Crystal Umbrella

PAYE umbrella contractors supplying the IT skills market might wish to take heed of recent advice proffered by a leading recruitment specialist on how to clinch the best work placements.  Professionals in IT contracting are widely respected for their technical expertise, but according to Richard Nott, the Website Director of specialist IT recruiter CWJobs.co.uk, this is fast becoming a criterion to be filed under ‘necessary but insufficient.’

Even though there is a significant shortage of IT expertise in the UK at present, IT professionals need to have additional ‘softer skills’ to do well in contemporary businesses.  Mr Nott elaborated on this by noting the new shift toward a ‘much more modern way of working,’ which he believes is demanding good communication skills from IT professionals as well as technical knowledge.

Referring to what he called ‘agile methodology,’ Mr Nott explained that it was now incumbent on IT professionals to develop ’softer’ communication skills in the organisations they work within,  as they are increasingly called upon to negotiate effectively with the commercial part of the business  to deliver the IT projects the company actually requires.  Today, the conventional model of an IT technician ‘sitting in the corner bashing out code all day’ is outmoded; today’s companies require people who can translate that code to the business end in plain, straightforward language and deliver required projects in time with business needs.

IT contractors working through umbrella companies might need to start purging their speech of techno-babble as a matter of urgency.  Those with the softer skills Mr Nott identifies may well find themselves securing the best placements.

UK-based economists Markit have commented that the demand for IT contractors has risen to its highest level since the economic downturn took hold in April of last year. Speaking to Contractor UK, Markit stated that their index shows that the demand for IT contractors in October was at 53.8, the highest level in 17 months. The demand for permanent IT staff had also increased, peaking at 51.5.

Markit’s index uses 50 as an indication that there has been no change, therefore a figure above 50 denotes an increase and below 50 shows deterioration. One of their economists, Jack Kennedy confirmed that this increase in demand for IT workers is the result of the sector benefiting from “broad based stabilisation”. He also attributed the improvement to reported shortages of software developers, CNC programmers and specialists in Sharepoint and .Net. He also stated that companies now seem to be eager to put their technical projects into operation, after being put on the backburner for months during the recession. This is shown in the increased demand for permanent and temporary IT staff.

The REC also confirmed a growth in contracted IT positions rising to its highest level in sixteen months. However, in comparison to other sectors, the increase in IT demand was the least marked. Also, pay rates for IT contractors have continued to decrease although they are no longer decreasing at such a fast pace.