Latest from ARC
Contractor UK readers vote GIANT best umbrella company for the fourth time in the last five years
Readers of influential website Contractor UK have voted giant group plc the best umbrella company provider for 2010, the fourth time giant has won the award in the last five years.
Contractor UK readers have voted giant Best Umbrella Company in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. The poll has been conducted for the last five years, making giant the clear favourite among Contractor UK readers.
Contractor UK was founded in 1998 and is one of the leading news and discussion resources for IT contractors in the UK. Tens of thousands of unique users read its news stories and contribute to its forums.
Matthew Brown, Managing Director of giant group, comments: "This is a major fillip for giant and reflects our continuous commitment to, and monitoring of, service levels which are at the core of our business. Contractor UK is a very well-respected resource among the freelancer community. There are dozens and dozens of umbrella company providers in what is a very competitive market, so to be voted readers’ favourite for the fourth time is testament to the strength and depth of our service levels."
A Contractor UK spokesperson said "The CUK Readers’ Award poll is always an interesting snapshot of contractors’ experiences and opinions. It’s fantastic to hear from our readers that industry service providers are continuing to keep high service levels at the core of what they do."
Source: Giant group: Monday 24 January 2011
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Survey predicts rise in private sector jobs
The private sector intends to ‘power on through’ 2011 with increased job creation. This is the result of a survey from a recruitment advertising and HR communications agency based in London and Manchester.
Representing nearly a quarter of a million employees and with a turnover more than £25bn, nearly 50% of respondents said they definitely expected to grow in terms of recruitment in 2011, with just under 7% saying they expected their numbers to fall.
With high numbers of potential candidates on the market, one of the key challenges for the sector is how to recruit the best candidates from an increased number of applications. From the survey, 69% of respondents stated they need to focus on driving the quality of responses, with 40% also stating they feared an increase in competition for the best people.
Source: Recruiter: Tuesday 1 February 2011
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Recruiters more relevant than ever, say contractors
Half of contractors say recruiters are more relevant than ever before, according to a survey from accountancy firm Brookson.
The survey of self-employed professionals found 31.4% recruiters had been useful to them through the downturn, while 50% said they were more relevant to them now than ever before.
Martin Hesketh, managing director of Brookson, says: "We carried out the survey among our customers to determine the current opinions from the contracting and freelancer community, with a particular emphasis on the value recruitment businesses bring to contractors.
"What has come to light from this research is that the perception of recruiters by the contractor community is positive."
Source: Recruiter: Tuesday 8 February 2011
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The 10 Best Jobs of 2011
The geeks strike back: despite enduring an industry bubble and the threat of outsourcing, Software Engineer ranks as the Best Job of 2011.
In recent years, the job market has increasingly rewarded math whizzes at the expense of less technical professionals. Actuary, Mathematician and Accountant have all ranked among the best jobs in America by offering a pleasant work environment, good salary and healthy job security. But in 2011, as the emergence of specialized technologies creates new industries, landing the year's best job requires not just skill with numbers, but a strong knowledge of computers too.
Software Engineer, a job that involves the design and creation of software for everything from operating systems to cell phone "apps" to interactive games, ranks as the best job of 2011, according to this year's Jobs Rated report. Surveying 200 different professions across a wide variety of industries, skill levels and salary ranges, Jobs Rated researchers determine their rankings of the best jobs and worst jobs according to five core criteria: Work Environment, Physical Demands, Outlook, Income and Stress. The goal of each Jobs Rated report is to determine how gratifying each profession will be for a majority of workers – not just those who are famous or exceptional – so they can be sorted into a list of the "worst" and "best" jobs.
What helped Software Engineer capture the title of America's Best Job? While many factors push a career to the top of the rankings, the strong performance of Software Engineer this year can be attributed to two emerging industries: web applications and cloud computing. A proliferation of companies making applications for smartphones and tablets, along with the push to develop "cloud" software hosted entirely online, has made the job market for Software Engineers broader and more diverse. And a diverse job market brings improvements in stress factors such as Growth Potential and Competitiveness, as workers become less beholden to employers or vulnerable to outsourcing. In fact, the stress ranking for Software Engineer improved 10 spots this year, jumping from 25th to 15th place overall.
Continuing a recent trend, a majority of the jobs that rank in the top 10 this year require proficiency in math, science or technology, and all of them require higher education or specialized training:
Source: Linkedin: By Andrew Strieber
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IT Contractors High in Demand
IT Contractors are once again being highlighted as the sector of the workforce that is most in demand. One online recruitment specialist have found that demand for IT professionals is steadily increasing and will continue to do so.
Richard Nott, director of CWJobs.co.uk, spoke about the need for more highly skilled IT contractors, especially with the expected increase in available IT positions. He said;
"There is still very much an underlying skills shortage – a shortage of good IT people in the UK. There are not enough people with the right skills. The UK is still very much an IT hub of the world and so there are a lot of IT jobs available in the UK – we just don’t have enough people that have the right skill sets to fill the jobs that will come up."
There was a suggestion earlier this month that the next decade will see IT positions increase by up to 5 times the rate of normal employment, and the REC are positive about growth this year; they had also highlighted the technology sector as a sector in high demand in their latest Report on Jobs. Despite the fall in GDP this week, Kevin Green, the REC’s Chief Executive said;
"The economy is still predicted to grow by just over two per cent during 2011 but while this won’t drive huge job creation, it will be enough for the jobs market to remain positive. However this does clearly show that the Government must do more to stimulate growth and job creation."
Source: Independent contractor services Thursday 27 January 2011 by icsjonathan
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VAT jobs fears ‘overplayed’, says Smith
Fears that today’s increase in VAT could hit the UK’s labour market hard may be "overplayed", according to Paul Smith, senior economist at financial information services firm Markit. VAT has risen to 20% from 17.5%, while Labour leader Ed Milliband predicted that the move could cost the UK economy 250,000 jobs.
However, Smith told Recruiter: "The main impact of the VAT increase will be on consumer spending in areas such as hotel and restaurants where there is discretionary spend.
"Personally, I think the VAT increase may be overplayed. I’m not sure that it will impact heavily on people’s discretionary spend. If you have £1,000 to spend on something, will the VAT increase change your thoughts?
"I think the VAT increase will have a minimal impact. I’m not convinced by changes in VAT. Much more important is the government spending cuts."
"The bigger impact on the services economy will be on job cuts in the public sector and public sector contract losses. There is the indirect impact of losing public sector contracts which has impacted employment and hiring decisions which we have seen over recent months."
"Employment has hovered over that 50 no change mark [a common indicator from job indices] because people have remained uncertain over prospects for 2011. I think that has been a result of public sector losses. That has had more impact than the VAT rise."
Source: Recruiter, 4 Jan 2011
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City professionals expect headcount increases in 2011
Four out of 10 (41%) City professionals believe their organisations will increase headcount in 2011, according to a survey by eFinancialCareers.com.
Almost the same number (39%) said they believed staff numbers would remain the same. However, 20% thought their staffing levels would reduce.
More than six in 10 (61%) expressed no concern about their own job security in the year ahead. Of the 65% of those surveyed, who expressed concern about their earning ability in the year ahead, only 14% said they were actively looking for a job overseas in the sector. More than double that number (30%) said they were looking for a job at another UK-based financial organisation.
James Bennett, managing director of EMEA and APAC for eFinancialCareers.com, says: "While still too early to call, initial indications suggest few employees are actively looking to move overseas and instead would prefer to stay in the UK. Indeed, retention of key employees will now be primary focus for UK financial institutions during 2011."
Source: Recruiter, 4 Jan 2011
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War for technology talent to intensify
Continued innovation in the mobile phones sector will result in an intensifying war for technology talent in 2011, according to Mark Beard, managing director at technical and IT staffing specialist Vertex Solutions.
Beard told Recruiter: "We see continued uplift in demand in 2011. Some of our bigger clients, companies in the semi conductor space and the mobile market, are coming back to the market with serious volumes.
"Some of the start-ups, where talented individuals were laid off and set up on their own, have sparked into life. This means we will be back to the old war for talent. We will have to find more imaginative ways of generating the levels of candidates that clients need."
"On the mobile side, there is a massive battle between the different operating systems. You have Symbian, which has been historically dominant. Apple has taken a significant chunk of the market. The development of Android is in the running. Nokia is about to launch its answer to Android called Meego. The first handsets are due to ship next year."
"The flavour of the month are open sourced specialists. You have gone from a very closed technology space 10 years ago, in terms of the technology underpinning the different platforms, to it now being very open."
Source: 16 Dec 2011
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Internet developers are in short supply for both permanent and contractor roles.
Demand for IT professionals within the retail sector has risen by 46% over the last six months, according technology staffing specialist ReThink Recruitment.
There's a strong demand for digital marketing employees in permanent positions, while business analysts are sought after for contract roles.
Temporary and contract staff pay increased marginally following a fall in September. The general demand for permanent IT jobs, as compared with other sectors, remains steady.
According to Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive, "The Report on Jobs for October shows that the UK jobs market is still growing."
Source: CW Jobs
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Government aims to build a technology hub in London's East End
Prime Minister David Cameron outlined a plan to create a technology hub in the East End of London to rival California's Silicon Valley, in a speech to high-tech business leaders and entrepreneurs. The initiative will see the government invest £200m in new technology and innovation centres in the area, with an extra £200m of equity finance to be provided for businesses with high growth potential.
Following consultation with various tech companies and leading universities, McKinsey & Company, Google, Facebook, Vodafone and BT have all said they will invest in the area. "Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and the possibilities of the Olympic Park to help make East London one of the world’s great technology centres," said Cameron.
"The future of the economy lies in the highly skilled, technology sectors. For many of those companies their intellectual property is their most valuable asset," said Baroness Wilcox, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for BIS.
Source: computing.co.uk
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Demand rises for IT retail professionals
Demand for IT professionals within the retail sector has risen by 46% over the last six months, according technology staffing specialist ReThink Recruitment.
The firm says IT professionals with experience of multi-channel and e-commerce IT platforms who try to move jobs are being persuaded to stay with their current employers with counter offers of between 15-20% increases of their current pay with project managers and business analysts particularly prized.
Source: Recruiter
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IT would benefit from better gender balance
Most IT professionals (64%) think the IT sector would benefit from a better gender balance, according to research from IT jobs site CWJobs.co.uk.
The research also shows that found that 63% of females think they earn less than men, while just 28% of men believe this is to be true. Just over (55%) of IT professionals feel there is currently a fair representation of women in the industry.
Sources: Recruiter
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New Starter - Derek Fleischer
Derek has joined the ARC IT team as an Infrastructure Consultant.
Derek is Microsoft and Cisco Certified with Specialisations in Security and Web Access technologies. He has over 10 years experience in The IT industry and has worked on Infrastructure projects for major vendors across Europe.
Date 14.09.2010
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UK’s IT job market remains steady
TheIT sector continues to thrive, according to The IT Job Board’s latest‘Skills in Demand’ report.
According to www.theitjobboard.co.uk, since the beginning of the year the number of roles advertised on the board has remained consistent. The site currently advertises more than 15,500 positions, from IT manager to web developer roles.
As per the first half of the year, IT manager and IT support roles represent the highest proportion of jobs on the site. Other core skills in demand includesoftware developers, SQL and project managers.
Commenting on the Skills in Demand report, Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, says: "As the UK’s largest IT jobs site, our Skills in Demand figures provide a strong indication of the state of the market. It’s positive to see that the IT recruitment sector has remained steady since the beginning of the year (particularly during the current economic climate)."
Source: Recruiter
Date 29.07.2010
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IT contractor employment offers on the up
IT contractor employment offers rose by 320% from May to June, according to findings from pre-employment screening firm Powerchex.
The research also shows that investment bank recruitment saw a 45% increase.
Total industry employment offers rose 52% for the month compared to a year ago, but offers only rose 7% from May to June 2010 and declined 2% across Q2. But Q2offers increased in all sectors of financial services compared to the same quarter of last year.
"Fears of a double-dip recession are beginning to dissipate," says Alexandra Kelly, managing director of Powerchex.
"Recruitment in the financial sector has generally flattened in the last quarter, but IT contractor hiring shows signs of another round of optimism in Investment banking this summer. The financial industry was preserving liquidity and waiting to see what changes would occur as a result of the general election and possibly tighter regulations in the new budget. But the surge in IT contactors shows the sector has released the build-up that had been waiting on the back burner until government news wascertain. This trendechoes the new, national employment figures that show the recovery is getting back on track."
Source: Recruiter
Date 16/08/2010
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Public sector cutbacks hit IT recruitment but industry continues to grow
Despite a 21% drop in public sector job postings in the last quarter, CWJobs.co.uk and JobAdsWatch.co.uk reveal that overall the IT jobs market for permanent staff has increased at its fastest rate for over three years.
For the fourth consecutive quarter there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertised, with 8% more since March 2010. Since the government braced the nation for a high number of public sector job cuts, 21% fewer public sector jobs have been advertised and public sector job posts have dropped from fourth to fifth place in sector rankings. However, contract work in the public sector remains relatively buoyant.
Permanent job postings for the financial and media sectors continue to grow, with an 8% and 12% increase respectively. Richard Nott, website director of CWJobs, says: "We were all aware that the IT sector would be affected by public sector cutbacks, but it’s encouraging to see that overall job postings are continuing to increase.
"With contract work still available at the moment, there are opportunities in the public sector for those willing and able to be flexible."
Source: Recruiter
Date 02/08/2010
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BBC Technology News
Cutting edge industry news from Global Technology markets
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IT directors increase recruitment
Source: Recruiter
Date: 08/03/2010
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Almost 40% of employers will increase business support headcount says new report
Source: Recruitment Times
Date: 01/03/2010
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Banking sector set for IT hiring spree in 2010
Source: Phil Muncaster, V3.co.uk
Date: 17/12/2009
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Business leaders see IT investment as key to growth in 2010
Source: Dan Worth, V3.co.uk
Date: 14/12/2009
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Top 10 bad IT decisions
Famous head-slap moments from history
Source: vnunet.com
Date: 29/08/2009
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IT Outsourcing Reducing Entry-Level IT Jobs in the UK
Decline in real wages for entry-level IT roles over the last five years
Source: Recruitment Times
Date: 26/08/2009
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War for e-commerce talent intensifies
Competition for e-commerce talent this summer will be fierce, according to a survey by executive search firm Bearing Partnership.
Source: The Recruiter
Date: 16/07/2009
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Finding the best fit for the job
Assessing who is the right person for the job is a lot harder with the increase in candidates on the market. Graham Simons looks at the benefits of psychometrics
Source: The Recruiter
Date: 13/05/2009
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SMEs should invest in IT to boost business
IT can help smaller businesses to gain new customers to ride through the recession, according to the latest research.
Source: Computer Weekly
Date: 29/05/2009
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Campaigners use Twitter to press for faster broadband
Volunteers who regard themselves as "digitally literate" are holding a series of country-wide "unconferences" this week to influence communications minister Stephen Carter's final report on Digital Britain.
Source: Computer Weekly
Date: 06/05/2009
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IT contractors faring better than in 2003
The number of long-term unemployed IT contractors is half what it was five years ago
Source: vnunet.com
Date: 14/04/2009
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Twitter visited by worms instead of bunnies
Over the weekend, a computer worm attacked the Twitter messaging service in three distinct attacks
Source: InformationWeek
Date 13/04/2009
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ARC IT Moves into new Head Office
Our business has grown steadily over the last six years: our client base spans the length and breadth of the UK and we also have significant presence in Europe and the US. It is a result of this continued growth that has seen us open our new head office in Brighton. We have moved into the “Fishing Net Factory” a beautiful and historical building in the North Lanes, which is over 200 years old and laden with historical value and tremendous character.
24/03/2009
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IT contractors in greater demand from financial institutions
The number of IT contractors taken on by financial institutions increased in February compared to January, according to new research.
Source: Recruiter
24/03/2009
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In Search of the Perfect CV
A nationwide survey of HR directors and managers has concluded that CVs are failing to make the grade.
Source: Recruitment Times
22/03/2009