Contractors appear to be benefitting across the board from a recovery in London’s financial district. According to March 2014’’s Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor, IT, human resources and risk specialists are specific skills contractor clients are seeking.
“Whilst much of the past year has seen demand within the contract jobs market, recent data shows that this is now beginning to stabilise,” notes Hakan Enver, operations director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services.
“We are, however, seeing a few exceptions to the rule in areas that traditionally rely on flexible labour – IT, HR, compliance and risk.”
This specific contractor demand is set against a backdrop of improving fortunes for London’s financial sector, which, according to the survey, has seen:
- Vacancies rise by 10% between February and March
- Job seekers increase by 6% since February
- Job availability rise by 2% year-on-year.
IT contractor fortunes directly rely on the UK’s financial sector, as the software development business is the only sector which hires more IT contractors.
“Hiring levels in the City have continued on an upward trajectory throughout March, with 9,261 available vacancies, further highlighting that employers remain confident to hire,” continues Enver.
However, he also notes that there are skills shortages emerging, exacerbated by client processes: “Often hiring managers will interview a number of candidates in order to provide a benchmark, resulting in the time-to-hire process taking weeks or even months.
“This, coupled with increased visa implications, which have affected who institutions can hire, has resulted in the early stages of a skills shortage in certain areas.”
Overall, the report’s conclusions are that the financial IT contract market is growing, alongside the market for specialist contractors in finance and accounting.