Whether it is to bring specific talents from specific backgrounds onto a project, or drafting in much needed extra help on a quick turnaround project, IT departments throughout the UK rely on contract staff.

But how is it that contractors go from being outside an environment, to helping define the success of IT projects? To get a view of the role played by vital temporary staff, we spoke with Dexter Dyer who works extensively with IT contractors for the payroll and tax advice specialists Umbrella.co.uk: “The IT specialists we work with are highly-valued, highly sought-after and, of course, highly skilled. The bottom line view of these contractors from a business perspective is pretty straight-forward: contractors offer experience and expertise that can be brought into a project without adding the burden of permanent recruitment and added expense to the company seeking their talents.”

“Many IT firms see contractors as a great way for their business to remain agile and responsiveness to new business needs. With an economy moving towards a sustained recovery, having the ability to dip in and out of talent acquisition has been a hallmark of a very robust IT sector in the UK.”

“If you think about the depth and breadth of certain IT projects, it becomes clear just why contractors are such a popular resource solution. A project might require certain skills to be employed for a certain amount of time; is it good business practice to develop those competencies in-house, through training and expensive personnel development schemes? Not if that project is approaching delivery date and the missing piece of the workforce jigsaw needs to fall into place overnight. So, finding in IT contractors the bespoke solution to a headcount need in as specific working area is both beneficial to the company, and the contractor, who find themselves rightly well-paid for their tailored skills.”

Umbrella.co.uk is a trading name of Umbrella-Company Ltd. Umbrella-Company Ltd is APSCo accredited, Professional Passport approved and are silver business partners with the Institute of Recruiters (IOR). For further information please contact umbrella.co.uk on 0800 121 6513.