Contractors gain new ‘ambassador’ to represent their interests in UK and Europe
Contractors could enjoy greater recognition with clients and agencies at a national level, and with business organisations at a European level. This is the objective of PCG’s John Brazier, who has adopted two new roles within the freelancer organisation as director of corporate and strategic affairs and director of European and international affairs. “It’s early days, and my role is now to raise the bar and open doors at the highest level,” Brazier told ContractorCalculator in an exclusive interview. More...
New guidance for interim management contractors on how to win more contracts
Interim management contractors have gained valuable contract-winning insights from a new guide, Interim service providers and guide, published by the Institute of Interim Management (IIM). Advice for interims includes making themselves easy to find, as they are more than four times as likely to “be found for an assignment than to find one by searching”. More...
Financial IT contractors to benefit from 60% increase in financial sector IT spend
Financial IT contractors are facing a strong renaissance in demand for their services as the UK’s financial firms plan to increase their IT spend by a whopping 60% over the next quarter. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)/PricewaterhouseCoopers 95th Financial Services Survey notes that: “Investing in IT is expected to be the most important element of growth strategies over the next 12 months.” However, the report warns that skills shortages may constrain growth. More...
Contractors contribute to record services exports, as business confidence increases
Contractors delivering their services to overseas clients played their part in generating the highest levels of services exports since records began. This is according to the latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey, which also highlights that business confidence is rising and firms are hiring. “It is incredibly encouraging to see export deliveries reach record levels, and the upturn in employment balances is reassuring,” says BCC director general John Longworth. “The sheer strength of our export balances shows that companies have untapped potential to expand.” More...
IT and engineering contractor demand falters, but construction shows surprise increase
Demand for contractors across the core contracting disciplines of IT and engineering stuttered during June 2013, falling by 2% month-on-month. However, the latest Reed Job Index shows demand for construction contractors growing by a surprise 7%. This is consistent with the improving fortunes for the sector shown in the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (see below). Overall, the index shows the UK labour market is at its highest point since December 2009. More...
Contractor hiring likely to increase across all sectors of the economy
Contractors with services and construction sector clients are likely to experience increasing demand for their services, although those serving the manufacturing sector may find any increased demand to be marginal. These are the conclusions of the Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) UK Manufacturing, Construction and Services Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI), which all showed growth in output during June 2013. More...
Contractor demand to benefit from better than expected shale gas assessment
Contractors across oil and gas, energy, engineering and construction, as well as support services such as IT, interim management, finance and marketing, are all in the frame to secure new contracts resulting from better than expected shale gas development. A report by the British Geological Survey shows that the recoverable shale gas potential of just one formation across the North of England is 130 trillion cubic feet. That’s equivalent to over 40 years of the UK’s annual consumption. A recent Institute of Directors report forecasts that a wide range of contracting disciplines will be required to facilitate shale gas development, and dubbed shale gas development as the ‘new North Sea’. More...
Shetland contract boost for oil and gas, engineering and construction contractors
Up to 500 new contracts and jobs for oil and gas, engineering and construction contractors will be created at BP’s Sullom Voe processing terminal in the Shetland Isles. The Herald’s Mark Williamson reports that £500m investment by the energy major will double the terminal’s capacity and allow it to process the huge increase in output expected from new deepwater fields west of Shetland. The new contracts and jobs “will be in areas including construction and engineering”, writes Williamson. More...
UK subsea sector to generate 10,000 new jobs and contracts
The UK’s subsea sector, which currently has a workforce of 66,000 contractors and employees, has a further 10,000 new contracts and jobs in the pipeline, says trade body Subsea UK. BBC News reports that the industry body is appealing to the Scottish and UK governments to do more to support the sector, and to maintain its status as a world leader, accounting for nearly half of the global subsea market. More...
Contractors will be able to “interact with HMRC digitally” by 2015-16
Contractors will “be able to take control of their tax affairs through their own online accounts” over the coming years. Online accounts are being rolled out initially for individuals, and then for smaller firms like contractor limited companies. Current estimates are that this will be rolled out in 2015 and 2016. HMRC is investing £200m into its Digital Services to reduce red tape. There is a sting in the tail, because according to HMRC, its services will help the taxman “to identify the minority who seek to get around the rules”. Early contractor adopters of the scheme with characteristic low salary and high dividend patterns may find themselves the unwelcome target of HMRC’s IR35 specialist teams as a result.