As UK scaleups move into a more disciplined era of growth, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the next phase of competition won’t just be for customers or capital, it will be for skills.
Hiring plans are tightening, investment scrutiny is sharper, and “growth at all costs” is firmly behind us. In this environment, scaleups that win won’t necessarily be the ones that hire the most people — but the ones that hire the right people.
So, what skills will scaleups be fighting over in the next 24 months?
Drawing on insights from LinkedIn, the World Economic Forum, McKinsey & Company, and the UK startup ecosystem, here’s what we’re seeing.
1. AI-Literate Operators (Not Just Engineers)
AI talent is no longer limited to data scientists and machine learning engineers. The real demand is shifting toward AI-literate operators: people who can apply AI meaningfully within business functions.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, AI and big data roles are among the fastest-growing globally, but equally important are roles that can translate AI into commercial outcomes.
For scaleups, this means hiring people who can:
- Embed AI into product, operations, or decision-making
- Improve efficiency without overengineering
- Understand AI’s limitations as well as its potential
These hires sit at the intersection of tech, product, and strategy — and they’re already in short supply.
2. Commercial Leaders Who Can Scale Revenue (Sustainably)
Growth-stage businesses are moving away from top-line vanity metrics and toward profitable, repeatable revenue models.
McKinsey research highlights that companies which align commercial strategy with execution significantly outperform peers during scale. As a result, demand is rising for:
- Heads of Sales and Revenue with scaleup experience
- Commercial leaders who can build systems, not just close deals
- GTM operators who understand longer buying cycles and buyer scrutiny
These leaders are especially critical post-Series A or post-investment, when expectations increase and tolerance for inefficiency drops.
3. Product Leaders Who Build for Scale, Not Speed
Product-market fit might get you noticed — but product discipline keeps you growing.
Scaleups are increasingly seeking product leaders who can:
- Balance customer feedback with long-term roadmap decisions
- Build scalable, resilient products rather than quick fixes
- Collaborate closely with engineering, commercial, and leadership teams
LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise data consistently shows strong demand for senior product roles, reflecting how central product thinking has become to sustainable growth.
4. Operational Talent That Reduces Complexity
As teams grow, complexity creeps in and many scaleups feel it before they’re ready.
We’re seeing increased demand for operators who can:
- Build processes without killing agility
- Introduce structure at the right time (and not too early)
- Improve cross-functional efficiency
Roles in operations, finance, people, and delivery are becoming strategic hires, not just support functions. These skills are particularly valuable in PE-backed or VC-backed environments where operational readiness directly impacts valuation.
5. People & Culture Leaders Who Can Scale Humans, Not Just Headcount
The World Economic Forum highlights leadership, resilience, and people management as critical future skills — and this is playing out clearly in scaleups.
As businesses grow quickly, founders often become bottlenecks. Scaleups are increasingly fighting for:
- People leaders who can build culture intentionally
- Managers who can lead through ambiguity and change
- Talent specialists who understand both hiring and retention
Culture debt, like technical debt, compounds fast and fixing it later is costly.
6. Hybrid Skillsets (The Real Competitive Advantage)
Perhaps the biggest shift we’re seeing is a move away from narrow specialists toward hybrid talent.
According to McKinsey, organisations that outperform during periods of uncertainty tend to have leaders with cross-functional fluency — people who understand how decisions ripple across product, people, and performance.
Examples include:
- Commercial leaders with strong data literacy
- Product managers with customer and revenue insight
- Founders hiring “builders” rather than pure executors
These profiles are harder to find — which is exactly why they’re becoming so valuable.
What This Means for Scaleups
The next 24 months will reward scaleups that:
- Hire intentionally, not reactively
- Invest in capability, not just capacity
- Align talent decisions with long-term growth strategy
At The Small Consultancy, we work with high-growth businesses at this exact inflection point — helping founders and leadership teams design talent strategies that support sustainable scale, not short-term fixes.
Because in today’s market, who you hire and when, matters more than ever.