Contractors in the UK face greater skills, training and continuing development challenges than their counterparts in other European Union member states.
These are the preliminary findings of European Forum of Independent Professionals (EFIP) and PCG sponsored research into the success factors affecting Europe’s Independent Professionals, or IPros, of which the UK contracting sector is a part.
“UK IPros in some sectors [are] effectively unregulated and receive little support for continued professional development,” explains project director Professor Patricia Leighton, Emeritus Professor of Employment Law at the University of Glamorgan and Professor at the École Supérieure de Commerce à Paris et à Nice (Ipag).
“The objective of the project is to identify the work experiences and context for IPros across nine EU states,” she says. “The first desk-research-based phase has been completed and we are embarking on phase 2 using interviews and case studies to explore and expand on phase 1findings.”
According to Leighton, the research has already identified some problems with sources, their reliability and consistency in many EU states. Difficulty getting hold of existing data and lack of information on IPro working has become apparent, both for the researchers and for workers seeking to take up contracting.
“Existing EU polices on IPro working are very limited, few are directly relevant to IPros, and they may be behind work practices,” says Leighton. “But explanations about the research and why it is important are receiving a positive and supportive response. We are starting to gain a place on policy agendas.”
Leighton is seeking assistance from the UK contracting sector to help with phase 2 of the research. She would like to hear from new and veteran IT contractors prepared to be interviewed for the research. Contractors who would like to participate should contact Leighton directly by email: leiglngly@aol.com.