In-Demand Tech Skills for 2026

What 2025’s tech hiring trends mean for you 

Tech hiring changed significantly during 2025. Employers are more selective, teams are leaner, and hiring is focusing on skills that deliver immediate impact.

Drawing on our 2025 Tech Hiring Insights Report, this snapshot highlights what those shifts mean for candidates planning their next move in 2026 - where demand remains strongest and which skills recruiters are prioritising.

Senior & specialist skills in demand

A core finding from our 2025 Insights is that hiring has become more selective and capability-led, with employers prioritising skills and experience over formal credentials. Skills shortages and competition for talent continue to shape hiring decisions, with 37% of employers citing skills shortages and competition as their biggest hiring challenge in 2025.

Demand has been strongest for senior, specialist and transformation-led roles, where organisations need individuals who can deliver technical impact quickly in leaner teams.

Roles most in demand during 2025 included:

• Senior Software Engineers and Tech Leads
• Experienced Full Stack Developers
• Cloud and DevOps professionals
• Data, analytics and governance specialists
• Cybersecurity and risk-focused professionals
• Product, change and technology transformation roles

Alongside these, emerging roles linked to AI governance, cybersecurity architecture and responsible technology adoption have gained traction as organisations mature their use of AI.

What this means for you in 2026:
Employers are hiring carefully, but they will move quickly for candidates who can clearly demonstrate relevant skills, depth of experience and impact in similar environments.

AI awareness is assumed

Our 2025 Insights show that AI and automation are embedded in everyday business, particularly across software development, testing, quality assurance and productivity tasks. As a result, AI awareness is no longer viewed as a specialist or niche skill.

Instead, employers increasingly expect senior engineers, Tech Leads and delivery-focused roles to understand how AI and automation influence productivity, governance, risk and compliance.

AI adoption has also highlighted gaps between experimentation and responsible implementation, increasing the value placed on professionals who understand the wider implications of AI use.

What this means for you in 2026:
Be ready to talk about how AI affects your day-to-day work - particularly productivity, automation, governance and risk – not just whether you’ve ‘used AI tools’.

Data, governance and cyber demand grow

As AI adoption accelerated during 2025, so too did demand for skills that support responsible, secure and compliant implementation. Regulatory pressure, cyber risk and audit readiness increasingly influenced hiring decisions.

From a tech candidate perspective, employers placed growing emphasis on:

• Data, analytics and data governance
• Cybersecurity engineers and architects
• Governance, risk and compliance capabilities alongside technical delivery

What this means for you in 2026:
 Candidates who can combine technical delivery with data governance, security awareness or risk management will continue to stand out.

Contractor demand remains strong

Throughout 2025, employers continued to rely on experienced tech contractors and flexible resourcing to maintain delivery momentum while managing risk. Demand was particularly strong for highly skilled contractors who could accelerate transformation programmes and fill specialist capability gaps.

At Spectrum IT, 72% of contractors extended beyond their initial contract term in 2025, reflecting a preference for stability, continuity and reduced hiring risk rather than short-term or stop-gap hiring.

What this means for you in 2026:
 High contract extension rates show employers value continuity. Contractors who demonstrate impact early and integrate well with teams are more likely to secure longer-term engagements.

Flexibility beats salary for many

Our 2025 LinkedIn polls showed that flexibility has overtaken salary as the top motivator for tech professionals changing roles, with 36% citing remote or hybrid working as their main reason for moving jobs.

As salary growth stabilised, flexibility increasingly acted as a deciding factor (and in many cases a deal-breaker) for candidates assessing new opportunities.

What this means for you in 2026:
 Flexibility is often a deal-breaker. Be clear on what you need, but also ready to explain how you stay productive and engaged in flexible or hybrid setups.

Planning your next move for 2026

The hiring patterns of 2025 make one thing clear for tech professionals: while the market is more selective, demand for the right technical skills remains strong. Candidates who align their experience with in-demand roles, invest in continuous learning and clearly demonstrate impact will be best placed to succeed in 2026.

Read our full 2025 Tech Hiring Insights Report to explore how these trends are shaping tech careers and hiring decisions as we move through 2026.