Contractors enjoy an increasing number of contract opportunities in Scotland
Contractors based in Scotland and throughout the wider UK can potentially benefit from an increased number of contract opportunities with not enough people to fill them. The Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs for March shows contractor availability dropping at the fastest rate since October 2014, contractor agency billings falling, and rates continuing to rise. These are all symptoms of a supply and demand mismatch that could provide opportunities to contractors willing to relocate. More...
Half of the UK’s contractor clients plan to hire more contractors over the next quarter
Half of the UK’s contractor clients are planning to increase their contractor headcount during the next quarter. They say they need to do so to fulfil their need for specialist strategic skills and to help manage growth. This is according to the latest JobsOutlook for April 2014 from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which also shows that contractors with technical, engineering and IT skills remain in great demand. “Being able to access high quality flexible staff to meet variations in demand has been vital to British businesses during the downturn,” notes REC chief executive Kevin Green. More...
Up to 64,000 new shale gas contracts and jobs by 2032
Oil and gas, energy and construction contractors should benefit from up to 64,000 new contracts and jobs as a result of shale gas development over the next 18 years. The UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) is forecasting in a new report authored by E&Y that £33bn of investment in drilling 4,000 wells and building a supply chain will generate the new roles. The report also suggests that building capabilities in the UK could lead to further contracts and jobs throughout Europe as individual countries start to exploit their shale gas reserves. More...
Over three quarters of contractors and freelancers are “happy with their work situation”
76% of workers in self-employment or running micro-businesses are “happy with their work situation”. This is according to new research by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), which also highlights that high self-employment correlates with the most prosperous regions of the UK. The RSA’s Adam Lent believes that this shows self-employment to be a positive economic force, and counters the arguments put forward during and since the recession that many self-employed chose the lifestyle because they have been unable to find permanent employment. More...
‘Green collar’ contractors to enjoy 8,500 new contracts and jobs in renewables
Contractors in the energy and construction sectors look set to enjoy a further 8,500 new contracts and jobs as a result of eight major renewable projects just approved by the government. An estimated £12bn will be invested into the projects by 2020, accounting for 4% of the UK’s power generation capacity. The projects include both offshore wind and onshore biomass conversions that will require the skills from a wide range of energy, engineering and construction contractors. More...
Further rate cuts for financial IT contractors, this time at RBS
Financial IT contractors at RBS have been told to take rate cuts of 10% or face having their contracts terminated. eFinancialCareers’ Paul Clarke reports that its IT contractors were told about the cuts the day before the Easter weekend. “These kinds of cuts are more likely to result in the dead wood staying and the better staff…looking elsewhere,” warns Clarke. The cuts will take effect from 19th May and any contractors who refuse have been told to leave by 25th April. More...
Contractor financial and tax data to be sold by HMRC
Contractors could find their tax and financial data being sold to private firms and researchers by the taxman. AccountingWeb’s John Stokdyk confirms that the Treasury is considering plans to “to make anonymised tax data available to researchers and commercial organisations”. HMRC is reported to have been developing these plans within its Datalab department and has already released data about areas such as corporation tax, VAT, trade statistics and stamp duty land tax. More...
Limited company contractors to be affected by new ‘beneficial ownership’ rules
Limited company contractors may be required to submit additional information to fulfil the requirements of a new company ownership database being created by Companies House. PCG’s Andy Chamberlain confirms that although the administrative impact on contractors is likely to be minimal, “this register will be available for public inspection, with the exception of residential addresses”. The database is designed to reduce fraud and make company ownership in the UK more transparent. More...
Media and marketing contractors benefit from elevated marketing budgets
Marketing and media contractors and freelancers are benefitting from the sustained increase in UK marketing spend. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Bellwether Report for the first quarter of 2014 shows an ongoing rise in marketing budgets, with “growth set to be sustained into 2014/15 marketing campaigns”. All categories of marketing spend increased, but main media advertising experienced the greatest increase in budget, outpacing even internet ad spending. More...
Strong prospects for contractors targeting the UK manufacturing sector
Contractors targeting clients in the UK’s manufacturing sector have strong, positive prospects, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest quarterly Industrial Trends Survey. “Business optimism among manufacturers saw its sharpest improvement since 1973, on the back of strong growth in orders at home and abroad,” says the report. Greater investment is also planned, which should also lead to more contracts and jobs. More...