State of the Market

[meridian]

You can't really know that. It's fair to guess that it's likely to do with uncertainty surrounding the economy if brexit goes titsup, as most of the cynics here currently expect - unsurprisingly.

Companies broadcast internal tulip ALL the time using propaganda to suggest the opposite of reality to ensure the permies don't get worried.
"tis best not to join permiethink, lest thee become one of them."
-NorthernLad, Contractor Bible [carved on stone], circa1698

No, in this case I do know that. I’m responsible for transitioning a lot of the offshoring and I know exactly the reason(s) for it. In this case it’s nothing to do with the economy (there are many cyclical industries that traditionally do well in a poor economy) or with Brexit.

That won’t apply to every company/industry, all I’m doing is highlighting that our current CIO has a bee in her bonnet about getting rid of U.K.-based contractors and replacing them with an onshore/offshore model. Given that C-suite levels tend to take a lead from their peers, she’s either well behind the offshore modelling, or she’s at the forefront of a new surge.

[BlasterBates]

No, in this case I do know that. I’m responsible for transitioning a lot of the offshoring and I know exactly the reason(s) for it. In this case it’s nothing to do with the economy (there are many cyclical industries that traditionally do well in a poor economy) or with Brexit.

That won’t apply to every company/industry, all I’m doing is highlighting that our current CIO has a bee in her bonnet about getting rid of U.K.-based contractors and replacing them with an onshore/offshore model. Given that C-suite levels tend to take a lead from their peers, she’s either well behind the offshore modelling, or she’s at the forefront of a new surge.

The thing is offshoring is perfectly normal, what is somewhat different is that there are no new projects coming in requiring local staff to replace the offshored projects. This is why offshoring periodically gets blamed, when there is a downturn all eyes turn to the offshoring. Since offshoring started far more jobs have been created in the UK than have been offshored. If you didn't offshore then the software would simply be replaced by an off the shelf solution, requiring far fewer developers.

[SussexSeagull]

Having talked to most of my network in the last few days and experienced several weeks of near radio silence I am entirely comfortable in declaring it is a very bad contract market from my perspective at the moment.

[SeekingIT]

Indeed

Having talked to most of my network in the last few days and experienced several weeks of near radio silence I am entirely comfortable in declaring it is a very bad contract market from my perspective at the moment.

Unfortunately have to agree!

[pictavia]

The market up here in Scotland has been variable this year; I've had two months bench time so far, better than last year but far from ideal. The good news is the banks in Edinburgh have been taking on contractors at reasonable rates but the number of applicants is high. As others on this forum have noticed, screening tests and formal interviews are becoming the norm, gone are the days of being able to secure work on the basis of a 10 minute phone call.

[SussexSeagull]

When I looked for a contact in late February and early March it took three weeks and one of them was waiting for background checks to happen. Also had another interview.

My last project got canned so started looking again in early May and initially had some success, including getting through two phone interviews. Since then things have got slower and slower, including the two ones I got interviewed for evaporating.

Anyone who thinks this isn't at least part caused by uncertainty over Brexit really hasn't been paying attention.

[uk contractor]

Ease migration rules for Indians to win post-Brexit deals, say MPs | Politics | The Guardian

Having a government who actively thinks this does not help UK IT workers at all does it!

[BrilloPad]

Ease migration rules for Indians to win post-Brexit deals, say MPs | Politics | The Guardian

Having a government who actively thinks this does not help UK IT workers at all does it!

The UK has failed to engage with IT workers for about 20 years. A great pity as its the future.

[Lovely]

Usually I'm getting five to ten calls per day when I upload my CV to job boards given I'm working with a set of technologies that are heavily in demand. Around 150 to 200 calls a month.

Since November last year I've been getting just a few calls a month, some months just two, others up to five.

The market looks super bad right now.

At my last contract they let me go, even though I was the one doing most of the work each sprint, because my fee was too high for them to continue to afford. Then within two months they'd also gotten rid of the cheaper contractors who were working at a third of the speed and producing lousy code.

Is anyone having luck applying to overseas contracts? Another 6 months of this and I'm thinking of moving to another country.

[ladymuck]

The UK has failed to engage with IT workers for about 20 years. A great pity as its the future.

IT has been the future since the phrase was first coined. Nothing will change. HMG do not want to support any industry, it seems. Not sure what they think this country should produce