Contractor demand keeps Scotland’s contract market buoyant
Strong IT and ‘robust’ engineering contractor demand have kept Scotland’s overall contract and temp worker demand in positive territory, and ensured temp and contract billings slipped only marginally into contraction in December. Recruiters in Aberdeen reported increased billings and rate increases, says the Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, suggesting the oil and gas and offshore renewables sectors are increasing activity. Scotland’s IT sector is significantly outperforming the UK as a whole, most likely driven by the country’s strong financial IT and gaming sectors. More…
Financial IT contractors may receive a huge boost from London RMB trading
Financial IT contractors would receive a huge boost to their contract prospects if London becomes an offshore trading centre for the Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB). According to the Treasury, close links have been forged with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to promote closer collaboration. This is designed to support the Chinese Government’s policy in the development of the offshore RMB. If London secures offshore trading status, it could add £1bn of new business and tens of thousands of new jobs, and new contracts, virtually overnight. More…
Oil and gas contractors could find Port Stanley is the new Aberdeen
Oil and gas contractors may find Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to be the next hot location for offshore contracts following recent drilling successes in the region. According to Bloomberg’s Brian Swint, offshore oil in the waters around the islands could triple UK reserves and represent one of the biggest global oil and gas opportunities in the next few years. Restrictions on shipping in place by South American governments mean that much of the supply to a series of emerging offshore fields would be directly from Europe, potentially presenting opportunities for UK contractors and the UK-based supply chain. More…
Domestic oil and gas contract opportunities fall by a third
A burst of activity in the Falklands could be just what UK-based oil and gas contractors need after Deloitte’s Petroleum Service Group (PSG) revealed that North Sea drilling activity fell by a third in 2011. Speaking to BBC News, Graham Sadler, Deloitte’s PSG Managing Director, said the slump in activity was down to “a delayed reaction to the 2008 recession, current economic and market factors, delays affecting rig availability and the maturity of the UK Continental Shelf .” Sadler suggested the impact of the Chancellor’s windfall tax on energy companies in the 2011 Budget “may not be evident until the end of 2012 and beyond.” More…
Marketing interims and freelancers could see prospects bolstered in 2012
New product launches and market share protection strategies look set to offer marketing interims and freelancers a marginally optimistic outlook for 2012. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Bellwether Report 2011 Q4 shows marketing budgets being revised upwards at the end of 2011 and increased for 2012, boosted by events such as the London 2012 Games. Marketers with online expertise are likely to continue to benefit from rising internet advertising spend, which at the end of last year rose at the fastest rate of all marketing spend categories.
IT contractors benefit from the UK’s status as top ‘cyber power’ leader
IT contractors both benefit from and contribute to the UK’s status as leading the global Cyber Index, which, according to Booz Allen Hamilton Vice Chairman Mike McConnell “identifies those countries that understand what it takes to operate in a digital era.” The Cyber Power Index, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton, measures both the success of digital adoption and cyber security, and the degree to which the economic and regulatory environment in G20 nations promote national ‘cyber power’. The UK’s IT sector and infrastructure gains much of its competitive advantage from the thriving IT contracting sector. More…
Increase in contractor businesses in financial distress?
The last quarter of 2011 saw a 61% increase in the number of professional services firms, which include contractor businesses and their service providers, facing ‘critical’ levels of financial distress. Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert also showed that there has been an overall 24% year-on-year increase in UK firms experiencing financial distress. Contractor limited companies and contracting service providers in generally buoyant London and the South East have not proved to be immune, as their financially challenged firms increased by 19% and 33% respectively. More…
SME employees should all be contractors to kickstart growth, says thinktank
Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) should be able to treat their employees as contractors to kickstart economic growth and new jobs. This is according to the Adam Smith Institute thinktank, which describes the measure as the “single most effective measure which government could enact to boost a pro-growth agenda”. The thinktank says the reduction in costs and administrative burden would allow SMEs to hire even more contractors on a self-employed basis and offer a huge incentive for single person enterprises to grow. More…