British manufacturers are sharply increasing their investment in automation and robotics as a chronic shortage of skilled workers forces the sector to rethink how it organises production, according to new figures published by industry body Make UK.
The organisation’s quarterly survey, released on Thursday, found that 62 per cent of UK manufacturers now plan to increase capital expenditure on automation over the next twelve months, up from 48 per cent at the start of the year. The average planned spend per firm has risen to £340,000, compared with £260,000 in the previous survey period.
The driving force behind this shift is not a sudden enthusiasm for technology for its own sake, but rather a practical response to a labour market that shows no sign of easing. Vacancy rates in manufacturing remain stubbornly high, with an estimated 74,000 unfilled positions across the sector. Skills shortages are particularly acute in precision engineering, welding, and maintenance roles, where experienced workers are retiring faster than new entrants can be trained.
Make UK’s chief executive described the trend as a structural adjustment rather than a temporary response. “We are witnessing a permanent change in the way British factories operate,” they said. “The days of solving capacity problems by hiring more people are coming to an end, because those people simply are not available.”
The survey also highlighted a growing interest in collaborative robots, or cobots, which are designed to work alongside human operators rather than replace them entirely. Nearly a third of firms said they were evaluating cobot deployments for tasks such as assembly, packing, and quality inspection. The government’s Made Smarter programme, which provides advice and matched funding for digital manufacturing adoption, was credited by several respondents as having accelerated their automation plans.