreate the messy, useful details of industrial work: terminal wiring, loose connections, device setup, I/O addressing, voltage checks, safety circuits, documentation and commissioning discipline.
Learners see how PLCs, HMIs, pushbuttons, indicators, sensors and terminals connect as a complete control system.
They prove that inputs, logic and outputs behave as expected rather than only trusting what is shown on screen.
They learn to diagnose real faults, ask better questions and become more useful on actual industrial equipment.
Colleges and training providers are expected to prepare learners for modern engineering roles, but equipment budgets, space, safety requirements and staff workload can make practical automation delivery difficult. Employers then feel the gap when apprentices, electricians or maintenance engineers arrive with limited confidence around PLC-controlled systems.
Skills England projects that employment demand in priority occupations will rise strongly between 2025 and 2030, with priority occupations in major growth sectors increasing from 5.9 million to 6.7 million. Even where advanced manufacturing employment is projected to be flat overall, the report notes that productivity improvements will depend on upskilling, investment and technological advances.
That is the key point. The future is not only about creating more jobs. It is about making existing and future workers more capable with the technology already entering workplaces.
Learners need clean, safe and realistic ways to handle industrial hardware. Employers need training that builds confidence, not just awareness. Educators need equipment that is easy to deploy and valuable in real rooms.
Automation changes work, but it also increases the need for people who can install, maintain, improve and troubleshoot modern systems. Poor skills can make automation harder to adopt, not easier.
Controls engineers need deep PLC knowledge, but maintenance engineers, electricians, apprentices and production technicians all benefit from understanding inputs, outputs, machine states and basic fault-finding.
Screen-based learning can explain concepts, but practical automation capability grows when learners work with physical devices, wiring, signals and faults.
The automation skills gap is the mismatch between the practical automation capability employers need and the skills available in the workforce. It includes PLC confidence, digital manufacturing, robotics, sensors, industrial networks, fault finding and systems thinking.
It matters because UK industry is under pressure to improve productivity, adopt digital manufacturing and develop engineering capability. Evidence from engineering and manufacturing bodies shows demand for automation and digital skills is strong, while many employers report missing or hard-to-recruit skills.
Yes. PLCs sit at the centre of many industrial control systems, so practical capability with inputs, outputs, logic, wiring, HMIs and fault finding is a key part of building automation capability.
Simulation can help learners understand logic and process flow, but it cannot fully replace physical equipment practice. Practical automation also includes wiring, signal behaviour, device setup, commissioning, documentation and fault finding.
Automation skills are useful for apprentices, maintenance engineers, electricians, technicians, production engineers, controls engineers, lecturers and employers developing internal engineering capability.
They can give learners and staff more structured access to real industrial equipment, safe practice environments and practical tasks that connect software, wiring, signals and machine behaviour.
This article uses UK-focused evidence from engineering, manufacturing and government sources. External links open the original source material for readers who want to check the numbers in more detail.
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