An increase in demand for professional contractors means good news for those thinking of moving to the UK.
An ongoing skills shortage predicted in the temporary labour market has prompted a growing need for qualified staff across a number of sectors.
myOE UK General Manager and Finance Director Andy Myers says it is a good opportunity for skilled workers to relocate.
“UK media and recruitment firms are reporting renewed opportunities for accountants, IT workers, engineers and business consultants wanting to live and work in the UK. Recruiters are forecasting a shortage through to the end of 2013 and into 2014.”
Mr. Myers said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) recent Jobs Outlook survey indicated that 40% of employers planned to increase their use of contractors over the next three months and 34% over the next four to 12 months.
“Employers are more optimistic than they were last year. There are 400,000 more people employed in the UK compared with 12 months ago and the prediction of continued growth indicates we are recovering from the recession, especially in the job market.”
Mr. Myers says the REC’s June report listed IT and engineering in second and third place on their league table of sectors that have skills shortages.
“For IT professionals in particular there has not been such a call for contractors since May 2011, and the demand index for engineering has been increasing month by month by over 10 per cent,” he says.
IT contractor demand for June was scored by the REC at 57.3 points, which is up from 54.8 in January and from the 2012 peak of 54.6 in December. There has been real term growth of almost six index points in the last year.
The REC report explained that a lack of specific IT skills needed to fulfil permanent roles meant that employers were hiring on a temporary basis instead, which is reflected in the increased need for contractors. The report noted a particular demand for IT contractors with skills in Java, PHP, .Net and VM.
