The Next Big Thing when it comes to demand for contractors is here: the e-commerce sector is growing like mad and is in need of qualified professionals.
Or at least that’s what industry experts are saying, and I doubt that they’re wrong; e-commerce is indeed growing leaps and bounds. Unfortunately demand for skilled workers has grown so high that some retail sectors are feeling the heat when it comes to filling their own vacancies because so much talent is flocking to the e-commerce market!
A new report says that if you’ve got experience in dealing with fast-moving consumer products, you’re likely to be a hot commodity when it comes to e-commerce firms. Last July saw vacancies soar by 19.5 per cent compared to June’s figures, and year-on-year opportunities have gone up by an amazing 67.5 per cent overall, according to the research data.
Demand is so high that the current talent pool of permanent workers simply can’t keep up, especially since other retail sectors also need skilled workers of their own. As a result, the word on the street is that there’s going to be a massive uptick in the number of freelancers and umbrella company contractors taking up work projects in the market, but even those intrepid self-employed souls are unlikely to quench the sector’s desire for warm bodies and keen minds.
If you ask me, it sounds like we’ve got a real dilemma on our hands in the sense that if the UK workforce is not satisfying the demands of the e-commerce sector in terms of skilled and qualified workers, the entire market could end up collapsing under its own weight. With firms unable to keep up with demand for their goods and services due to a lack of key personnel, the e-commerce sector could easily contract as frustrated consumers take their custom elsewhere, and that could lead to a substantial drop in profitability for the market as a whole; worse yet, if these e-commerce firms end up having to outsource positions to overseas workers the overall UK economy could suffer because there would be fewer Brits benefiting from the success of these companies.
For what it’s worth, the real question here isn’t why are these e-commerce companies so popular but why aren’t there enough skilled Brits available to take on the roles that need to be so desperately filled. I feel we need to increase the emphasis we place on educating younger Brits entering the workforce with the skills necessary to fill these positions before they’re gone, one way or another!
