IT contractor marketplace looking buoyant for 2007

Computer People, the IT delivery arm of Adecco Group and market leader in IT recruitment, today announced a major milestone in its contract business, as 5,000 IT contractors are this week currently working on-site with their clients. This announcement puts Adecco Group/Computer People as one of the largest contract employers in the UK IT market.

Demand for IT contractors is currently growing at the strongest rate for over two years and shows no sign of slowing down. The buoyant IT contractor marketplace is reflected in Computer Peopleís Q4 2006 ëHulse market reportí, which shows a strong start to 2007 with contract placements continuing to rise through December 2006.

Computer Peopleís 5,000th IT contractor is Nick Flew, lead Chordiant consultant at one of the UKís main high street banks, on a telephone banking transformation project, in Manchester. Nick is responsible for developing Chordiant capability, advising on strategy, tools, resourcing, training, management, environment setup, standards and procedures for Chordiant development. The programme is likely to run well beyond the summer.

ìMy experience of working with Computer People has been very positive from the initial advice they provided about the ways in which I could set up as a contractor, to the weekly administration of timesheets and payments. The contractor liaison functions at both the customerís site and in their head office have been extremely professional, friendly and quick to respond to queries that I have thrown their way. All this has allowed me to concentrate fully on the task in hand, rather than worrying about the intricacies of, for instance, VAT payments. This translates directly to add value to the end customer.î

Nickís experience includes a 1st class Honours in Physics from University of London and six years of experience at Accenture. He worked in its technology division as the technical architect in retail banking and insurance. Nick later joined Chordiant as technical architect in 1998 and was promoted to head of technical consulting in 2000, and then to head of professional services in 2004. His expertise and experience include heading up multi-million pound programmes for Chordiant at blue-chip brands.

The IT contractor marketplace has changed greatly from the freelance contractors of the early 1970s, when Computer People were formed. Back then, the market was very unregulated with supply being greatly influenced by personal relationships between line managers and recruitment consultancies. Today, the relationship is very often owned by purchasing, HR and the recruiters,î said Ren Schuster, Adecco Group Country manager

Schuster concluded: ìWith our continued growth and commitment to the IT contract market, last year we launched a dedicated contractor service desk, to provide a more personalised service to our 5,000 IT professionals, who can access the hotline for one point of contact for any day-to-day queries.î