Contracting vs. Being Staff
Attracting top talent in the current climate is just as hard as it has been for the last 30 years. Without a doubt the most compelling method of attraction is the way companies promote and communicate referral schemes. This is particularly challenging as, for many contractors, money is not the deciding factor when choosing their next client.
Current shortages of engineers can be traced back to the 1990s when apprenticeship programmes became less commonplace, when electronics were seen as a more exciting sector than traditional engineering. Fewer companies were training in these disciplines, and as a result, engineers with the right background are in short supply.
The industry has woken up to this shortage and it is great to see so many schemes, graduate programmes and apprenticeships, but it will take a long time before we can breach the gap, and so many vacancies are going unfilled in technical sectors.
Well qualified engineers must be happy workers, as the market has returned to one that is led by the contracting workforce. The best are able to cherry-pick opportunities for themselves and are less reliant on agency providers for sourcing the best deal for them. Counter offers for the top engineers are rising fast and typical staff roles are less attractive in this current market. At the same time, organisations are losing key staff members that have chosen to go down the contracting temporary worker route for better financial rewards.
Final salary pensions are very much a rarity and your other typical staff benefits like additional holidays and staff perks do not offer the incentive that they did say 10 years ago. Contractor rates are far outweighing the benefits of being staff with professional service providers like Freelance World not only offering an accountancy and tax efficient service, but one that includes financial planning; with the contractor in full control of their long term financial plans. At Freelance World we have particular expertise in dealing with clients in the oil and gas sector and those who are contractors, and are well aware of the issues you face when deciding to work for yourself, including areas such as protecting your income and tax efficient retirement planning.
Great times ahead for the contracting workforce!