Specialist IT Contractors In Increasing Demand

According to a new survey from Harvey Nash/KPMG – titled the 2015 CIO Survey – contractors with specialist knowledge of the digital and big data sectors are expected to see demand for their skills increase dramatically in the coming months, the Contractor Calculator website reports. The report received responses from IT leaders across 50 countries.

This will come about as big companies continue to struggle keeping up with digital innovation in the modern world. Numerous businesses are apparently finding it hard to keep up with the need to innovate and have digital strategies that are not up-to-date. They also lack the skills required to implement such strategies.

This has put digital and big data analytic skills in the top spot for the most in-demand abilities, ahead of change management experience, it is noted.

For those businesses that have recognised the need to meet this demand, the recruitment drive for such contractors may also prove difficult as research has found that the skills gap in 2015 is 33% bigger than in 2013.

It was found that due to the need for such skills, six out of seven CIOs will be hoping to increase their spend on contractors in 2015 – meaning that individuals with these skills looking for contracting work should be able to find lucrative contracts. With a number of big companies openly admitting that they are behind when it comes to digital abilities, this looks all the more promising for contractors looking for work.

The CEO of Harvey Nash, Albert Ellis, has stated that businesses need to act swiftly or risk trailing behind their competitors; the most disruptive element, he notes, is the “speed of change” – in fact, the company has “never seen demand for a skill expand so quickly as we have for big data analytics.”