IT contractors move up the agenda of skill solutions

Computer specialists who work on a freelance basis are moving up the agenda when hiring managers are told to plug gaps in their organisation’s IT skills.

In fact, turning to temporary contractors to bridge shortfalls in IT expertise is the third most popular option, up from fourth last year, according to Modis.

The IT staffing firm said that by hiring contractors with high skill levels, especially for new initiatives or project implementation, end-users benefit twice.

Firstly, the notorious initial period at the project’s start, when efficiency suffers due to staffing and other adjustments, can be avoided, thereby gaining internal support quicker. 

Secondly, at a time of budget cutbacks, while contractors are higher in wage cost than full-timers, it varies and tends to come out of a separate project-specific pot.

The cost constraints explain why using all their resources, including contractors, that end-users already have – the ‘make do and mend’ approach, is their priority over taking on employees. 

One IT leader in financial services reflected: “ Considering the economic climate, the reality is that any skill gaps present will have to be filled by internal training and plugged by contractors brought on to deliver specific projects.”

So as a way to fill IT skills gaps, adding staff to the payroll has been booted out of the top three actions client managers plan in response, due to cost concerns and, partly, contractors.

Yet the full Modis dataset shows the actual chunk of hiring managers pinning their hopes on contractors to bring the missing IT skills is thinning, from 33% last year to 23% this year. 

As a resource to boost commercial and strategic skills, contractors are also somewhat out of favour: only 7% of the managers said such IT freelancers would be used to that end in 2012.

Prospects for IT contractors’ core offering appear brighter, however. Last year, ‘solutions integration’ was IT departments’ top priority, whereas now it’s “tech skills for new systems.”

“Despite a more strategic and commercial outlook required by IT personnel there is still a lack of technical skills regarding the implementation of new systems,” Modis said. “However interim project manager contractors can fill this void.”

Meeting demand for service with limited resources, meanwhile, is the primary issue facing IT managers, as it was throughout 2010, the firm added in State of the IT Market 2011 (Chapter 2 - PDF).

Another finding seeming to also bode well for IT specialists who work flexibly is that end-users’ appetite to outsource projects is increasing, where the required skills are not available internally.

Pointing to the data in favour of freelance hires, Modis managing director Jim Albert said it seems that while this year’s workforce issues are similar to those of 2010, “they way organisations intend to tackle these issues has changed somewhat.”

Unfortunately for its practitioners, the perception of IT isn’t on the reform list. An organisation’s IT boss summed up: “The biggest issue that we have is internal understanding of what it is IT does.

“Most people within the organisation view the IT team as people who run the help desk and fix the network; they don’t see the strategic significance of the function."

Elsewhere in the report, candidates with commercial, strategic, general business and project management skills were cited as the ‘hottest,’ as in these areas “talent is difficult to find”.