More Than 1 in 2 AI Roles in the UK Could Go Unfilled By 2028
New research suggests addressing AI talent shortages through international hiring could help support productivity growth of up to 1.5% points annually
London, UK, 16 June, 2026 - The UK could face a shortage of more than 160,000 AI professionals by 2028 as demand for digital talent continues to outpace domestic supply, according to new analysis from global talent solutions partner Robert Walters and Native Teams, the global work payments platform.
Forecasts from the Robert Walters Market Intelligence team and Native Teams suggest demand for AI professionals in the UK could reach almost 300,000 by 2028, against an estimated domestic supply of just 137,000.
Phill Brown, Global Head of Market Intelligence at Robert Walters, says, “The scale of projected demand for AI talent is expected to significantly outpace domestic supply growth in many advanced economies, including the UK.
“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.”
Indeed, organisations across the UK are continuing to invest heavily in AI and automation technologies in an effort to improve operational efficiency and strengthen competitiveness. But shortages in experienced AI talent are pushing many businesses to look beyond local markets to fill critical roles.
“Expanding AI hiring outside of domestic labour markets could help lift UK productivity growth by between 0.5 and 1.5 percentage points annually, by helping organisations scale AI capability more quickly and reduce deployment delays linked to talent shortages”, comments Jack Thorogood, Founder and CEO of Native Teams. “Many businesses in the UK are already investing in AI, but access to experienced talent is one of the main constraints on how quickly those systems can be implemented operationally.
“At the same time, companies are becoming far more comfortable building globally distributed AI teams. The supporting infrastructure behind it (global payroll, work payments, and compliance systems) has widely matured over the past few years, making global hiring far more practical at scale.
“Organisations 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.”
The findings form part of a wider joint report from Robert Walters and Native Teams exploring how global hiring corridors are reshaping workforce strategies, salary expectations and access to specialist talent across international markets.
The ability to tap into international skills pools will remain vital as businesses adopt advanced technologies. Over the next decade, organisations who benefit most from AI will be those who are able to build and access the talent needed to operationalise it effectively.
Phill adds, “For the UK, strengthening domestic skills pipelines will remain critical, but access to global expertise is also becoming an increasingly important part of how businesses scale capability and stay competitive.”
Download the full report “The New Talent Economy. How AI is reshaping global hiring corridors”.
ENDS
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Methodology
The analysis used a directional scenario-modelling approach combining benchmark-based trend extrapolation with multi-source labour market triangulation. Existing AI demand and supply were used as baseline indicators, which were then extended to 2028 using historical growth patterns in AI hiring demand, talent availability, enterprise adoption, and workforce expansion trends.
Productivity impact assumptions were benchmarked against publicly available economic and institutional studies to estimate potential annual productivity gains under sustained AI adoption and workforce transformation scenarios.
About Native Teams
Native Teams is a global work payments platform designed to support both businesses and their teams. By combining payroll, compliance, and work operations, it enables companies to employ, pay, and manage teams in 95+ countries through one unified system.
From gig and contractor payments to global payroll and broader workflows, Native Teams supports the full scope of global work. It provides the structure behind every payment, ensuring compliance, reducing administrative overhead, and enabling smooth cross-border operations. Trusted by 3000+ businesses, Native Teams helps companies scale efficiently while empowering teams with financial stability and flexibility. https://nativeteams.com/
About Robert Walters
With more than 2,900 people in 29 countries, Robert Walters delivers recruitment consultancy, staffing, recruitment process outsourcing and managed services across the globe. From traditional recruitment and staffing to end-to-end talent management, our consultants are experts at matching highly skilled people to permanent, contract and interim roles across all professional disciplines. https://www.robertwalters.co.uk/