Contractors are set to benefit from a new thinktank which will aim to provide a detailed insight into the contracting sector, whilst a policy conference next year also looks to provide an interesting outcome.
These were among the announcements made by the Association for Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE) at its annual event celebrating National Freelancers Day on Thursday 12 November 2015 at the Hospital Club in London’s Covent Garden.
The event itself managed to showcase the quality and diversity of the UK’s contingent workforce, including a strong showing from the under 23s. Meanwhile, next year’s event is set to be even bigger and better, as National Freelancers Day will be brought forward to June 2016.
“There was a lot of good news to come out of last night’s National Freelancers Day event,” highlights ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin, who attended the event. “The thinktank will fill gaps in the knowledge of the contracting sector and provide vital evidence educating policymakers.”
The evening wasn’t overshadowed by the newspaper reports of the previous weekend, although there was much speculation as to what is likely to happen on the 25th November when Chancellor George Osborne delivers the Autumn Statement.
IPSE announces new thinktank
Policymakers, politicians and the wider media, who frequently demonstrate shockingly inaccurate knowledge of the contracting sector and contractors, will gain a much more comprehensive insight into the contracting sector.
This will be the result of IPSE’s new thinktank. The Centre for Research on Self-Employment (CRSE) includes leading academics and contracting stakeholders gathered by IPSE, who have an extensive knowledge of contingent labour markets in the UK and throughout the world
“We’ve made so many good contacts, both in the UK and around the world. With the resources we had available we thought it would be a great idea to set up a thinktank with a board that would be dedicated to looking at research around self-employment,” explains IPSE director of policy Simon McVicker.
As well as funding the think tank, IPSE will be helping the academics to identify areas where further research is needed. All of which it hopes will play a pivotal part in influencing future policy.
“The only way you can make any progress in policymaking today is with evidence based research. If you can’t back up your argument, it’s worthless,” notes McVicker. “The think tank also aims to challenge assumptions and myths, and we expect the academics to challenge us as well.”
IPSE to host policy conference
Independent professionals such as contractors, interims and freelancers will be amongst the main priorities when IPSE’s policy conference takes place next year. Key contracting stakeholders will meet on 26th April to engage in a mixture of political debate and discussion over policies.
IPSE confirms that the contractor workforce will be high on the agenda, with conference members set to discuss the needs of the contracting community, as well as issues concerning running a self-employed business.
“We’ll probably have a look at Europe as well. Come next April the referendum will be very imminent, so we expect that to be a hot topic of discussion,” highlights McVicker
“The fact of the matter is we want to discuss policies and issues that are relevant to self-employment and freelancing, engaging with distinguished people in the Government, business people and academics. This conference provides us with the platform to do so.”
A change of season for next year’s NFD event
This year’s event was deliberately downsized, with IPSE already looking ahead to the arrangements for 2016. Next year’s National Freelancers Day will take place at the beginning of summer on 9th June.
McVicker explains how a change of season can benefit the organisation and its flagship event: “With National Freelancers Day landing in November, it means that activities are curtailed inside. We feel that people will be less inclined to go out on a dark November evening.
“We thought if we moved the event forward to the summertime, it would give us more capacity to do outdoor events. It provides us with an opportunity to put on an evening event that will attract more people and will in turn help to raise IPSE’s profile.”
IT contractor amongst award winners
An IT contractor and a copywriter were the recipients of this years’ Freelancer of the Year Awards, which was the main focal point of the evening.
Paul Allington, who runs software development company ‘The Code Guy’ won the Inspire award for established contractors, whilst Kelly Gilmour-Grassam took home the Aspire award for those aged 23 or under for her copywriting agency ‘Making You Content’.
“Self-employment has been part of my life for many years, so it’s amazing to get recognition on a national level,” notes Allington. “I hope this will encourage anyone who’s considering taking up freelancing to do exactly that.”
“This year we saw a huge number of incredibly impressive freelancers who represent the strength and diversity of the UK’s flexible labour market,” highlights IPSE CEO Chris Bryce. “Choosing a winner wasn’t easy.”
Applications were received from contractors from a broad scope of sectors and backgrounds, with applicants judged on the strength of their portfolio, as well as their passion and commitment to freelancing.