how has covid affected the jobs market

How Has Covid-19 Affected The Jobs Market (Now And Going Forward)

Over the past few months, we have seen unemployment reach the highest it has been in years. Covid has brought the economy to a standstill and many are now out of a job.

Fortunately, however, we are starting to come out the other side and businesses are putting plans into place for returning to work as well as general growth and development.

Furthermore, it has been clear throughout the past few months, just how vital technology services are and without them, many wouldn’t have been able to continue working at all. So, that’s definitely positive news for anyone working in the IT and Med Tech industries.

So, now that we are approaching Phase 3 of the Government Roadmap and businesses are starting to offer more opportunities, what can we expect from the jobs market?

We spoke to Senior Recruitment Consultant, Tom Leonard, to find out what the significant impacts have been over the past few months as well as what we can expect to see going forward.

 

How the jobs market has changed since covid hit?

Many sectors have been hit hard by Covid-19 and there’s no doubt that it will take time for these areas to recover. However, even though there have been job losses and reduced hours, there have been some glimmers of light including a growth in demand for contract working, Tom explains.

The reality is, projects haven’t stopped for a lot of companies, it’s just the capability to take on new employees on a permanent basis has been restricted in line with more cautious budgeting.

As a result, this has paved the way for a greater number of contract-based roles – especially for those working in high demand areas such as cyber security and cloud computing.

So, if your job has been affected by covid and you are now looking for work, Tom recommends looking for relevant contract based roles, as this could be a good way to keep up your income while the economy recovers.

“This won’t be long-term – I really do believe that. It won’t be a long-term downturn in the market I think we’ll develop a more stable approach. And ultimately, there will be areas of growth that we didn’t see before,” he says.

 

What skills and jobs are in demand?

The way that we work has changed dramatically over the past few months. But the shift in providing so many more services online has been extremely beneficial to many. We have been able to connect more, get more done, reduce travelling times/costs and get access to many more services while staying at home.

And this change in approach is something that a lot of businesses – and consumers – don’t want to lose. So, even though initial set ups might have been temporary, there’s plenty of room going forward for businesses to develop their successes.

As Tom explains, training and services will be made more available and this in turn will open up job opportunities for creating this style of infrastructure.

More specifically, IaaS, SaaS and cloud computing will be prevalent here, as well as cyber security as more people migrate to cloud.

Equally, with a more dispersed workforce, businesses may find they need more Project Managers and Scrum Masters to help keep projects moving as well as ensure smooth collaboration and effective communication.

“We might start to see teams who aren’t development teams having daily stand-ups and sprint meetings, for example morning huddles online,” says Tom.

 

How have we seen the hiring process change?

The recruitment process has undoubtedly changed, explains Tom. And not just the interview process but the whole journey.

“Making the decision to hire someone you have never seen in person, or never shaken hands with, is a completely different experience entirely,” says Tom.

“It’s a completely different mindset because your interaction online is completely different. And even after hiring someone, you might not get to meet them for the foreseeable future. So, companies are now having to reconsider their processes for onboarding,” he says.

 

Is there a move to more contract positions?

“Yes, absolutely,” says Tom.

“We are seeing a growth in contracting as companies roll back on permanent head counts. Before Covid happened, we were seeing quite a sizable shift towards permanent roles and this usually happens when the economy is performing well. However, when investment is harder to come by, companies naturally start to look for contract resources a little bit more,” says Tom.

 

How easy is it to move to a contract role?

“It’s a much more straight forward process than people realise,” says Tom.

Getting set up as a contractor can be done quite simply by using an umbrella company such as Contracting Plus.

ItContracting Associate Director Tracy Quinlan talks to Commercial Director Jimmy Sheehan about how you can get yourself set up, here:

“It’s really not as daunting as some people believe – there are definitely advantages to contracting. And if you have any concerns then the best thing to do is talk to us and we can discuss those with you,” says Tom.

 

What positives can we take from all of this?

“There are positives – that goes without saying,” says Tom.

“It’s very easy to concentrate on the negatives and the potentially difficult scenarios that people are finding themselves in. However, without underestimating all of those, there are positives we can take from all of this.

“If we talk about the flexibility around remote working – I think a lot of companies had been looking at this for a long time but perhaps hadn’t implemented it yet – but many of them have now.

“But this has become a new reality now and there are a lot of positives we can take from that. It’s had a positive impact on the environment and congestion for example. And we’re reacting to rising demands such as investing in better broadband and seeing what people need to be able to work from home.

“Moreover, these demands will help create jobs and in turn we’ll see growth in cloud and data centre type roles as well as ancillary roles surrounding those.”

 

Get in touch

This situation is very much unprecedented. However, we are starting to come out the other side and there are lots of ways we can help you get back on track.

“Stay safe, stay well and if you need any advice on your job market search, your potential next move or you want to chat through any concerns, just give us a call,” says Tom.

“We can give you some advice on help you with your CV and simply help you in any way we can. Stay safe and speak to you soon.”

 

Phone: (+353) 1890 911 211

Email: info@itcontracting.ie

Or you can send us your CV.

Career Advice