IT umbrella company contractors working in the finance sector must be wondering what’s going to happen next.
In recent weeks, the major banks have been cutting rates for their IT contractors by an average 10%. A lot of contractors have also been given a mandatory two-week holiday over the Christmas and New Year period.
During the summer, finance sector contractors were full of confidence in their prospects for the coming year. A survey by Giant discovered that 37.2% of them were prioritising higher pay over long-term contracts.
However, the financial services sector has been rationalising and as often happens in these situations, IT budgets get cut and contractors are the first to feel the pinch.
The chief executive of APSCo, Ann Swain, explained that contractors are first in and first out. Unemployment is rising again and employers will generally cut back on their flexible workforce before making permanent workers redundant.
The major City banks do still have some IT projects on the go and there will be opportunities for contractors. However, it will be much harder to secure new contracts. The projects that were put on hold during the credit crisis are now in full swing, but banks are not looking to start new projects at the moment.
IT contractors with a highly specialised skill set should still find themselves in demand, but those with more general skills may find things more difficult. Financial and banking recruiters are still recruiting, but the level of hiring is no longer increasing. It remains to be seen whether this is a blip or a downward trend that is going to continue into next year.
© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: Think Outside the Box by Lel4nd
