Mind the technician gap: why Britain’s industrial ambitions depend on skills we are failing to develop

New research from the Burning Glass Institute, funded by the Gatsby Foundation, reveals a hidden labour crisis at the heart of the UK economy: Britain does not have enough technicians to deliver its own industrial strategy.

The recent Skills White Paper highlights the scale of the challenge, estimating that the UK will need 900,000 additional skilled workers in priority sectors by 2030, with skills-shortage vacancies already accounting for a quarter of all open roles. Our analysis shows the problem is even more acute in technician occupations central to the UK’s industrial strategy, where more than one in three roles already faces severe shortages.

As the government commits to helping more employers invest in workforce development and enabling more young people to secure apprenticeships, our reports underline both the centrality of apprenticeships to the technician pipeline and a major missed opportunity: the failure to draw on underrepresented talent, particularly women and girls. In seven in ten technician occupations with skills shortages (69%), fewer than 5% of workers are women—and in many of the best-paid, highest-demand trades the figure is effectively zero. We propose a target equivalent to a 10-percentage-point increase in female representation in relevant apprenticeships, which would bring nearly 70,000 additional workers into the technician workforce over the next decade.

With the government seeking to expand the technician workforce, our findings also highlight the appeal of these roles: they are among the most AI- and automation-resilient jobs in the economy and offer strong wages, clear progression routes and high retention—alongside sustained employer demand

“Britain’s industrial strategy will only succeed if we have the technicians to deliver it. Apprenticeships are one of the fastest, most proven ways to build that workforce – but we won’t close the gap unless far more young people can access high-quality places, and we tackle the stark underrepresentation of women and girls in technician routes.”

Jenni French, Gatsby Charitable Foundation

Download Mind the Technician Gap

The full report is accompanied by The Technician Opportunity: Skills, Growth, and Career Prospects which examines 47 technician occupations, from welders and engineering technicians to medical lab workers and IT support specialists, looking at how these roles offer strong career prospects across multiple dimensions.

Download The Technician Opportunity: Skills, Growth, and Career Prospects