State of the Market

[Cookielove]

eh? this is a Contractor Forum website....it is for contractors in the UK to discuss the market...answers on a postcard what has scuppered us all... and why there is now no longer a future in IT in the UK for Brits.

It needs looking at by government why we are in this crazy situation....I am aware it is being raised though.

Too late when they and hundreds of thousands of other youngsters have done a degree as they enjoy that ....jobs to do now are to learn a "trade" plumbers, electricians etc you cannot get them for love nor money and pay ££ well done to those guys

[WTFH]

eh? this is a Contractor Forum website....it is for contractors in the UK to discuss the market...answers on a postcard what has scuppered us all... and why there is now no longer a future in IT in the UK for Brits.

It needs looking at by government why we are in this crazy situation....I am aware it is being raised though.

Too late when they and hundreds of thousands of other youngsters have done a degree as they enjoy that ....jobs to do now are to learn a "trade" plumbers, electricians etc you cannot get them for love nor money and pay ££ well done to those guys

What has scuppered it?
Off-shoring
Cost of going to university
Brexit
Cost of housing
Technology moving forward e.g. there's not a big requirement for Frontpage, Dreamweaver or CS/3 developers any more, because technology has advanced.

[Cookielove]

India is the top nationality granted Skilled Worker visas this is a huge part of the problem for us in IT...has been for a while...google is your friend if you want to see it in black and white for yourself. The stats are there.

This has placed a huge pressure on jobs here and a downward spiral in rates all to the detriment of UK nationals. There was no shortage or need to grant that amount....this isn't new stared a decade ago.

Hey ho!

I actually live in the constituency where my MP is the leader of their party...one of the main ones...we live a stones throw away from them...I've raised this and they are more than well aware of the impact of long term uncontrolled immigration is having on the jobs and prospects for not just ourselves but our kids/future generations...let's see ....there is real concern...whether they can reverse this who knows...rules around residency may well change.

[fatJock]

Can't they pass it onto the contractor?

They can (and do) in all but name. Currently have a day rate of X - working for Umbrella they get that, take off ER costs then fire that number through the PAYE machine - nett result, contractor is paying for ER NI in assignment rate.

Most of us just bump the rate to end up with the same post PAYE NETT that we'd get when taking into account Corp / Divi Tax.

[sadkingbilly]

you just got into IT too late.
the best times were 80's and 90's.
too bad.

[SchumiStars]

It does seem that this is no longer a blip in the market. This is how it is. Welcome to the new future.

IR35
Low rates
tulip market
Hybrid/office based
Competition from outsourcing

Suck it up star, keep running through.

[willendure]

these coders don't half wine.

This coder is having a wine or two.

Looks like I have a new contract, fingers crossed the onboarding goes without hiccup, I don't like to count the chickens until I actually start, or get paid for the first time, but seems likely it will all be fine. Outside IR35, £500/day, cloud solutions architect.

I have to say, despite all the pessimism on here and that I have also shared in - I don't think the market is actually quite so bad at the moment as it has been at specific points in the past. 2001 I could not find a job (didn't care I was in my 20s and having too much fun anyway). 2009 I could not find a job and I chased everything I could for about 8 months, even interviewing for roles in Switzerland and so on. This time around, its quiet for sure, and you see a lot more inside IR35 and some piss-poor rates especially considering the experience requested on the JD. But... once I got into it and started applying for everything I could it did not take long before 3 or 4 recruiters got in touch. 3 months on the bench.

I could have been on the bench for 9 or even 12 months quite happily and would even have liked to do that because I have some projects of my own that I would like to bring to life. I was very keen to get off the bench though - because I am still of the opinion that a significant crash/recession is on its way, and Trumps tarrifs will only hasten its arrival. So I will take my war chest forward to a more suitable period for personal projects.

My approach is to write out 4 or 5 versions of my CV each targetted towards different areas that I am capable in. Then I look at the jobserve feeds several times a day. If I see something that just about matches my skillset but I am not too serious about and think my chances are low, I sent the best matching CV and just leave it at that. My thinking is, there is a small chance they will call back, but even if they don't they will probably hoover up the CVs into their database anyway, so a future match is still a possibility. Anything that was a strong match, I followed up on by trying to get the agent on the phone, email or linked in. In the end it was one of the weaker matches that called me back with another role that matched my skillset better.

I feel as a contractor I do aim to keep up with the times. I would like to get into AI, but not quite there yet. But in previous years I have done various cloud qualifications - not very sexy stuff now that its been around for a decade+, but still relevant and in demand.

[willendure]

It does seem that this is no longer a blip in the market. This is how it is. Welcome to the new future.

IR35
Low rates
tulip market
Hybrid/office based
Competition from outsourcing

Suck it up star, keep running through.

+Competition from the younger crowd
+Competition from the sheer rate of tech evolution invalidating your skillset
+Competition from AI

[sadkingbilly]

I just wait for the 'phone to ring.

[willendure]

They can (and do) in all but name. Currently have a day rate of X - working for Umbrella they get that, take off ER costs then fire that number through the PAYE machine - nett result, contractor is paying for ER NI in assignment rate.

Most of us just bump the rate to end up with the same post PAYE NETT that we'd get when taking into account Corp / Divi Tax.

Having never worked inside IR35, this is something that confuses me when applying for inside roles.

Some seem to quote the all inclusive day rate, from which employers and employees NI will be deducted from.
Some seem to quote the gross day rate, from which employers NI has already been deducted.

Its never really clear which is being discussed, and often employment agents don't even seem to know. For my own calculation purposes I just assume it will be the former, and then I will be pleasantly surprised if it turns out to be the latter.

More recently I just stopped applying for inside roles at all. There are still more outside, and my business also has real expenses that would make inside suck even more.