Building skills in fluid power

15 June 2026  

Hydraulics and pneumatics continue to carry much of the operational load across UK industry, yet the skills pipeline that supports them is under increasing strain. Apprenticeships are expanding, but the balance between breadth and depth is drifting away from what the job actually demands. H&P reports.

Talk to maintenance managers trying to recruit and a consistent picture emerges. Candidates are available, but far fewer arrive with the confidence to diagnose faults in hydraulic or pneumatic systems when conditions move beyond the predictable. This is not simply a late-career shortage driven by retirements. The gap is opening much earlier, among those entering the trade with broad engineering knowledge but limited exposure to how fluid power behaves under real operating conditions.

That matters because fluid power itself has not become any less central. Across manufacturing, logistics, construction and energy, hydraulic and pneumatic systems remain embedded in everyday processes. What has changed is the level of expectation placed on them. Systems are expected to run more efficiently, integrate cleanly with controls and deliver consistent performance over longer intervals, often under tighter cost and energy constraints.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are still the primary route into these roles, and recent revisions to standards have widened their scope to reflect the overlap between mechanical, electrical and control disciplines. In principle, this mirrors the reality of the workplace. In practice, it has also created a squeeze on time. Hydraulics and pneumatics are often delivered as part of a wider programme, which makes it harder to develop the depth of understanding that the job demands.

A technician may be able to interpret circuit diagrams or identify components, yet still hesitate when a system begins to drift, lose efficiency or behave differently under load. These are not unusual
scenarios. They are the conditions in which most systems actually operate. Diagnosing them requires more than familiarity with symbols or procedures. It depends on repeated exposure to faults, and on understanding how variables such as temperature, contamination and wear interact over time.

Employers tend to encounter this gap quickly. Fault-finding takes longer, and there is a tendency to replace components rather than isolate root causes. In compressed air systems, where losses of 20 to 30% are not uncommon, that lack of depth translates directly into cost. Many sites are aware that inefficiencies exist but lack the in-house capability to measure and address them with confidence.

In practice, this often shows up on production lines where pressure drops or persistent leaks are treated as day-to-day irritations rather than signs of wider system inefficiency. Without the skills to quantify those losses or trace their source, opportunities for improvement are frequently missed.

Training providers face their own constraints. Colleges can teach principles effectively, but replicating the complexity of a working installation is more difficult. Demonstration rigs are necessarily
controlled environments. They rarely capture the cumulative effects that define real systems, where performance shifts gradually and faults are often the result of several interacting factors rather than a single clear cause.

Larger organisations have responded by building additional training around these realities. In-house programmes tend to focus on live equipment, using fault scenarios drawn from actual operations. This approach accelerates learning, but it also underlines how much practical understanding still needs to be developed beyond formal apprenticeship frameworks.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the position is less flexible. They form a significant part of the fluid power landscape, yet often lack the capacity to deliver structured training at that level of detail. Apprenticeships remain one of the few viable entry routes, but they require time, supervision and continuity, all of which can be difficult to sustain in smaller teams.

At the same time, the technical demands placed on technicians are shifting. In pneumatics, energy efficiency has moved into sharper focus as businesses seek to reduce operating costs and meet
environmental targets. Leak detection, system auditing and optimisation are becoming routine expectations rather than specialist tasks, which places a greater emphasis on understanding performance rather than simple functionality.

Hydraulics is undergoing a comparable transition, particularly in mobile and offhighway applications. Electrification is influencing how systems are configured and controlled, bringing greater use of proportional control, electronic feedback and integrated diagnostics. Hydraulics is not being displaced, but it is being asked to work differently, often alongside more advanced control architectures.

This combination of mechanical, electrical and control requirements is reflected in training, though not always in sufficient depth. Apprentices may encounter each element, but without sustained focus on fluid power itself, the knowledge can remain fragmented. Strong mechanical skills without an understanding of control systems are no longer enough, while familiarity with control logic alone does not equip someone to interpret how a system behaves physically.

Some providers are beginning to shift towards more applied teaching methods. Rather than separating topics, they use scenario-based learning that brings systems together. Commissioning a
compressed air installation, tracing inefficiencies or diagnosing faults across both mechanical and control elements offers a closer match to how work is carried out in practice.

Digital tools are reinforcing this shift. Condition monitoring and remote diagnostics are becoming more common, particularly in larger installations. Technicians are expected to interpret data
alongside physical inspection, identifying trends that point to wear or inefficiency before failure occurs. This does not replace hands-on skill, but it does change the context in which it is applied.

Recruitment continues to compete with perception. Fluid power does not always feature prominently in how engineering careers are presented to school leavers, with attention often focused on robotics or software-led roles. Yet much of that technology still relies on hydraulic and pneumatic systems to perform physical tasks, a connection that is not always made clear at an early stage.

Retention

Retention presents a further challenge. Bringing people into the sector is only part of the equation. Keeping them depends on whether they can see a pathway for progression and continued
development. Fluid power offers a range of opportunities, from maintenance through to design, commissioning and optimisation, but these routes are not always visible at the point of entry.

Alongside apprenticeships, shorter and more targeted forms of training are becoming more common. Courses focused on specific areas such as advanced fault finding, proportional control or energy efficiency allow technicians to build competence in stages while remaining in employment. This approach can be particularly effective in reinforcing practical skills that are directly applicable on site.

Industry bodies are working to define core competencies more clearly, with the aim of bringing greater consistency across training provision. At the same time, the diversity of applications means that training environment will differ from those of construction equipment or heavy manufacturing, even if all rely on fluid power.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that breadth alone will not address the skills gap. The expansion of apprenticeship content has value, but it needs to be balanced with sufficient time spent
developing depth in core disciplines. Hydraulics and pneumatics require sustained engagement to learn properly, and that requirement has not diminished.

The risk is not just an absence of entrants, but a shortage of technicians who are fully confident diagnosing, optimising and improving systems rather than maintaining them at a basic level.
Addressing that risk will depend on closer alignment between training and practice, and on recognising that fluid power remains a discipline in its own right rather than a subset of something broader.

The systems themselves will continue to be relied upon across industry. Ensuring that there are enough people with the capability to work on them effectively is becoming a more pressing
concern, and one that will require a more focused approach to training than is currently in place.