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Most IT contractors will emerge unscathed from any credit crunch effects this year, as both their projects and pay rates will defy the wider business slowdown. Such is the verdict of ReThink Recruitment, which found that 70% of IT directors were planning to freeze or increase their contractor intake over the next 12 months. A third of directors questioned said they would cut their contractor numbers in 2008-09, though all admitted a permanent supply of IT skills would not get cheaper in the future. As a result, more than a fifth of the respondents predicted contractor pay rates would rise over the next year; 5% predicted they would fall, and 73% said they would remain static. Explaining the optimism, ReThink said more IT staff would be needed in the coming months to meet demands on IT to deliver business efficiency gains, as the economy slows. Almost half of directors implied they agreed, by saying they expected headcount in their IT department to increase over the next 12 months, while just 13% said it would fall. Sixty per cent of the directors testified that a higher IT staffing level would be vital, as their department’s project workload was due to grow, against just 6% who said it was set to shrink. Perhaps this forecast of greater volumes of IT work explains why directors’ top two concerns over the next year were attracting a higher quality of candidate and retaining staff in key positions. “There appears to be no end of the candidate market in sight, with skills acquisition and retention still a pressing concern for IT directors,” said Michael Bennett, a director at ReThink. Ominously for contractors, employment law was one of just a few of business issues that directors said their organisaton had ‘no concern’ about in 2008. ReThink also sounded a warning over contractor pay: “Rates for contractors tend to be much more volatile than salaries for staff and are prone to falling during a slowdown. “During the last downturn we had reports of rates for contractors being slashed by major banks, but more than four times as many IT directors think rates will rise than fall, which shows that skills shortages are still very much an issue.” “We are still seeing acute shortages of candidates with .Net proficiency, and project management experience remains highly sought-after.” Aug 15, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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