Some Big Doors Close on IT Contracting, but Others Open

IT contracting is getting squeezed in private and public sector organisations alike as the government’s austerity measures kick in and the drive to make cost savings tops the agenda among many financial services firms.

A recent survey by the National Audit Office found that central government Chief Information Officers are meeting stringent government spending limits by slashing IT interims and consultants across all departments. The report anticipates that further IT job losses will be inevitable under current economic conditions, with even more pressure on ICT budgets.

As if this wasn’t depressing enough for the jobbing PAYE umbrella contactor in the IT skills market, a raft of major banks, including Lloyds, RBS, Nomura and UBS, recently imposed a ‘take it or leave it’ pay rate cut of at least 10% on IT contractors. To add to the gloom, news is just surfacing that the major financial services firm F&C Asset Management is shedding 70 jobs across its fund manager business. The brunt of the company’s £33 million cost-slashing exercise is likely to land on IT and backroom functions.

Add to that the recent Financial Times report that the French car-making giant Peugeot is sending 6,000 jobs across Europe ‘down the Swanny’ in 2012 – with IT staff included in the cuts – and it’s enough to send placement-seeking IT contractors into a fog of despondency.

However, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) remains upbeat about contractor opportunities in the IT skills market. Doors may presently be closing in financial services and the public sector, but they are opening elsewhere, with skills in .Net, SAP and mobile technology applications much in demand.

Source:

http://www.contractoruk.com/news/00employers_factor_it_staff_cost-cutting_plans.html