UK faces huge AI talent shortage

If it looks like AI professionals are in demand right now, just wait for 2028, when the UK's set to have more than half its AI roles unfilled.

New research from Native Teams and Robert Walters has found that demand will reach nearly 300,000 roles, against an estimated domestic supply of just 137,000.

"The scale of projected demand for AI talent is expected to significantly outpace domestic supply growth in many advanced economies, including the UK," said Phill Brown, global head of market intelligence at Robert Walters.

"Historically, major advances in technology only translated into meaningful productivity growth once organisations had the workforce capability to implement them at scale. The same dynamic is now emerging with AI, where access to experienced talent will play a defining role in how quickly businesses can convert investment into measurable economic output."

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

The answer for many organizations is to hire staff internationally, rather than simply throw money at the problem. And doing this, the researchers found, could lift UK productivity growth by 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points annually, by helping organizations scale AI capability more quickly and reduce deployment delays linked to talent shortages.

The supporting infrastructure behind a globally distributed AI team – global payroll, work payments, and compliance systems – has widely matured over the past few years, the researchers found, making global hiring far more practical at scale.

With the biggest AI deficit, the UK is also the most active global AI talent hirer. In technology specifically, the UK generates 20% of all cross-border tech transactions, ahead of the US at 15%. And it's also the fastest-growing market, adding more than 50% year-on-year.

"Organizations are now able to access critical AI capability more quickly and respond faster to changing technology demands, while also creating greater access to worldwide opportunities for professionals," said Jack Thorogood, founder and CEO of Native Teams.

The researchers found that the top 10 origin markets generate two-thirds of all cross-border hiring, with each one offering cost savings of between 40% and 68%. Europe-to-Europe hiring generated 41% of all hiring activity.

Four-in-ten roles are either senior or leadership – signalling, said the researchers, a shift from cost arbitrage to capability building.

The two main sources of talent, Spain and the Philippines, are rather different. Spain is seen as a hub for international hiring, supported by strong digital infrastructure and favourable remote work policies. It's also popular for its time zone and EU access.

The Philippines, meanwhile, has a strong position as a global talent hub, particularly in IT services, customer support, and remote operations. Language and cost are also factors.

"Global hiring is no longer merely a contingency for local talent shortages; it is rapidly becoming the primary workforce strategy for businesses focused on growth and scale," the report concludes.

"Organisations are turning to cross-border hiring not just to support expansion, but to accelerate AI adoption and enhance overall productivity. This shift is driven by the reality that domestic talent supply, particularly across technology and AI-related roles, has reached a ceiling that current local pipelines cannot sufficiently meet."