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Is AI the future of Recruitment?

21/09/25 Construction & Property Recruitment Rail & Transport Recruitment Energy, Power & Utilities Recruitment Architecture & Design Recruitment Trades & Labour Recruitment Industrial & Engineering Highways & Infrastructure Recruitment Warehouse Recruitment Agency Foundry Engineering & Manufacturing General Distribution Production FLT Driving

UK Recruitment Trends 2025: How AI is Solving Critical Skills Shortages

Key Takeaways

UK unemployment at 4.6% in 2025, with job vacancies 20% below pre-pandemic levels
Construction industry faces 250,000 worker shortage by 2028
41% of UK recruiters already using AI, with 26% more planning adoption
Linear Recruitment combines AI efficiency with human expertise for better placements

Current State of UK Recruitment Market in 2025

The UK recruitment market in 2025 has been a challenging year marked by falling vacancies, cautious employer behaviour, regulatory factors and skills gaps.

Between June and August 2025, employment contracted by 0.5%, marking the fastest pace of job cuts in four years, with future growth expectations continuing to be weak. According to Linear Recruitment's market analysis, many recruitment agencies have been reporting a continued decline in permanent placements, and we've seen that businesses are holding back from increasing their recruitment budgets. Around 65% of businesses have cut profit margins, a third raised prices, and one in five limited wage growth.

Unemployment and Vacancy Statistics

As of March 2025, the UK unemployment rate stood at 4.6%, slightly up from 4.4% a year earlier. The number of vacancies is also remaining lower – there was a 5% decline in quarter two of this year, and job postings are still around 20% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Construction Industry Crisis

In the construction industry specifically, we are seeing skills shortages arising from an ageing workforce, a lack of interest from younger people in construction careers, along with a fall in new entrants and apprenticeships. It's forecast the industry will need over 250,000 additional workers by 2028 to meet demand.

Challenge	Impact	Solution
Ageing Workforce	Skills loss as workers retire	AI-powered knowledge transfer
Youth Disinterest	Fewer new entrants	Tech-enabled roles attract younger workers
Skills Gap	250,000 workers needed by 2028	Accelerated AI-assisted training

Key challenges in the UK include attracting and retaining talent, addressing the skills gaps and improving diversity with new technology and sustainable practices, as well as navigating stricter immigration policies.

How AI is Transforming UK Recruitment

What is AI recruitment? AI recruitment uses artificial intelligence to automate candidate sourcing, CV screening, and initial assessments, reducing time-to-hire by up to 70% while improving candidate matching accuracy.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly defining how businesses recruit and manage their people as we see a shift towards more AI-focused strategies to help in the recruitment process, both for businesses and for candidates and job seekers alike as it becomes increasingly accessible.

According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), 41% of its members reported that their businesses are already using AI for recruitment, with another 26% planning on using it in the next year.

AI Applications for Businesses

Predicting future hiring needs and identifying skills gaps
Creating job descriptions and automatically posting them to the right platforms to target the right candidates
Sourcing and matching candidates by scanning and ranking CVs, online profiles and employment histories, leading to faster shortlisting and a better candidate-to-role fit
Engaging and supporting candidates during the application process with the use of chatbots and pre-screening
Providing interview assistance with consistent evaluation and reducing bias
Delivering decision support by analysing and predicting how successful a candidate could be and how long they would stay in the role, along with time-to-hire and cost-to-hire analysis
Onboarding support with necessary paperwork and documents, communication, training and inductions
Updating CRM systems accordingly

AI can provide a fully automated recruitment system, offering time and cost savings by delivering speed, efficiency, and scalability, giving businesses a more dynamic and inclusive recruitment process. At Linear Recruitment, we've seen firsthand how it's not only companies that can take advantage of AI for recruitment; it's also helping job seekers in a number of practical and impactful ways, from improving how they find jobs to enhancing how they present themselves to employers.

AI Benefits for Job Seekers

AI tools help candidates:

Analyse job market data to determine which industries are hiring and what job roles are available along with average salaries
Analyse job descriptions and match them to a candidate's CV
Recommend jobs to candidates and help identify any skills gaps and learning requirements
Help build CVs and tailor them to specific roles, along with drafting appropriate cover letters
Support interview preparation by providing customised interview questions and answers, simulate mock interviews and provide feedback
Analyse social profiles and suggest improvements for visibility and content

Impact on the Construction Industry and Skills Development

Although a larger candidate pool has helped temper wage inflation, there is still a widespread skills shortage in the construction and related industries, and there is a need for urgent support from the government to upskill and retrain people. Addressing the shortage requires a fundamental shift in how the industry attracts, trains, and retains a diverse workforce, and the role of AI can help with that.

How AI Addresses Construction Skills Shortages

Personalised Learning: Creates personalised learning and training pathways for construction workers based on their current skills and market demands
Skill Simulation: Workers can practise in simulated environments with AI providing feedback on performance
Accelerated Training: AI helps train faster and more effectively, ensuring candidates are job-ready more quickly
Workforce Planning: Smarter workforce planning with AI management tools to create more efficient workforces and help reduce staff turnover
Tech Appeal: Developments in AI are helping construction to become more tech-friendly with the use of drones, robotics, and digital tools – this could help attract more young talent into the industry
Government Support: Central and local government use AI to predict regional skills shortages and invest in targeted training and infrastructure

The Balance: AI Efficiency with Human Expertise

It's important to remember there are limitations to AI and it needs to be used in conjunction with a robust business strategy. Heavy use of AI can make the recruitment process feel impersonal, and there's often a lack of contextual understanding, such as emotional intelligence, leadership skills and potential, and cultural fit – all of which are critical in hiring decisions. There are legal and ethical issues to consider too. Understanding how to use these tools appropriately and what they can do for your business will enable you to build a more dynamic, efficient, and inclusive recruitment process.

How Linear Recruitment Combines AI with Human Values

Human decisions are still crucial; at Linear Recruitment, we operate in conjunction with our values: we're hardworking, we have integrity, we're passionate, and we make recruitment uncomplicated. Our people are helping to shape a future of work that balances innovation with people-focused processes.

We are currently working with certain clients and local groups to help re-train people and assist them back into work, as well as hold employment workshops providing CV training and advice on interview techniques. We also put candidates through various training courses in order for them to upskill and obtain the tickets needed for certain roles that we can then place them in.

We believe that businesses need to act now to secure the talent they will require when hiring picks up later in the year, as forecasts are indicating. Linear Recruitment can assist clients with their recruitment strategies and provide advice on both the temporary and permanent market. In times of economic uncertainty, companies tend to use the temporary labour market to fulfil their needs along with an option of temporary-to-permanent which fixes both short-term and long-term needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is AI changing recruitment in the UK?

A: AI is transforming UK recruitment by automating CV screening, improving candidate matching accuracy by up to 70%, reducing time-to-hire from weeks to days, and helping identify skills gaps. 41% of UK recruitment agencies are already using AI, with another 26% planning adoption within the year.

Q: What is the construction industry skills shortage in 2025?

A: The UK construction industry faces a critical shortage, needing over 250,000 additional workers by 2028. This is due to an ageing workforce, declining apprenticeships, and reduced interest from younger workers.

Q: How does Linear Recruitment use AI?

A: Linear Recruitment combines AI technology for efficient candidate matching and screening with human expertise for assessing cultural fit, emotional intelligence, and leadership potential. We use AI to reduce time-to-hire while maintaining our personal, values-driven approach.

Ready to Transform Your Recruitment Process?

Whether you're looking to hire top talent or seeking your next career opportunity, Linear Recruitment combines cutting-edge AI technology with personal service.