The contribution of IT contractors to the UK economy simply can’t be undersold, especially in light of the skills shortage gripping the country.
If there’s anything anyone knows, it’s that there’s a serious storm brewing on the horizon when it comes to the number of skilled and qualified workers in relation to the number of available job billings. In particular the problem is there’s not enough permanent workers to go around, especially in the rarefied air of the information technology sector, and a new study just found that if the shortage takes serious hold, the lack of IT support could hamstring the development of many a firm here in the UK.
In fact, nine out of ten survey respondents said that as competition for dwindling resources hots up, it’s going to be harder and harder to have a successful business when it comes to the digital world. Technology is growing at breakneck speeds, and if a company doesn’t evolve to meet these new trends it risks being left behind in the dust – and without a robust IT department to facilitate this growth, it could easily be the death knell for all too many firms.
Luckily the nation’s battalion of freelancers and umbrella contractors have answered the call and are more or less riding in like the cavalry in one of those old Hollywood films. The contributions of the self-employed simply can’t be understated in their efforts to keep businesses afloat, and IT contractors in particular are certainly pulling their weight right now and will of course continue to do so; for what it’s worth, I really don’t think that UK freelancers get enough respect for the pivotal role they play in keeping things humming along as much as they actually do.
Of course, even the cadre of British freelancers won’t be able to hold back the rising tides indefinitely. The stark truth is that employment trends will continue to rocket upwards faster than even the contracting community can cope with, and the end result could very well be the slow collapse of the UK’s digital skills sector. The only thing for it is to simply encourage more Brits into joining the industry through better and more accessible education opportunities – this could bolster the ranks of permanent employees and contract workers alike, and in one fell swoop could save the economy and prop it up for years to come.
