IT Contractor demand on the rise

IT contractors will be very pleased to hear that demand for the sector is returning to its 2013 peak after a number of different reports have shown promising figures for contractors specialising in IT.

The latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) showed that during last month, IT contractor demand returned to its highest level, growing to 62.9, which was the same figure as Augusts’ 28-month high.

Another report by Computer People has predicted that demand for IT contractors will thankfully not experience the usual slump seen around the Christmas period.

Cyber Crime and the Cloud

A recent study by recruitment specialists Robert Half, found that those with cloud computing skills are more likely to develop career-wise than those who don’t have the valuable skill.

It was found that 39% of IT directors said that cloud computing is the most valuable skill for IT professionals to have, followed by security (37%), project management (33%), virtualization (29%), network administration and engineering (27%), mobile and application development (27%), database management (24%), C# development (15%), business intelligence (14%) and Java development (13%).

Phil Sheridan, UK Managing Director, Robert Half Technology said, “The fact that so many companies are investing in cloud initiatives as well as training for their teams means that there are rich opportunities and a clear career path for IT professionals with cloud skills.”

Another survey by Ernst & Young revealed that there is currently a cyber security skills shortage, with 66% of UK respondents saying that in the last year, cyber security incidents had climbed by 5% within their companies.

This is surely an area where IT contractors can take advantage of this shortage and offer their services to big businesses in need of cyber security?

Confidence in the IT sector

Other surveys have shown that there is definitely more confidence among the IT sector.

For example, the latest KPMG and Markit report ‘Tech Monitor UK’ found that out of all the private sectors in the UK, the technology industry has outperformed them all.

UK tech companies are a lot more confident about their business prospects compared to other sectors, which is great news for contractors working in IT, as this could potentially mean that more firms will look to increase their hiring levels.

Research carried out by Giant Group has also shown that confidence is on the rise amongst IT contractors.  Since 2011, the length between finding new contracts has significantly reduced, with 82% saying that they were having to wait less than 31 days for their next job, and those having to wait 90+ days has halved in the past two years.

Of those surveyed, 64% believe that their earnings will increase over the coming year.

For more information on finding work as a contractor, why not visit our specialist sector, for top tips and advice on finding work in your market.

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