Contractor skills shortages worsening in Scotland

The contractor market in Scotland has already been suffering from severe skills shortages this year; but as ContractorCalculator recently reported, with contractor availability declining sharply last month, the problem has now become worse.

Findings from the Bank of Scotland’s ‘Report on Jobs for June 2015’ show that contractor demand continued to increase last month, with the number of people offered permanent and temporary positions rising.

At the same time, the number of contracting vacancies increased in six of the eight sectors included in the survey. The two categories with the highest demand were engineering and construction, followed by IT & computing and financial services.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at the Bank of Scotland, explains that the results – along with increased hourly pay for both permanent and temporary workers – “suggest an economy continuing to show moderate growth.”

With the pool of talented candidates growing ever smaller, yet demand levels rising, businesses have been offering contractors marginally higher pay packets, the article notes, particularly in Dundee’s video gaming industry.

And with demand continuing to outgrow the availability of skilled workers, experts are advising that now is a great time for UK contractors in seek of work to consider relocating to Scotland.

“Things are looking mostly promising for contractors in Scotland,” ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin commented, adding that despite seeing only “marginally improved contracting rates” in June, the trends emerging in regards to contractor vacancies and talent supply mean that there should be a decent stream of work in the foreseeable future for contractors in Scotland.