Investing in yourself to survive

To ensure they’re best prepared for the future, 45% of our clients have started to invest in training or are already undertaking technical certifications to help make themselves more attractive to future clients and open up new options.

Keeping your skills up to date has never been more important. This is particularly so for fast-moving sectors like IT. As a contractor, you need to always be moving forward with both your contracts and your understanding. If you stand still, you risk being left behind. From the outset of your career, it’s important to understand your weaknesses and areas for personal development and actively list them. This can form the first draft of your personal development plan.

Personal development is best viewed as a continuous journey. Our clients have told us that deciding how they want to develop their own career is one of the most rewarding aspects of contracting.

‘I need to ensure that I am not a pure specialist in technologies that are slowly dying. I look to diversify and work with new technologies in each new contractor role; that way I won’t end up an expert in a dead technology as the world moves on.’

Javier, IT contractor

It’s also worth remembering that developing yourself through training shows that you are actively investing in your company. This is very handy should your IR35 status come into question as it is robust evidence of you acting as an independent trading company.

Want to know more about how you can develop your skills and career path as a contractor? Take a look at our personal development guide, written by previous contractors for contractors.

The State of the Nation 2019

2019 is set to be another year of monumental change and uncertainty. Politics, the economy, society and technology are all continuing to change at lightning speed. That’s why, in January, we conducted a survey to find out how contractors are preparing for the future. Our 2019 report brings together our thoughts on the current mood of contractors across the nation, leveraging data from our expert clients and comment from our in-house specialists, to provide a close-up look at what contractors are talking and worry about for the coming year.

Download the free full report in our eBook library.