A new report has said that the demand for umbrella company contractors with specialised niche skill sets has gone absolutely through the roof recently.
A new employment outlook survey conducted by recruitment firm Manpower has made predictions concerning 2014’s first quarter. Its prognostications are that specialised contractors – in particular anyone with very specific skills in the information technology sector – are going to be incredibly popular over the coming quarter.
IT contractors – especially those with expertise in cloud security protocols and skills in data governance – were found to be most in demand. In fact, it wasn’t unheard of to see some of the top earners in these fields top out at £1,000 per diem. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a lot of money!
Honestly I love the information technology sector, especially when it comes to skilled and qualified workers. If you can find the right person for the job, you’re likely to end up with a positively brilliant technology expert that will undoubtedly be able to solve all your problems, as long as you provide them enough time and resources to get the job done. At the same time, the key problem here is finding one that’s got the expertise you need – and isn’t already working on a project for another client.
The skills shortage that’s gripping the UK is absolutely throwing a spanner in the works when it comes to the information technology field. Part of why salaries are so high right now – and why demand is rocketing – is that there are very few IT workers with the right mix of skills and experience to fulfill the desires of a myriad of clients. Those that are out there and working in the sector are more than likely under very long-term contracts with very generous compensation in an effort to keep them happy and have them stick around long enough for a new generation of IT workers to emerge from training and help shoulder the load of this huge demand.
The problem is there’s no real sign of when these freshly-trained IT professionals are going to show up. Hopefully they will join the work force before the industry collapses under its own weight and is forced to outsource jobs overseas. This would be a true tragedy for all concerned, so here’s hoping we don’t have to face it any time soon.
