Like it or lump it, it’s hard to ignore it. That’s right folks; Christmas is just around the corner. What does that mean? Well, apart from parties, mince pies, hangovers and jumpers covered in reindeer, its time for a quick reflection on the year coming to a close.

Taking a look at the past 12 months in IT contracting is Umbrella’s Account Director Dexter Dyer: “IT contractors have had another solid year in 2014; as an industry, technology continues to prove a faithful friend to the UK economy. Youthful, innovative and inspiring, the tech sector is, for many commentators, the one to watch as we hit 2015.”

“Across this year, then, we have seen demand for IT contractors peak at record highs at least twice. We have seen core workloads placed on IT departments really expand, and that has led to real rush to get the best contracting talent out there. Alongside these demands for increased headcount have come increased pay rates and better contracts. It’s been win-win in the opportunity vrs remuneration conundrum for many contractors in IT.”

“Even in the public sector, the demand for IT professionals has increased, hires are up and pay has risen. However, the ambit of Financial Services remains the real driver for IT contracting. With regulation demands placing a great deal of pressure on huge corporates to conform, their need to update and develop systems is acute. The people they need are IT contractors with the programming skills to complete these complex change management projects.”

“Contractors’ wide skill bases are what makes them so valuable to so many diverse organisations. From development experts to testers, from change analysts to programming language whizzes: every type of IT skillset has come in for some serious scrutiny from hungry recruiters. 2014 has been a year of growth in IT contracting, here’s hoping 2015 follows suit.”