UK
Could it be things are starting to look up for IT contractors?
6 March 2009
It may be a blip, but it seems after months of cutting back on technology contractors, financial services firms are hiring them again.
Figures from financial staff screening firm Powerchex suggest the number of job offers to IT contractor job offers swelled by 30% in January compared with December. Less promisingly, they were 68% down on the same period in 2008.
Simon Walker, managing director of recruiters Project Partners denies that year-on-year figures are quite so dire. He says banks’ appetite for IT contractors is the same now as it was in 2008.
“With consolidation in the financial sector, part-nationalisation of banks and new regulatory requirements we’ve seen an upswing in demand for project managers, change managers and programme managers,” he says. “Because of the finite nature of the work, the banks are looking to take on contractors.”
James Richmond, sales director at financial IT recruiters Cititec confirms that contractor demand is ‘stable'.
“There’s still a healthy demand for highly-skilled software developers around Java, C# and C++,” he says. “And niche skill-sets around trading systems are still required. However, we have seen a drop off in support and infrastructure roles as more people are being redeployed internally.”
Ann Swain, chief executive of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies [formerly known as the Association of Technology Staffing Companies] says banks still need contractors to complete projects. “Sadly, it might only be a short-term phenomenon,” she laments.
No - the jokers above are just trying to talk up the market.
giles.percy 06 Mar 2009
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