Skills Shortages in 2026: Which Roles Are Hardest to Fill Right Now?

Skills shortages continue to be one of the biggest recruitment challenges facing employers in 2026. Across multiple sectors, businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to attract and secure the talent they need to support growth, maintain productivity, and deliver exceptional customer service.

While recruitment challenges are not new, the landscape continues to evolve. Changes in candidate expectations, an ageing workforce, skills gaps, and increased competition for experienced professionals have all contributed to ongoing hiring difficulties.

So, where are the biggest skills shortages right now, and what can employers do to overcome them?

A skills shortage occurs when there are more vacancies than suitably qualified candidates available to fill them.

In practical terms, this means employers are competing for a smaller pool of talent while candidates often have more choice than ever before.

The result is longer hiring processes, increased salary pressures, and greater difficulty securing experienced professionals.

For businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and the wider South East, understanding current skills shortages is becoming increasingly important when developing recruitment strategies.

Many professional services businesses continue to experience challenges recruiting experienced professionals.

Commonly affected roles include:

• HR professionals
• Finance and accounting specialists
• Payroll professionals
• Office managers
• Executive assistants
• Business support professionals

As organisations continue to focus on efficiency, compliance, and business growth, demand for experienced support professionals remains high.

At the same time, many candidates are being increasingly selective about the opportunities they pursue, making attraction and retention equally important.

Engineering remains one of the most candidate-short sectors in the UK.

Businesses regularly report difficulties recruiting:

• Mechanical engineers
• Electrical engineers
• Design engineers
• Maintenance engineers
• Project engineers
• Technical specialists

A combination of retiring professionals and insufficient numbers entering the profession has contributed to an ongoing shortage of experienced technical talent.

As a result, competition for qualified candidates remains intense.

Finance recruitment continues to be particularly competitive.

Demand remains strong for:

• Management accountants
• Financial controllers
• Finance managers
• Payroll specialists
• Credit control professionals
• Qualified accountants

Many businesses are investing heavily in financial planning, reporting, and commercial decision-making, increasing the demand for experienced finance professionals.

Candidates with strong technical skills and commercial awareness are often securing multiple opportunities simultaneously.

While often overlooked, business support roles remain critical to organisational success.

Many employers continue to face challenges recruiting:

• Customer service advisors
• Administrators
• Coordinators
• Office support professionals
• Receptionists
• Data and compliance specialists

Strong communication skills, organisation, and adaptability remain highly sought after, particularly as businesses continue to evolve their operational structures.

Leadership recruitment has become increasingly challenging.

Employers are not simply looking for technical competence. They are seeking leaders who can:

• Inspire teams
• Drive performance
• Manage change
• Build culture
• Support employee wellbeing

Strong managers and leaders are often difficult to attract because they are typically already employed and not actively searching for new opportunities.

This means employers must work harder to engage passive candidates and present compelling opportunities.

Several factors are contributing to ongoing skills shortages across the UK recruitment market.

Changing Candidate Priorities: Salary remains important, but candidates are increasingly evaluating:

• Flexible working arrangements
• Career progression
• Learning and development opportunities
• Company culture
• Work-life balance

Employers who fail to address these factors often struggle to attract talent.

An Ageing Workforce: Many industries are seeing experienced professionals retire faster than they can be replaced. This is particularly evident within technical, engineering, and specialist professional sectors.

Increased Competition for Talent: The strongest candidates are often receiving multiple approaches from employers and recruiters. As a result, businesses need to move quickly and present competitive opportunities to secure talent.

While skills shortages present challenges, there are practical steps businesses can take to improve hiring outcomes.

Build a Talent Pipeline: Successful recruitment starts long before a vacancy exists. Maintaining relationships with potential future candidates helps businesses respond more effectively when hiring needs arise.

Focus on Potential: Some of the most successful hires come from individuals who may not meet every requirement on paper but demonstrate the right attitude, capability, and potential.

Strengthen Employer Brand: Candidates increasingly research employers before applying. A strong reputation, positive culture, and visible employer brand can make a significant difference.

Review Recruitment Processes: Slow hiring processes continue to be one of the biggest reasons employers lose strong candidates. Efficient communication and timely decision-making remain critical.

Skills shortages are unlikely to disappear overnight, but businesses that recognise the challenge and adapt accordingly will be in a far stronger position than those that don’t.

The most successful employers are focusing on more than simply advertising vacancies. They are building talent pipelines, investing in employer branding, reviewing salary competitiveness, and creating recruitment processes that reflect modern candidate expectations.

As competition for skilled professionals continues, organisations that are proactive rather than reactive will gain a significant advantage.

At Sammons Recruitment Group, we continue to support employers across the UK with market insight, salary benchmarking, recruitment strategy, and access to high-quality talent.

Understanding where skills shortages exist today can help businesses prepare more effectively for the workforce challenges of tomorrow.

1. What are the biggest skills shortages in the UK in 2026? Many employers are experiencing skills shortages in engineering, finance, HR, payroll, business support, customer service, and leadership positions.
2. Why are some roles harder to fill than others? Hard-to-fill roles often require specialist skills, significant experience, or qualifications that are currently in short supply within the job market.
3. How can businesses overcome skills shortages? Employers can improve hiring success by building talent pipelines, strengthening employer branding, reviewing salary competitiveness, and partnering with recruitment specialists.
4. Are skills shortages affecting employers in Kent, Surrey and Sussex? Yes. Employers across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and the wider South East continue to face recruitment challenges in several sectors due to increasing competition for talent.
5. Can Sammons Recruitment Group help with hard-to-fill vacancies? Yes. Sammons Recruitment Group supports employers by providing market insight, recruitment expertise, and access to high-quality active and passive candidates.
6. What is the best way to attract skilled candidates? Offering competitive salaries, flexible working, career development opportunities, and a positive candidate experience can significantly improve attraction rates.

Whether you’re experiencing recruitment challenges today or planning ahead for future growth, having access to accurate market insight and the right talent network can make all the difference.

If you’re struggling to fill specialist roles or would like a better understanding of the talent market within your sector, contact our teams to discuss how we can help you attract, engage, and secure the people your business needs to succeed.