If you’ve been struggling to recruit an Electrical Engineer with food industry experience, you’re not alone.

The truth is simple: they’re rare. Very rare.

Let’s break it down with some numbers.

How many Electrical Engineers actually work in food manufacturing?

The UK population currently sits at around 69.6 million. Out of that, only 4,000-8,000 people are Electrical Engineers working specifically in food and drink manufacturing.

That works out to just 0.0057% to 0.0115% of the UK population.
Or, to put it another way:

For every 100,000 people, only 6-12 of them are doing this job.

Why does this matter?

Think about the scale of the UK food sector. There are around 9,500 food and drink manufacturing sites across the country.

That means there’s roughly one food-sector Electrical Engineer for every one to two factories.

So not only are these engineers rare - they’re absolutely critical. They’re the ones who keep production running, automation flowing, and downtime to a minimum. Without them, factories grind to a halt.

Why recruitment feels impossible

When you’re hiring for one of these roles, you’re not just posting a vacancy - you’re entering a competition. Every manufacturer wants the same small pool of candidates, and the best engineers are usually not actively looking.

That’s why engineering recruitment in food manufacturing feels so tough. It’s not that you’re doing it wrong - it’s that the talent pool is tiny, and demand is sky-high.

What can you do about it?

• Move fast - good engineers don’t stay on the market for long.

• Sell the role, not just list it - engineers want to know about culture, development, work-life balance, and investment in technology.

• Work with a specialist - recruiters who know the engineering and food sectors can access passive candidates you won’t find on job boards.

Looking for an Electrical Engineer with food manufacturing experience? That’s exactly what we do. We connect engineering talent with the companies that need them most.