Indian Visa Scheme and IR35

[edison]

Yes, I hate to say it and I will hate it when it actually happens, but in IT contracting I think we could see a race to the bottom. You know good guys say on £500+/day inside having to cut their rate by 1/3 or even 1/2 or more in order to work.

PE has power and its financed by debt and lots of it. These guys are very cost averse and profit centric. Look at who owns who! If I look at my previous IT contracting client list and the private companies 8 are now in the hands of private equity outfits. Some already were when I was there. Private equity is only really answerable to the banks involved in the deal financing and even then only really if they break covenant.

I've done two gigs for private equity firms for companies in what is termed 'mid-market'. The PE companies invest a lot to grow the business. As opposed to the usual model of asset stripping, carve outs and rapid cost cutting. Enjoyed both gigs especially working with the PE Portfolio CTOs who oversee IT across the companies in the portfolio.

That was the good side.

The downside is since interest rates rose significantly, PE funds are under significant pressure to make sufficient returns. One recruiter I spoke to yesterday said they are demanding contractors "to do 120% of what they did before for 70% of the money."

[edison]

I think we have all in all. In the right skillset we were on bonkers money in the 90s and I'm sure that is why they opened the floodgates. But I think without doing that companies would have been forced to train their own staff, especially with some targeted support from the government ( eg. a scheme with no NI for 3 years dare I say it). I'm retired but have a vested interest in a kid studying Computer Science and I'm wondering if I have misguided them.

I've heard from a few sources recently that CS grads from good unis are struggling to find decent entry level roles. I think a lot of kids have jumped on the bandwagon in the last 4-5 years but the demand isn't there currently.

My son is highly academic, taught himself a lot of coding and advanced maths since he was 11 and I always thought he might want to do a CS degree at one of the very best unis. But now I'm thinking he might be better off doing maths.

[edison]

Much cheapness, plenty quickness. .

We all laugh about this on the forum but the reality in the C-suite is that CIOs seem to be quite satisfied with the big outsourcing firms as a whole, no doubt egged on by their CFOs who see the cost savings.

The long term trend of increased outsourcing isn't going to change any time soon.

[CoolCat]

We all laugh about this on the forum but the reality in the C-suite is that CIOs seem to be quite satisfied with the big outsourcing firms as a whole, no doubt egged on by their CFOs who see the cost savings.

The long term trend of increased outsourcing isn't going to change any time soon.

it looks cheap in a consultancy spreadsheet, but it is not cheap if you include all the things such spreadsheets do not include

[ladymuck]

I've heard from a few sources recently that CS grads from good unis are struggling to find decent entry level roles. I think a lot of kids have jumped on the bandwagon in the last 4-5 years but the demand isn't there currently.

My son is highly academic, taught himself a lot of coding and advanced maths since he was 11 and I always thought he might want to do a CS degree at one of the very best unis. But now I'm thinking he might be better off doing maths.

I'd say go for maths or engineering. Far more flexible than CS

[sadkingbilly]

I'd say go for maths or engineering. Far more flexible than CS

Engineering. but I may be biased ;-)

[DoctorStrangelove]

Engineering. but I may be biased ;-)

I've got transistors like that. .

[WTFH]

Engineering. but I may be biased ;-)

I'd agree (not about your bias but about engineering - it was applying an engineering mindset to IT that got me where I am today)

[sadkingbilly]

Well, i don't really know what got me where I am, today,
but i'm here, so might as well get on wiv it.

[WTFH]

Well, i don't really know what got me where I am, today,
but i'm here, so might as well get on wiv it.

Reminds me of W.C. Fields: "I t was a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her"