The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has happy news: it says that the next three months will bring heightened demand for contract workers in the UK.
The trade industry body recently conducted a new job outlook survey that discovered some 47 per cent of British businesses have intentions to hire on more freelancers and umbrella company contractors throughout these next three months. The rest of the year seems much of the same, as 46 per cent employers also say that their four month to 12 month plans also include temporary workforce growth, though this figure can and most likely will change as the year develops further.
This is of course quite a welcome bit of news for anyone who makes their living as a self-employed contract worker. However, I can’t say anyone is well and truly surprised by the revelation, considering that the economy continues to recover and the skills shortage is still interfering with the ability of businesses to increase capacity.
Now I’m not one to take the piss out of anyone – much less the REC – but let’s be honest for a moment, shall we? The prospects for self-employed Brits right now is absolutely bloody stellar. I’m not concerned at all with the ability of good, well-qualified freelance workers to find work over the next 12 months, but what I am worried about is what’s going to happen to them after this year – especially if the skills shortage isn’t addressed.
No, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the sky is falling; it’s not. However, there are some serious repercussions for the economy if the skills shortage isn’t cut short, and contract workers will absolutely begin to lose out. Granted the self-employed would fare better than permanent employees but it’s still going to have a deleterious effect on their bottom line if the skills shortage is unchecked.
Why, you ask? Well eventually not even the country’s cadre of temporary workers will be able to keep British business staffed enough to compete on a global scale. Firms will either have to face the unenviable decision of having to curtail their growth or turn to outsourced staff to continue growing ever upwards, and once that happens industries in the UK will flood with overseas workers that are willing to work longer hours for less compensation. The domestic employment market will most likely collapse under that weight, so you better put your pennies aside for a rainy day in that event!
