IT contractors 'not fussed' about job security  

 

A buoyant jobs market for temporary IT professionals is reinforcing one of the most traditional views of freelance contracting – that job security is unimportant.

 

Thousands of IT contractors told Giant plc, which issued the verdict yesterday, that choosing a contract for stability is now among the least of their concerns.

 

Only a client’s industry status has less sway, but alongside extra responsibility and the chance to develop skills, a company’s brand increasingly has more clout.

 

Recruiters won’t be surprised to learn that pay remains the biggest motivator for IT freelancers however, yet the number driven by cash is down from last year, albeit marginally.

 

A good-work life balance is the second most important consideration for freelancers in 2007, while an equal number rated contracts if they had potential to learn new IT skills.

 

Upskilling was seized upon as evidence contractors are afraid of firms that seek to export jobs abroad, though better pay is also behind such skills development.

 

“Contractors are increasingly recognising the need to climb up the skills ladder,” said Giant’s managing director Matthew Brown.

 

This, he said, is because freelancers want to “acquire more management experience as lower skilled IT functions continue to be sent offshore.”

 

Meanwhile, both public and private sector IT contractors are earning an average of 3.1% and 4% more than they were this time a year ago, a top recruiter told CUK this week.

 

“Contractors at the higher end of the skills spectrum are benefiting from double digit pay increases,” Giant said in a statement yesterday.

 

“Contractors feel they are in a position to give more consideration to the kind of work they do and the status of the client because they no longer feel they have to maximise short-term income in anticipation of long periods without work.”

 

In October, recruitment lawyers at Law Speed warned longer term IT contracts would be less popular among hirers and agencies alike, in wake of Muscat Vs Dacas.

 

But yesterday, one agent backed the claim that longer periods without work are becoming less common for most IT contractors

 

He said: “We are seeing a definite increase in rates [for contractors] and some fairly long-term contracts being offered instead of the usual three months at a time.”

 

A poll into what IT contractors want in 2007 found six out of ten want to work for fewer hours, so they can spend more time with their families. Over 80% also want assignments to be more challenging, says the poll by JSA.

 

But, overwhelmingly, contractors are happy with their career decisions: a modest 95% rated themselves as ‘good’ at taking them, and only 18% want to quit contracting for PAYE employment.