Jobs in Demand in 2027: The UK Sectors That Will Be Hiring

Lists of jobs in demand tend to be written by looking at last year’s vacancies and adding a year to the headline. That produces a list that is already out of date when it is published. This one is built the other way round, from the money that has actually been committed for 2027 and the workforce projections the government’s own skills body published this summer, with the current vacancy data used as a check rather than a source.

The result is less surprising than a listicle and more useful. Nine sectors in the UK have funded demand running into 2027 and beyond. Three have demand that is shrinking. And a handful of specific occupations sit at the intersection of shortage and pay growth, which is where a career move pays off fastest.

How to read a jobs in demand list

Two different things get called demand. One is projected employment growth over a decade, which tells you where the long run opportunity is. The other is current unfilled vacancies, which tells you where an employer will hire you next month. They do not always agree. Adult social care, for example, has one of the largest projected increases in the country and a falling vacancy rate right now. Software development has the second largest projected increase and a falling number of advertised entry level roles. Both facts are in this guide, with their sources, so you can weigh them yourself.

The projections come mainly from Skills England’s Annual Skills Report 2026, which models 150 priority occupations employing 7.6 million people, about 23 per cent of the workforce, and expects them to add roughly 1.8 million jobs between 2025 and 2035. Sixty two per cent of that growth is at Level 4 or above. The current demand data comes from the ONS vacancy series, the KPMG and REC Report on Jobs for September 2026, sector bodies and employers’ own published hiring plans. For the wider economic backdrop, read this alongside our UK job market 2027 outlook.

The sectors hiring in 2027

1. Construction and infrastructure

The largest projected increase of any sector. Skills England expects construction’s priority occupations to grow by 493,000, or 26 per cent, by 2035. The CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook for 2026 to 2030, published in June 2026, puts the near term need at 206,000 additional workers over five years, about 41,200 a year, and forecasts output growth of 1.8 per cent in 2027 after a flat 2026. The split matters: the RICS UK Construction Monitor for the second quarter of 2026 had infrastructure workloads at plus 16, energy at plus 39, water and sewage at plus 23, and private housing at minus 12. The government’s ten year infrastructure strategy of June 2025 commits at least 725 billion pounds of public funding over the decade. The demand is in civils, utilities, rail, power and water, not in speculative flats. Quantity surveyors, site managers, civil engineers, planners and electricians are the roles named most often as hard to fill, and 36 per cent of RICS respondents reported labour shortages.

2. Clean energy

The fastest growing sector in percentage terms. Skills England projects clean energy priority occupations up 71 per cent by 2035. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan of October 2025 targets around 860,000 clean energy jobs by 2030, roughly double the 2023 figure, across 31 priority occupations. Offshore wind alone employed about 39,900 people in 2025 and needs between 74,000 and 95,000 by 2030 on RenewableUK’s June 2025 skills report, a shortfall of tens of thousands. Sizewell C, which received 14.2 billion pounds of government backing in June 2025, expects around 10,000 direct jobs including 1,500 apprenticeships. The Heat Pump Association estimates more than 41,000 full time installer roles are needed by 2028. Electricians, wind turbine technicians, high voltage engineers, heat pump installers and grid connection engineers are the shortage roles, and our green economy careers guide covers the routes in.

3. Defence

Defence spending is committed to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, with 3 per cent targeted for the next parliament. The Ministry of Defence’s employment estimates for 2024/25, published in August 2026, show MoD spending supported 274,000 UK industry jobs, 164,000 of them direct, up 11 per cent in a single year, with shipbuilding direct jobs rising from 31,500 to 41,500. The primes are hiring at record levels: BAE Systems planned more than 1,100 apprentices and around 1,200 graduates and undergraduates for 2026 and reported 6,800 people in training, and Babcock expected around 850 early careers hires in 2026. Skills England projects a further 53,000 defence priority roles by 2035, a 58 per cent rise. Welders, electrical fitters, systems engineers, software engineers with security clearance and project controls staff are the recurring shortages.

4. Software, data and AI

Programmers and software developers are the second largest projected occupational increase in the country at 192,000 by 2035, with IT business analysts and architects adding 70,700 and IT managers 67,400. The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs for September 2026 found IT and computing leading permanent hiring demand. PwC’s AI Jobs Barometer 2026 counted specialist AI postings up 61 per cent to 180,000 in 2025 while overall vacancies fell 6.6 per cent, and measured a 34.2 per cent wage premium for AI skills, up from 11 per cent a year earlier. The five AI Growth Zones designated by January 2026 carry a stated total of up to 15,000 jobs. The caveat is at the bottom of the ladder: Indeed found AI mentioned in a record 9.4 per cent of UK postings while graduate postings fell, and Skills England cites research finding AI exposed firms cut junior roles by 5.8 per cent. Demand is strong for people who can build and deploy; it is weaker for people who need training from scratch. See our guide to breaking into software development.

5. Adult social care

The largest single occupational increase anywhere in the projections: care workers and home carers up 199,000 by 2035, within a sector increase of 281,000. Skills for Care’s State of the Adult Social Care Sector report for 2026 shows a sector that has stabilised, with the vacancy rate at 6.2 per cent, the lowest since 2015/16, around 96,000 vacant posts, and filled posts up 22,000 in a year, while international recruitment fell to 30,000. It still projects 410,000 extra posts needed by 2040 as the population ages. Demand is certain; pay is the constraint, with most roles tracking the National Living Wage, which the Low Pay Commission expects to rise to around 13.18 pounds in April 2027. Our guide to becoming a care worker covers entry routes and progression to senior and specialist roles, which Skills England lists among occupations in critical demand.

6. Health

Steady rather than expanding, but with acute shortages in specific professions. The Royal College of Nursing counted 23,046 registered nurse vacancies in NHS England in August 2026 and estimates the real shortfall at about 55,000. Skills England’s December 2025 analysis of occupations in demand named specialist medical practitioners and radiographers among the 62 occupations in critical demand, which together employ more than five million people. The refreshed NHS workforce plan was repeatedly delayed through 2026 and the 2027/28 pay round must be funded from existing budgets, so expect recruitment to replace rather than grow. Diagnostic radiographers, sonographers, mental health nurses, pharmacists and advanced clinical practitioners remain the roles where trusts struggle most.

7. Education and special educational needs

Teacher recruitment improved sharply in 2025/26: the Department for Education’s initial teacher training census of December 2025 recorded 26,989 postgraduate entrants, up 12 per cent, with secondary at 89 per cent of target against 61 per cent the year before. The gaps are now specific: physics at 78 per cent of target, computing at 81 per cent and design and technology at 71 per cent. The larger structural shortage is in special educational needs. The Education Policy Institute estimates around 1,400 more full time educational psychologists are needed, a 40 per cent increase, and DfE research in 2026 found 81 per cent of school leaders struggling to recruit specialist SEND skills. Teaching pay is set at 3.5 per cent from September 2026 and 3 per cent from September 2027, which gives the profession rare two year certainty.

8. Logistics and transport

An ageing workforce rather than a growing one. Logistics UK’s 2026 Employment and Skills Report found 61.6 per cent of HGV drivers aged 45 or over and only 1.1 per cent female, with HGV technician vacancies persistently high since 2021. The Road Haulage Association estimates 200,000 new drivers are needed over five years simply to replace those retiring. Demand is for drivers, vehicle technicians and transport planners, and it is regional, concentrated around the Midlands distribution corridors, the ports and the airports.

9. Creative industries

The surprise on the list. Skills England projects creative priority occupations up 416,000 by 2035, the second largest sector increase after construction. The growth is not in traditional media but in games, visual effects, immersive technology, advertising technology and the production roles behind streaming content. It is also where the AI debate is loudest, so the roles growing fastest combine creative judgement with technical production skills.

Where demand is falling

Three areas are shedding roles into 2027 and job seekers should know it before they apply.

• Hospitality and retail. The KPMG and REC report’s sharpest falls in September 2026 were in hotels and catering and in retail. UKHospitality counted 84,000 hospitality jobs lost between October 2024 and September 2025, which it links to the employer National Insurance rise to 15 per cent and the cut in the threshold to 5,000 pounds, both still in force.
• Generic entry level and administrative roles. Adzuna counted 8,383 graduate adverts in July 2026, down 45.6 per cent on the year and the lowest since its series began in 2016. Routine processing, basic customer service and junior content roles are where AI adoption is visibly thinning adverts.
• Public sector back office. With 2026/27 pay awards funded from existing budgets and the civil service pay bill capped at 3.5 per cent, departments are holding headcount flat or reducing it through natural wastage.

The occupations to watch in 2027

How to position yourself for 2027

Follow the funding, not the headline. A role attached to a committed programme, whether that is a water company’s asset management plan, a grid reinforcement scheme, a defence contract or a council’s SEND provision, survives a soft economy in a way that a role dependent on consumer spending does not.

Buy the scarce credential. In most of the sectors above the bottleneck is a specific ticket: an electrical qualification, a Category C licence, a clearance, an HCPC registration, a chartership. Skills England notes that 62 per cent of the extra demand it projects is at Level 4 and above. The certifications UK employers value are a starting point, and the apprenticeship reforms from August 2026 make employer funded routes for under 25s considerably cheaper for the employer.

Be mobile within the sector. Construction and energy demand is geographically specific, logistics demand sits on the distribution corridors, and defence demand clusters around Barrow, Glasgow, Rosyth, Plymouth, Derby and Bristol. A willingness to relocate or commute to one of those places is worth more than it was. Live vacancies across all of these sectors are on our job board.

Frequently asked questions

What jobs will be most in demand in the UK in 2027?

On Skills England’s 2026 projections and current funding commitments: care workers, software developers and AI specialists, electricians and energy technicians, civil engineers and quantity surveyors, welders and fitters in defence, radiographers and specialist doctors, physics and computing teachers, SEND specialists, and HGV drivers and vehicle technicians.

Which UK sector is growing fastest?

Clean energy, which Skills England projects to grow 71 per cent in its priority occupations by 2035. In absolute numbers construction adds the most, with 493,000 projected additional roles, followed by the creative industries at 416,000 and adult social care at 281,000.

Is construction a good career choice for 2027?

Yes, in infrastructure and energy. The CITB says the industry needs about 41,200 additional workers a year to 2030 and forecasts output growth of 1.8 per cent in 2027. Demand is concentrated in civils, utilities, rail and power rather than private housebuilding, where RICS recorded workloads at minus 12 in mid 2026.

Are tech jobs still in demand with AI?

Yes, but unevenly. Specialist AI postings rose 61 per cent in 2025 and carry a 34.2 per cent wage premium according to PwC, and programmers are the second largest projected occupational increase to 2035. Entry level and junior roles are under pressure, with graduate adverts down sharply in 2026, so demand favours people who can already build and deploy.

Which jobs are declining in the UK?

Hospitality and retail roles, where employer National Insurance costs have cut headcount; generic entry level administrative and processing roles, where AI adoption has thinned adverts; and public sector back office functions, where 2026/27 pay awards are being funded from existing budgets.

Sources

• Skills England, Annual Skills Report 2026; Occupations in demand 2025, December 2025.
• CITB, Construction Workforce Outlook 2026 to 2030, June 2026; RICS, UK Construction Monitor Q2 2026; HM Treasury, 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, June 2025.
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Clean Energy Jobs Plan, October 2025; RenewableUK and OWIC, Wind Industry Skills Intelligence Report, June 2025; Heat Pump Association workforce report, November 2024.
• Ministry of Defence, MOD supported employment estimates 2024/25, August 2026; BAE Systems and Babcock early careers announcements, December 2025.
• PwC UK, AI Jobs Barometer 2026, June 2026; DSIT written statement on AI Growth Zones, January 2026; Indeed Hiring Lab, August 2026; Adzuna UK Job Market Report, August 2026.
• Skills for Care, State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce 2026; Low Pay Commission consultation letter, April 2026.
• Royal College of Nursing, September 2026.
• Department for Education, Initial Teacher Training Census 2025/26, December 2025; Education Policy Institute, April 2026; DfE written statement on teacher pay, July 2026.
• Logistics UK, Employment and Skills Report 2026; Road Haulage Association, 2025.
• KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs, October 2026; UKHospitality, September 2025; Cabinet Office, Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance 2026 to 2027.