Data-driven insights, hiring playbooks, and workforce strategies for Infrastructure and Energy sectors.
UK-focused intelligence with global perspectives. Fact-checked statistics from industry-leading sources.
Skills gaps, hiring trends & the race to 120,000
The UK nuclear sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the workforce reaching a record 96,000 people in April 2024—an increase of 7,000 from the previous year. Civil nuclear employment alone has risen by 35% between 2021 and 2024, driven by ambitious new build programmes, decommissioning projects, and renewed defence commitments.
However, this growth comes with a critical challenge: the sector needs an additional 24,000 skilled workers by 2030 to meet demand from Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, defence projects, and the extensive decommissioning programme.
Nearly 39% of engineering construction workers are aged 50+. Some decommissioning sites report one-third of their workforce could retire within a decade.
ONR's SQEP requirements and security clearances add significant time to recruitment. Vetting processes can take 6-12 months for sensitive roles.
Defence nuclear, civil new builds, and decommissioning all compete for the same scarce talent in engineering, safety, and project management.
Launched August 2023, bringing together government, industry, and academia to plan for civil and defence nuclear workforce expansion. Targeting doubled graduate intake by 2025-26.
Over 1,100 new apprentices and graduates joined the sector in the year ending April 2024. Cross-sector retraining from oil & gas, aerospace, and defence is accelerating.
Engineering Construction Industry Training Board projects the ECI workforce in nuclear to grow from 35,900 (2025) to 46,000 by 2030—a 29% increase.
Women now make up 22% of the workforce (up from previous years), with targeted initiatives to improve representation across all demographics.
BSR Group specialises in placing professionals across the UK's most critical infrastructure and energy projects. We connect exceptional talent with industry-leading opportunities.
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£51.9bn market insights & talent strategies
The UK legal sector reached £51.9 billion in 2024, growing over 10% year-on-year with further 8% growth projected for 2025. Despite this expansion, the market faces significant hiring challenges, with 75% of law firms and in-house teams reporting difficulty finding qualified staff.
The number of practising solicitors has risen by 14% over five years, even as firm numbers decreased by roughly 1,100—signalling significant consolidation and growth in larger practices and in-house legal teams.
The share of legal vacancies outside London continues to grow, with regions like the North West and Yorkshire & the Humber leading employment law vacancy growth.
Mid-tier and regional firms are strongly retaining their trainees, competing effectively with City practices through work-life balance and faster progression.
Key trend: Salary compression between junior and senior ranks is emerging as not all firms can match City rates, creating retention challenges.
A large majority of UK law firms are integrating AI or legal technology for document automation, contract review, and workflow efficiencies.
54% of firms expect to use more fixed-fee or value-based pricing models, moving away from traditional billable hours.
Major firms like Clifford Chance have cut ~10% of London business services staff as AI takes over support functions.
52% of firms cite aligning salary expectations as their primary recruitment challenge. The gap between candidate expectations and budget continues to widen.
43% struggle to find candidates with appropriate skills. The SQE transition has created uncertainty about qualification standards.
Despite progress, men filled 80% of senior corporate/finance partner roles from 2019-2024. Female partners remain underrepresented in key revenue-generating departments.
From newly qualified solicitors to partner-level appointments, BSR Group connects leading law firms and in-house teams with exceptional legal talent across all practice areas.
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AI, productivity & the future of work
UK organisations face a pivotal moment. With 51% of employers expecting to invest more in AI than hiring in 2025-26, the traditional approach to workforce management is being fundamentally reimagined. Rising labour costs, changes to National Insurance, and living wage thresholds are accelerating the shift toward automation and optimisation.
Yet technology alone isn't the answer. The Royal Society for Public Health warns that without better health support at work, up to 600,000 additional workers could leave the workforce over the next decade through illness-related inactivity.
Automating repetitive, low-value tasks while freeing human labour for strategic and creative work that AI cannot replicate.
Reduces burnout, boosts outputUsing predictive analytics to forecast demand based on sales cycles, seasonality, and external events—adjusting staffing in real-time.
Minimises over/under-staffingCreating training programmes for digital and non-automatable skills through mentorship, rotational assignments, and leadership development.
Future-proofs workforceIntegrated wellbeing programmes addressing mental health, ergonomics, and early intervention—not as add-ons but core operations.
Reduces absence & turnoverMoving from hours-worked to outputs-delivered using SMART goals, performance dashboards, and human-AI collaboration measures.
Aligns rewards with valueCombining full-time, part-time, contract, and gig workers with skills-first hiring rather than credentials alone.
Provides agility at scaleA 2025 SD Worx survey found that 29.3% of UK employers identified reskilling and upskilling as their top HR challenge—surpassing even wellbeing and talent acquisition.
With studies showing 26% of large private sector firms planning staffing reductions due to AI in the next 12 months, particularly in junior, administrative, and managerial roles, the need for strategic workforce planning has never been greater.
Remote and hybrid working is no longer a perk but an expectation. Organisations are consolidating collaboration tools and digital communication platforms to support increasingly distributed teams while maintaining culture and productivity.
Map skills gaps, over/under-utilisation, and demand patterns across your workforce.
Develop integrated wellbeing, technology, and talent strategies aligned to business goals.
Deploy flexible workforce models, AI augmentation, and continuous learning programmes.
Use productivity dashboards and feedback loops to continuously adjust and improve.
BSR Group helps organisations build high-performing, future-ready teams through strategic workforce planning, talent optimisation, and flexible staffing solutions.
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IR35, NICs & regulatory changes 2025-26
2025-26 brings significant changes to UK payroll and compliance requirements. From increased National Insurance contributions to new umbrella company regulations, employers must adapt their systems and processes to remain compliant while managing rising labour costs.
The IR35 off-payroll working rules are also evolving, with new company size thresholds potentially shifting responsibility for status determinations. Understanding these changes is critical for both employers and contractors.
Impact Example: For an employee earning £30,000, employer NIC will increase from approximately £2,884 to £3,750 per year—an additional cost of £866 per employee.
The Companies Act 2006 small company thresholds have increased from 6 April 2025:
| Age Group | Hourly Rate | Weekly (40hrs) | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 and over (NLW) | £12.21 | £488.40 | £25,397 |
| 18-20 | £10.00 | £400.00 | £20,800 |
| 16-17 | £7.55 | £302.00 | £15,704 |
| Apprentice Rate | £7.55 | £302.00 | £15,704 |
Stay ahead of regulatory changes with BSR Group's compliant workforce solutions. We ensure your contingent workforce arrangements meet all legal and tax requirements.
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Skills-first hiring & global talent trends
Hiring strategy in 2025-26 is being fundamentally reshaped by AI adoption, global talent pools, and shifting candidate expectations. With over 80% of talent acquisition leaders planning to leverage AI more extensively in 2026, organisations must balance efficiency gains with maintaining the human elements that attract top talent.
UK companies anticipate over half of new hires in 2026 being international—driven by local talent shortages and remote/hybrid expectations. This globalisation of hiring brings both opportunity and complexity in compliance and culture.
Moving from pilot to core infrastructure. Use AI for screening, scheduling, retention prediction, and compensation benchmarking—but maintain human checkpoints for fairness.
De-emphasise formal degrees. Focus on competencies, evidence, and micro-credentials—especially for AI, green tech, and emerging sector roles.
Speed, transparency, and personalisation are table stakes. Simple applications, responsive communication, and clear employer branding are essential.
Build distributed workforces with clear hybrid policies. Partner with EOR providers for compliance. Embrace flexibility as the norm, not exception.
Build talent pipelines from within through development programmes, apprenticeships, and project rotations. Don't just hire—grow your people.
ESG, sustainability, and social impact are now decisive for candidates. Authentically communicate your values and walk the talk.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion must be woven throughout the entire hiring process—not treated as a separate initiative. Leading organisations are implementing:
As AI becomes central to hiring, organisations need clear governance frameworks to balance efficiency with fairness and transparency.
Choose tools with built-in explainability. Candidates should understand how decisions are made.
Regularly test for bias across protected characteristics. Monitor outcomes by demographic groups.
Define which decisions require human review. Critical hiring choices should never be fully automated.
Recommendation: Partner with local employment lawyers and Employer of Record (EOR) providers. Assess visa, tax, and labour law constraints before hiring abroad.
Review job descriptions, candidate journey, and entry-level hiring ratios.
Clarify human oversight, bias monitoring, and transparency standards.
Create core skills per role with observable behaviours and assessment rubrics.
Align leadership messaging on culture, values, and flexible working.
Enable employees to see paths, access training, and move between roles.
Partner with experts for international hiring, visas, and employment law.
BSR Group partners with organisations to build modern, compliant, and effective hiring strategies. From executive search to large-scale deployment, we deliver talent solutions that work.
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