Companies look overseas as demand spirals for IT contractors

Demand for IT contractors in August in the UK has risen to its highest level in 2017, one report has found, while another suggests firms are finding it hard to find skilled talent without looking abroad.

According to the latest statistics from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), demand for temporary employees with IT skills is at its highest level all year: the organisation’s index shows a ‘demand score’ of 62.1 for August, compared with 61.1 recorded in July and 61.9 in May.

The REC’s records show that IT contractor demand has not hit such levels since April 2015, when its index scored appetite for new talent at 62.2.

Another study of UK IT leaders carried out by Interoute corroborates the REC’s findings, with just under half (48 per cent) of respondents saying that a skills shortage means they are looking for new skilled workers overseas.

Many (87 per cent) are using contractors to support projects on an interim basis, though a significant proportion of these - 42 per cent - are coming in from overseas and do not hold a UK passport.

The report’s authors write that many respondents articulate fears that the capacity to hire digital talent could be restricted by policies that will arise in the wake of Brexit.

In addition, 76 per cent say that any restrictions on hiring contractors from the EU would impact timescales for digital transformation and similar projects. Nearly half - 48 per cent - say this delay could be as much as 6 months to allow for taking on more temporary staff.

A further 28 per cent say that a lack of EU contractors would halt digital transformation plans entirely, while 11 per cent say it would increase the overall cost of skills and talent from domestic sources.

In general, respondents to Interoute’s survey say changing working practices could solve the problem, whether through collaboration (42 per cent) or globalising their business (38 per cent).

Mark Lewis, EVP products and development at Interoute, says businesses are increasingly having to find specialised talent - rather than generalists - to cut costs.

“They want to avoid drawn-out systems and infrastructure integration projects that can be costly, take a long time to become operational and be slow to evolve.”