Financial IT contractors and contractors with banking and finance skills look set to benefit from increased demand and elevated rates during 2015.
This is according to Michael Page’s 2015 annual Banking & Financial Services Salary Survey, which also examines in detail which specific banking sectors are likely to show the strongest growth in the coming year, and where contractors should focus their efforts to find new contracts.
“Market confidence is strongest amongst front office banking jobs,” says the report, “with next year’s economic forecast looking considerably positive for banking and financial services professionals.”
“Despite increased pressure within the banking and financial services industry, business attitudes remain fundamentally optimistic and 2015 looks positive in terms of the hiring market,” believes Andrew Breach, Head of Page Executive’s newly launched Banking and Financial Services Practice.
“The UK, while not performing to the same level as it US counterparts, is delivering strong results and is substantially outperforming mainland Europe.”
And as the headcount of banking contractors and employees grows, ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin highlights that this will have a knock-on effect for the financial IT contractor market.
“More financial professionals being hired in the financial sector means growth plans, and this in turn means new IT initiatives and projects to support the plans,” notes Chaplin, who was a financial IT contractor in London’s financial sector before launching ContractorCalculator.
“The UK’s financial sector is the largest consumer of IT contractor services outside of the software industry. IT contractors with specialised knowledge of those growth areas identified by the report can expect to stay in contract throughout 2015 on top rates.”
According to Breach, the most active areas during 2014 and going into 2015, and those that contractors should target, include mergers and acquisitions (M&A), leveraged finance, investment banking coverage, asset finance, debt capital markets, loan sales/syndications and corporate banking.
Breach concludes: “2015 looks positive in terms of the hiring market and compensation levels increasing but will remain a candidate driven market.”