Five 'hot' IT contractor skills to weather 2016's cold snap

The nights are drawing in closer as winter takes hold, but the light is still shining brightly on contract opportunities in IT; where five specialisms remain ‘hot’ despite the cooler conditions, writes Jay Simpson, contract consultant at Computer Futures.

Fresh thinking in tech

Digital is driving the core functions of businesses and our clients know that finding the best contractors is crucial to connecting departments and putting customers first. So what’s required right now are talented individuals who can operate across various functions of the business, which increasingly wants to see measurable results and insights to enhance the customer experience.

The upshot is that there are now five temporary IT job candidates who are leading the digital drive towards 2017. It’s no surprise to us that ‘Digital’ was yesterday identified as one of only two specialisms that a UK-wide index pinpoints as being scarce among contractors, and therefore highly sought-after on a temporary basis.  

User experience and user interface designers and developers

Consumers won't settle for anything less than a quick, seamless and painless user experience, whether they're using enterprise software, shopping or gaming. Contract user experience and user interface (UX and UI) designers are going to be in high demand in 2017, to help make software interfaces as intuitive as possible.

Mobile engineers

It won't happen overnight, but with the speed of innovation and technology advancements iOS and Android may soon become obsolete. While we wait for that, there's still a major market for mobile application developers. Mobile has now surpassed the desktop computer as the most-used digital platform, and 2017 should also see firm demand for cross-platform mobile development contractors who use Mircosoft’s Xaramin, which allows them to build native iOS and Andriod apps in C#.

Cloud architects and integration

With the continued shift toward public cloud infrastructure and hybrid cloud adoption, IT contractors who are skilled at setting up, performing integration and securing cloud deployments will remain vital for the rest of this year and next.

Security and Cybersecurity

More than 8 in 10 of almost 3,500 business people say there is a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals, found the Global Cybersecurity Status report by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.

Combine that with the over 300,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the US which is estimated to reach 1 million to 1.5 million by 2020, and it is safe to say that hirers face a huge talent shortage in the sector. Security will remain a 'hot' and highly in-demand skill well into 2017 and beyond.

Full-stack web and product developers

A gorgeous user interface is of course meaningless without robust software behind it. Full-stack web developers, especially those skilled in languages like Java, JavaScript, PHP and Python, will be in high demand in 2017 to ensure that back-end software is secure and stable for users.

Outlook

Digital is a ‘hot’ industry that’s shaping up to be a core function of companies. Its true value lies in opening up a new world of possibilities so, in contrast to the onset of winter, it’s far from gloomy. But the market is shifting gears right now, so expect to see more clients moving to these five.

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