The search for skilled talent remains one of the biggest challenges facing employers. And it’s not a frustration felt only in the UK. It’s one that’s rippling worldwide.
Traditionally, businesses have viewed talent as a resource to compete for. But when skills shortages are being felt on both sides of the Atlantic and across much of the world, a different question emerges: could collaboration offer a more sustainable answer than competition?
It’s not just a ‘home turf’ problem
At first glance, the UK and US labour markets are very different.
The UK has faced ongoing concerns around labour shortages following Brexit, demographic changes and evolving workforce expectations. Meanwhile, employers in the US have spent much of the last few years adapting to changing employee expectations around flexibility, skills-based hiring and remote work.
Yet despite these differences, the outcome is strikingly similar.
The Manpower Group’s 2026 US Talent Shortage Survey reported that nearly three-quarters of UK employers (73%) and almost seven in ten US employers (69%) are struggling to source the talent they need.
The survey suggests that talent scarcity isn’t simply the result of temporary economic conditions or country-specific policies. Instead, it reflects a much broader structural challenge affecting employers across advanced economies.
Larger companies aren’t alone
One of the more interesting findings in the survey was that while more large companies unsurprisingly reported hiring struggles, smaller businesses weren’t exempt from the challenge.
Manpower’s UK-specific data found 76% of employers with 1,000-4,999 employees reported difficulties finding skilled talent. And for organisations with 5,000+ employees, the figure remains similarly high at 75% – which is to be expected.
The surprising statistic was that for smaller businesses with as little as 10-49 employees it was only marginally lower at 69%.
And it’s the same picture in the US – 75% of companies with 5000+ employees compared to 66% of businesses with 10-49 employees.
These figures suggest that access to skilled talent has become a widespread challenge rather than one confined to enterprise-level employers.
Different industries = same challenge
The problem also can’t be isolated to certain industries.
The survey suggests that skills shortages are extending far beyond individual sectors. The most difficult skills to source across both the UK and US span a broad range of business functions like:
- Operations and logistics
- Sales and marketing
- Front-office and customer-facing roles
- AI literacy
- Engineering
Many of these hard-to-find capabilities are in demand across multiple industries – manufacturing, logistics, retail, hospitality, finance etc.
The result is that organisations are increasingly competing not only with their direct industry peers, but also with employers from completely different sectors that require many of the same skills.
The hidden opportunity for UK recruiters
The challenge is no longer confined to specific regions, industries or company sizes. Instead, employers are operating in an increasingly competitive market where high-demand skills remain difficult to secure.
It’s not all doom and gloom though.
The fact that it’s an international issue could hide within it a solution that many UK agencies could take advantage of. If US firms are struggling to find talent locally, your UK candidates might be the answer to their problems.
Recruiters have an opportunity to play a more strategic role in workforce planning. By developing international talent networks and supporting employers with cross-border hiring, recruiters could connect businesses with hard-to-find skills while opening up untapped placement opportunities for candidates.
Mitigating the risks
A bit of advice for recruiters expanding to the US: new markets will also bring new risks.
Insurance can be an invaluable safety net but can also be easily overlooked. Don’t get caught up in the excitement of expanding operations to the US and forget to protect your business from the increased exposure.
Kingsbridge Recruitment supports recruitment businesses with straightforward insurance solutions, including US policy extensions for seamless coverage to stay compliant and confident.
Speak to the Kingsbridge team, they’ll be more than happy to answer your questions.
