Contractors' Questions: Is public sector IT dead?

Contractor's Question: Having been out the market for the last month, have I missed the boat to get an IT contract in the public sector? It's my traditional field, but press headlines seem to suggest public sector is dead for us freelancers. What's the truth?



Expert's Answer: There has been an immediate impact in not only the recruitment of new contractors into the public sector, but also in the volumes of extensions. Initially, with high profile restrictions on funding, average durations reduced to keep within spend limits but this appears to have recovered. Extensions are less likely to be offered unless they are for more critical development projects. At the same time, new IT recruitment is more aligned to the technician level with fewer new roles for project managers.



The expert was Alan Rommel, managing director of Parity Resources.



Expert's Answer: IT contractors continue to be in demand across most public sector organisations, albeit not at the same rate as we saw a year ago. Although central government continues to be severely affected by budget cuts, both contract and permanent opportunities exist within the not-for-profit, charity and voluntary sectors. These sectors, and notably health, housing and education bodies, are all still recruiting IT professionals across all levels, from support staff up to project managers.



For example, there is still demand for professionals with niche technical experience of housing management systems and transformational local government experience. In addition, private sector consultancies that deliver outsourcing solutions to public sector organisations are recruiting professionals with bids management, pre-sales or technical architecture experience.



Unprecedented, government-ordered transformation of services, such as NHS commissioning moving from Primary Care Trusts to GPs, will create demand for IT professionals as different skills will be needed to deliver IT in this changed environment.



The expert was Joel Armitt, public sector director at Hays IT.