Survey: What next for IT contracting in Ireland?

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The IT contractor is often overlooked when studying trends in the ICT industry. However, with the changing nature of our economy of late, contracts have become a mainstay of the ICT industry and look likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

In the UK, recruitment body APSCo said that in 2012, IT contractors were favoured over permanent staff. Overall, hiring was down by 2% overall, whilst temporary placements, including contractors was up 6%. In IT this rose to 8% for contractors.

Anne Swain, CEO, APSCo opined that 2013 will likely see a continuation of this trend as UK employers look to contractors to maintain the flexibility necessary to react to a volatile market.

Here, the continuing influences of cloud computing and bring you own device trends are expected to determine the skills that employers will be looking for. But will the need for flexibility mean that more contract positions become available? Or will Irish organisations hire more permanent IT staff, as indicated by several recent surveys?

ComputerScope, in association with Contracting PLUS, is asking for your insights and experiences in the IT contracting market.

With the chance to win an iPad for one respondent, ComputerScope and Contracting PLUS are looking for information to build a comprehensive picture of IT contracting in Ireland today. The results will form the basis of a feature in the April issue of ComputerScope.

You can participate in the survey at www.computerscope.ie/contractingsurvey.

TechCentral Reporters