The UK Tech Talent Crunch: Is the Skills Gap Getting Worse — or Just Shifting?
In boardrooms, hiring meetings, and tech meetups across the UK, a familiar theme keeps cropping up: “We just can’t find the right people.”
It’s a phrase that’s echoed through the halls of growing startups and enterprise firms alike — especially within tech, SaaS, fintech, and digital transformation roles. Yet, when you look at the wider recruitment market, there’s a strange contradiction: candidate availability is up. In fact, according to the latest REC/KPMG Jobs Report, the supply of both permanent and temporary labour has increased at the fastest rate since late 2020.
So what gives? If there are more people available, why are companies still struggling to hire?
At Live Digital, we believe the answer lies not in a worsening skills gap — but in a shifting one. The nature of tech work has changed dramatically in just a few short years. The pandemic accelerated digital adoption, AI has rapidly changed role requirements, and business expectations of their tech teams have evolved from siloed delivery units to integrated, commercially-minded partners.
Many job descriptions haven’t caught up. Nor have many candidate career paths.
This isn’t just a mismatch — it’s a talent strategy blind spot. And for companies that recognise it early, there’s a major opportunity to pull ahead.
The State of the UK Tech Talent Market in 2025
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, the UK’s demand for tech talent hasn’t disappeared — it’s simply become more selective, more specialised, and more focused on return on investment. Businesses are no longer hiring for “growth at all costs”; they’re hiring for impact, adaptability, and value.
In recent months, we’ve seen a few clear patterns emerge:
- Roles related to AI integration, DevOps, data governance, cybersecurity, and product-led growth are in high demand — even as overall tech vacancies dip.
- Employers are placing more emphasis on commercial awareness, cross-functional communication, and the ability to align with business outcomes.
- Legacy roles — or even traditional job descriptions — are starting to feel outdated as businesses look for talent who can wear multiple hats and adapt to rapidly changing environments.
On the other side, many candidates have solid experience but lack exposure to the tools, workflows, or stakeholder expectations that have become the norm post-2020. The result? Good people being overlooked because they don’t fit into boxes that were drawn years ago.
This dynamic fuels the perception of a worsening skills gap, when in truth, the definition of “qualified” has evolved — but the lens we assess it through hasn’t.
We Don’t Just Have a Shortage — We Have a Shift
Let’s call out the elephant in the room: many job descriptions in 2025 still look like they were written in 2018.
They list years of experience with tools that have already been replaced, demand full proficiency in stacks that are only part of the current workflow, and treat adaptability or curiosity as “nice-to-haves” rather than strategic assets.
Meanwhile, the best candidates are often those who:
- Have worked across multiple functions and understand product strategy
- Can navigate both the technical and business sides of the table
- May not tick every box on a job ad but have the learning agility to grow into the role faster than anyone else
This is where the real disconnect lies. It’s not about scarcity — it’s about misalignment.
The roles businesses truly need filled today — whether it’s a Technical Product Manager with AI knowledge, a Growth Analyst who can work cross-channel, or a Full Stack Engineer with business empathy — are roles that didn’t even exist in mainstream hiring cycles five years ago.
Yet the hiring frameworks and qualification checklists haven’t kept pace. As a result, companies are unintentionally filtering out the very people who could drive innovation forward.
Why the “Perfect Candidate” Myth Is Holding Businesses Back
One of the most common bottlenecks we see in UK tech hiring right now is the obsession with the perfect CV. Businesses are still chasing candidates who tick every box — years of experience, sector background, tool familiarity, cultural alignment — all wrapped in one neat, polished LinkedIn profile.
But in today’s market, the perfect candidate doesn’t exist — at least not in the traditional sense.
The most valuable tech professionals in 2025 are:
- Comfortable with change
- Quick learners
- Collaborative across departments
- Interested in outcomes, not just delivery
They might not have three years of experience in your CRM, or the exact SaaS vertical experience you want. But they could have transferable strengths, a fresh perspective, or the adaptability needed to futureproof your team.
Rigid hiring criteria in a shifting market doesn’t lead to better hires — it leads to longer hiring cycles, missed opportunities, and stagnation. Businesses that succeed in this climate are those willing to hire for potential, not just precedent.
What This Means for Employers
If your business is feeling the effects of the tech talent crunch, the first step is acknowledging that the problem may not be the size of the talent pool — but how you’re fishing in it.
This is where a modern, market-aware recruitment approach becomes critical. At Live Digital, we work closely with hiring managers and leadership teams to reassess what “great” looks like today, not five years ago.
That often includes:
- Rewriting job descriptions to focus on problem-solving, adaptability, and team fit
- Advising on assessment models that test real-world capability, not just buzzwords
- Encouraging blended teams that include perm, freelance, and contract talent to increase agility
- Mapping emerging role types and skillsets based on real-time market demand
This isn’t about lowering standards. It’s about updating your definition of value.
When you start focusing on the outcomes you need rather than the checklist of “must-haves,” you start to unlock talent that others overlook. And in a competitive market, that’s a serious edge.
What This Means for Candidates
The shifting landscape isn’t just a challenge for employers — it’s an opportunity for tech professionals, too.
If you’re a candidate struggling to get traction, it may not be your skills that are the issue — but how you’re positioning them. Many talented professionals undersell their commercial impact, cross-functional experience, or learning agility. In a market that rewards problem-solvers over box-tickers, that’s a missed opportunity.
We regularly work with candidates who:
- Thought they weren’t a fit for a role — until we helped translate their value in the right way
- Had the right experience but weren’t showcasing it in CVs or interviews
- Had adjacent experience that could pivot into new, higher-value roles with a clear narrative
Candidates should think beyond tools and titles. What business problems have you solved? What outcomes have you driven? What have you learned that others haven’t?
That’s the kind of story today’s hiring managers want to hear.
How Live Digital Is Helping Clients Rethink the Talent Equation
As a specialist recruiter in SaaS, fintech, product, marketing and digital, we don’t just “fill roles”. We help our clients navigate evolving hiring landscapes with clarity and confidence.
That means:
- Providing honest insights on where the real skill gaps lie in the market
- Helping businesses define roles based on outcomes, not rigid specs
- Giving candidates a clearer pathway to grow and reposition themselves
- Supporting flexible hiring models — from strategic permanent hires to experienced contractors and interim leaders
We understand the nuances of hiring in a post-pandemic, AI-driven world. We know that your next game-changing hire might not look like the last one. And we help you find them — faster, smarter, and with less guesswork.
The Talent Is Still There — You Just Need a Better Lens
The UK tech talent crunch is real. But it’s not a crisis — it’s a call to evolve.
We’re no longer in a hiring environment where ticking boxes guarantees performance. We’re in a world that values resilience, adaptability, and critical thinking more than ever.
If your hiring strategy hasn’t caught up, now is the time to rethink it.
The businesses that do will come out of this period leaner, stronger, and with teams that are built not just for now — but for what’s next.
Ready to Rethink How You Hire?
If you’re struggling with tech, digital or product hiring and want to cut through the noise, speak to someone who knows the market inside out.
📩 Reach out to Jacob and the team at Live Digital
📞 hello@livedigitalrecruitment.com
🔗 Or connect on LinkedIn for real-time insights and advice
Tags: #TechRecruitment #UKHiringTrends #SkillsGap #DigitalJobs #FutureOfWork #LiveDigital #SaaSRecruitment #HiringStrategy #JacobFromLiveDigital