Tell me your views

[administrator]

Hi Carol,

Welcome to the forum.

All - the poster is for real, confirmed by email address. Carol has PM access so shoot her a message via there if you want to make contact.

[norrahe]

I'm happy to chat with you

[MarillionFan]

Many commentators predict that in the future, especially in the IT world, companies will hold a core group of generalist employees and augment them on a project-by-project basis with specialised contractors/freelance/consultant workers.

The contractor/freelance community was at it's height prior to Y2k. Coupled with the Tech boom, skills shortage and favourable tax conditions many moved from the safety of a permanent job into the more lucrative(at that time) freelance market. This wasn't a longterm shift but a short term opportunity, a bubble. Average contractors where in their early 30s.

Up until that point the hardcore contracting community consisted of very niche skills. That change caused more generalists to move into contracting.

With the dot com collapse, increase in FTVs and IR35 there was a massive collapse of the freelance market in the early noughties. Those who found themselves still able to contract were older contractors with niche skills(mainframe etc) or strong generalists. The average age now in the early 40's (and aging)

I don't hold with the prediction you have made. Pressure on the freelance market is two fold. Firstly the continuing premise by big business that there is a constant IT skills shortage. If your prediction holds true, it will be based on a self-fulfilling prophecy that employers will only retain a generalist population, hence causing a skills gap. The premise that there is a skills gap is based more on the cost of those skills. If companies have to pay for specialised freelance consultants then that cost will be at a premium, which in turn will drive the premise of a skills gap, which in turn will open the doors to foreign nationals. Self fulfilling.

The second issue is that of IR35 & tax. If the UK wants a specialised workforce to augment projects then it must make the risk versus reward ratio to being a micro business more attractive to those individuals who want to take the risk of going it alone.

The biggest threat to the UK IT market is globalizaton.

[suityou01]

Hi Carol,

Do you like films about gladiators?

[Zippy]

Welcome Carol. Where is your drinks cabinet? Do you like films about gladiators etc. etc.

Right. Now we have the formalities out of the way ...

Stone me - a logical argument from MarillionFan

I'm not sure the generalist/specialist hypothesis is correct either. The reason I get calls and (eventually!) work is because organisations have shit:loads of people who are red-hot on a particular technology but lack the ability to do analysis, planning, customer management etc. Because I can cross these boundaries, I am attractive to certain clients.

[suityou01]

Welcome Carol. Where is your drinks cabinet? Do you like films about gladiators etc. etc.

Right. Now we have the formalities out of the way ...

Stone me - a logical argument from MarillionFan

I'm not sure the generalist/specialist hypothesis is correct either. The reason I get calls and (eventually!) work is because organisations have tuliploads of people who are red-hot on a particular technology but lack the ability to do analysis, planning, customer management etc. Because I can cross these boundaries, I am attractive to certain clients.

In any other thread I would consider this an open goal.

I find working in my sector (BPM) that we are all consultants and contractors. Very niche, and your average permie would not have the experience nor the inclination to be any good at BPM.

[Zippy]

In any other thread I would consider this an open goal.

Oi Suity! Noooooo!

[Paddy]

Hi Carol

[d000hg]

No micro businesses here only disguised employees

Hector

They don't get much more micro than your shop. Oh, maybe Majestic-12...

[MarillionFan]

They don't get much more micro than your shop. Oh, maybe Majestic-12...

I am afraid Doogie that myself & the Russian fella are one of the few owners of real businesses on this site, you big disguised employee.