Space… contractors’ future frontier
Contractors from nearly every discipline stand to benefit from projected growth in the UK’s space industry, according to the new Space Innovation and Growth Strategy. The sector is forecast to be worth £40 billion by 2030 and employing 100,000 workers. Minister for Science and Innovation Lord Drayson commented: “I want to see space as a leading sector of UK industry and a mainstay of our economy – built on science, employing talent, manufacturing [and] cutting-edge technologies.” That sounds like good news for contractors! More…
IT contractors have more contracts to choose from….
Despite a seasonal slump in December, the latest Computer Weekly/SSL/JobAdsWatch survey shows that, compared to the second quarter of 2009, IT contract vacancies are up by 18%. The data also reports that software houses make up 42.9% of demand for IT contractors and confirms the importance of financial services, which make up 31.9% of demand. More…
…but 44% of IT companies are planning to outsource jobs abroad
Recovery in IT and other contracting sectors could be fragile according to the CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey. It shows that 44% of IT companies and 17% of manufacturers are set to outsource abroad. All this is against a backdrop of skills shortages, as CIPD’s public policy adviser Gerwyn Davies explains: “Despite rising unemployment, employers are still struggling to recruit the people they need and we are turning abroad to plug the gap.” More...
City IT contractors have long road ahead
IT contractors with financial services clients have seen increased confidence and demand, but the latest CBI PricewaterhouseCoopers financial services survey suggests short-term prospects for the sector are weak, with cost reduction contributing to a slow recovery. The report says headcount levels have stabilised and product development – typically a good source of contracts – is ‘attracting more attention than at any time in the past year.
HMRC fires warning shot across expat-contractors’ bows
Expat contractors could find their travelling habits under the microscope following a recent HMRC tax case victory. Despite moving to the Seychelles in 1974, entrepreneur Robert Gaines-Cooper lost his appeal when the Court of Appeal decided that HMRC had correctly interpreted UK non-residency rules in IR20. Gaines-Cooper is facing an estimated tax bill backdated to 1993 of £30m. More…
Contractors – get your free website here!
Contractors who don’t have an online presence can create a website for free by visiting Getting British Business Online. BT, e-skills UK, Enterprise K, Google, The IoD and PayPal are behind this initiative to get 100,000 businesses online by the end of 2010. According to e-skills UK, although the UK has 40m internet users, over 1.5m businesses still don’t have a website. More…