Engineering Contractors In Short Supply

In Q3 of this year it appeared that technical and engineering contractors were the most difficult to recruit. This is according to a recent article on ContractCalculator, citing figures from the latest REC JobsOutlook. As a result, contractors with these in-demand skills will have the greatest contract opportunities in the months to come.

According to REC’s CEO, Kevin Green, the UK’s workforce is “lean with minimal spare capacity”, and the lack of workers with the right skills to fit the jobs means there will be growing pressure to increase salaries in the near future.

For the first and second quarters of this year, IT and telecoms contractors were also in the top four categories of skills that were lacking in supply, as well as engineers and interims. They did not make the top four in the third quarter and were replaced by chefs and drivers.

However, according to Dave Chaplin, ContractCalculator’s CEO, this is not because the demand has lessened for IT contractors, it is simply due to the skills needed in other sectors being more in demand in the run up to Christmas. In fact, Chaplain claims that the demand for IT contractors in some areas is continuing to increase.

Chaplin also claims that as the economy continues to recover at a fast pace, demand for contractors will keep growing. Many clients hired contractors for “risk management reasons” during the period of economic uncertainty and fully appreciate the advantages they bring, but we are now witnessing a “structural change in the UK labour market in favour of flexible workers.”