Umbrella company IT contractors have entered 2011 with increased confidence, according to the most recent IT Employee Confidence Index.
The Index, which is produced by Technisource, showed a rise of 7.6 points in the final quarter of last year, bringing it up to 58.2.
49% of IT workers are confident that they can get a new role, while 78% think they are secure in their current role. The study also showed that 37% of those working in IT think that the economy is improving, up from 20% in quarter 3.
The president of Technisource, Michael Winwood, said it was an optimistic sign that confidence has increased. Many companies now anticipate increased hiring because of increased business confidence and consumer demand.
Further good news for IT contractors comes in the form of research commissioned by General Electric, the US conglomerate.
Its survey results show that manufacturers in the UK’s technology industry exhibit the most confidence. 25% of them recorded strong double digit growth last year and 71% expect performance this year to be even better. 48% of these companies have promised to take on extra staff this year.
80% of the UK’s hi-tech manufacturers depend heavily on export orders but the majority of them are confident that overseas demand will not only stay strong but increase by more than 12% on last year. Domestic demand is also predicted to increase by 5.8%.
The coalition should be relieved by the findings, especially as it is relying on high-tech manufacturing to help rebalance the economy. However, the government might want to take heed of another one of the results which claimed that only 33% of IT manufacturers think UK conditions are favourable.
The government’s sector skills council has predicted that opportunities in ICT will increase by 2.19% each year compared to the 0.45% increase predicted for the rest of the workforce. This means an additional 110,000 people will be required in order to keep up with demand in the IT and telecoms sector this year.
Nearly 50% of these with come from non-tech industries and a further 17% directly from school and university. Although contractors were not mentioned, only 40% of the UK’s IT workers are directly employed. A large increase in headcount should therefore lead to plenty of opportunities for IT umbrella company contractors.
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