2. 2 3
CONTENTS
03 Introduction
04 Benefits & The Workplace
06 Attraction
08 Engagement & Retention
10 Key Statistics
12 Development
14 IT Support & Infrastructure
16 Testing & QA
18 BI & Databases
20 Big Data
22 Looking Ahead
23 Contact Us
2016 is going to be a big
year for British business.
45% of companies intend to increase recruitment activity in
2016, with a further 38% hiring the same amount of people
as they did last year. Given that recruitment activity acts as
a barometer for the economy, this is great news for UK plc.
2015 saw the skills gap continue to widen and skilled
professionals now have plenty of opportunities to progress
their career. Our survey showed that the majority of
businesses deal with skills shortfalls by recruiting, with
34% hiring permanent staff and 26% taking on contractors.
Interestingly, this far exceeds the number of businesses
who solve the issue by upskilling existing employees (32%),
an issue the industry must address in order to ensure
long-term growth.
This situation reminds me of the late 90s, back in the
early days of my recruitment career. Almost every company
was looking to hire and most had accepted that, in order
to attract and retain the best talent in a highly competitive
market, they would have to consider contract workers.
The past will soon be the present. 57% of employers primarily
use contractors as an interim solution, effectively using
temporary resource until they can find the perfect employee.
However, as permanent workers become harder to find,
contract lengths will increase. This will make contracting even
more appealing to those considering switching from being full
time employees – leading to even fewer permanent workers
being available.
Whatever happens, 2016 promises to be another exciting
and challenging year.
I hope you’ll find this report useful and if there’s anything
you would like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to contact
me directly.
DAVID BLOXHAM
MANAGING DIRECTOR
E: david.bloxham@gcsltd.com
T: 07841 843818
@davidbloxham74
“ 83% of companies will
maintain or increase
recruitment activity in 2016.”
3. 4 5
71%
Working
environment
BENEFITS & THE WORKPLACE
41% of employees are either
unsatisfied or very unsatisfied
with their benefits package.
This comes at a time when there
is a disparity between what
companies are offering and what
their employees actually want.
With 56% of workers expecting
an increase in their benefits
package in 2016, staff satisfaction
will continue to decline unless the
benefits gap is addressed.
Ongoing communication and regular
reviews of benefits offered are key.
Companies that use the benefits
package as an opportunity to engage
their workforce will undoubtedly
see the impact on staff retention.
HIGHLIGHTS
Flexible working
Despite believing it is the most
important benefit, 52% of companies
have not increased the level of
flexible working available.
Pension
Non-contributory pensions are
offered third least but valued by
workers third most.
Shares
Companies claim that shares
are the second most important
element of a benefits package yet
rarely offer them.
Gym membership
Only 36% of companies say
their workers are interested in
gym memberships - yet 86%
of companies offer them.
Travel loan
Similarly, 89% of companies offer a
travel loan but they believe (correctly) it
is the least important benefit, with only
34% thinking it is of value.
Parental leave
Companies think that extended
parental leave is becoming more
important to workers but this
isn’t the case - it’s the third
least wanted benefit.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
There may be a growing benefits
gap, but it is the working environment
that is now seen as a key attraction,
engagement and retention tool.
More than 70% of candidates and
employers believe the working
environment is now more important
than a benefits package.
Open plan offices, free breakfasts,
fresh fruit, drinks fridges and even
slides - the workplace has been
transformed in the last decade,
and will continue to do so with
Generation Z entering the workplace.
Employers that continue to focus on
providing an environment in which
their staff feel inspired, motivated,
and importantly where they enjoy
spending their long days, will be in
a far better position to attract and
retain skilled professionals.
What
employees
want
1 Bonus
2 Flexible working
3 Non-contributory pension
4 Flexible benefits
5 Health insurance
What
businesses
actually
offer
1 Health insurance
2 Work travel loan
3 Gym membership
4 Bonus
5 Flexible working
What
businesses
believe
is important
1 Flexible working
2 Company shares
3 Bonus
4 Flexible benefits
5 Extended parental
leave/support
“ With 56% of workers expecting an
increase in their benefits package in 2016,
staff satisfaction will continue to decline
unless the benefits gap is addressed.”
What is more
important?
Benefits
package
29%
4. 6 7
“ 66% of employers
say it is now harder
to find good
candidates than it
was a year ago.”
ATTRACTION
WAR FOR TALENT
Competition for talent has increased,
with 66% of employers saying it is
now harder to find good candidates
than it was a year ago. This makes
sense, as 51% of candidates received
three to four offers before accepting
their current role. With 45% of people
looking to change jobs within the
next six months, companies who are
hiring would be wise to remember
that more candidates now look for
a new job via social media than by
exploring their personal network.
MONEY TALKS
Some companies believe that career
development, a comprehensive
benefits package or the opportunity
to earn substantial bonuses will
overcome the lure of a higher
guaranteed salary. Whilst all remain
important factors, results show that
money is still the main motivator
when considering a new role.
FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility has become a highly
desired perk when candidates are
considering new roles, despite
employers failing to keep up with
the trend. Sabbaticals, working
from home and compressed hours
are some of the most sought-after
aspects of flexible working, while
the vast majority of people state
that flexible working hours would
be the best way of improving their
work/life balance.
CONTRACTOR ATTRACTION
Many employers believe that
contractors value long contracts
and interesting projects above
anything else. However, it’s the
traditional “one-two punch” of rate
and location that remains at the top
of contractors’ wish lists.
Contractors understand that their
skills are in demand and the majority
have multiple offers as soon as they
are available. This allows them to
focus on rates, rather than contract
lengths, as they know that another
assignment is never far away.
What
employers
think
contractors
want
1 Longer contract lengths
2 Interesting projects
3 High rates
“ 49% of contract
workers would
consider a
permanent role.”
CONTRACT TO PERMANENT
Surprisingly, nearly half (49%) of
contract workers indicated that
they would consider a permanent
role, providing it met their specific
requirements. Only 18% would
never consider it.
However, when contractors say
they want a high salary, they mean
a HIGH salary – something at least
comparable to their contract earnings.
As such, negotiations often end in an
impasse, with the company unable
to justify paying near-contract money
for permanent employees and the
contractor not prepared to accept a
substantial drop in earnings.
Top reasons for a contractor
to accept permanent work:
What
permanent
jobseekers
actually
want
1 High salary
2 Flexible working
3 Convenient location
What
contractors
actually
want
1 High rates
2 Convenient locations
3 Longer contract lengths
What
employers
think
jobseekers
want
1 Career progression
2 High salary
3 Bonuses
1 High salary
2 Senior position/career progression
3 Job security
7
5. 8 9
ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION
HAPPINESS
This year, workload has increased
for the majority (54%) of permanent
workers, whilst a similar majority
(52%) of contractors say their
workload has remained the same.
Considering this, it’s no surprise
that 54% of contractors state that
job satisfaction has not changed,
but 38% of permanent workers are
less satisfied in their role this year.
Overall, just 25% of workers feel job
satisfaction has increased.
SECURITY
There is confidence amongst
candidates, as 71% of all workers say
job security has stayed the same or
increased. Assignment lengths on
contract are generally the same as
last year (58%), with an equal amount
increasing or decreasing (21%).
Percentage
of people who
would consider
relocating for
the right job:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Workers feel that there is too
little effort put into professional
development, with 64% saying they
cannot achieve their career ambitions
with their current client or employer.
60% of workers are unhappy with
the training support they have
received, with only 9% of contractors
and 19% of employees seeing an
increase in training opportunities,
while 29% of permanent respondents
have received no training at all over
the last year.
PERMANENT EXPECTATIONS
Despite more than half of UK
permanent workers receiving an
increase in salary, benefits and
holiday over the past 12 months,
expectations are high for the
forthcoming year. 58% are looking
for a further increase in salary,
56% want more benefits and 52%
seek an increase in paid holiday.
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
How soon will you change
permanent jobs?
45% Within 6 months
18% Within 12 months
17% Within 24 months
With so many permanent workers
looking for new roles in the next six
months, employers have to make
substantial counteroffers to retain key
members of staff. 56% of employees
would want a salary increase of 20%
or more to consider staying where
they are. However, on average, 85%
of people who accept a counteroffer
leave within six months, so it is
essential for companies to avoid
getting into this situation altogether.
It would be wise for businesses
to maximise engagement by
considering options that may not
have been previously considered,
such as offering employees more
flexibility in their work/life balance,
investing in their working environment
or providing more training opportunities
to the 60% who feel their skills aren’t
being developed enough.
“38% of permanent
workers are less
satisfied in their
role this year”
Primary reasons for
considering a new role
1 Higher salary/rate
2 Convenient location
3 Bonus
4 Flexible working
5 Career progression
63%
Within the UK
Work/Life balance
70% of workers are happy with
their work/life balance, although
candidates believe it could be
further improved by the following:
44% Flexible working
33% Compressed hours
14% Working from home
6% Sabbaticals
3% Shared maternity/
paternity leave
Although 69% of companies believe
that remote working doesn’t have
any negative impact on company
culture or team productivity, only
18% of permanent workers and
24% of contractors have seen an
increase in flexible working.
9
Overseas
43%
6. 10 11
KEY STATISTICS
Benefits
Percentage of employees who value
their working environment more
than a benefits package
71% 41%
Percentage of employees
who are unhappy with their
benefits package
Training
Percentage of employees
that are unhappy with
the amount of training
support they received
last year
60%
Percentage of employees
that received the same
or less training as
the previous year
10 11
Flexible working
Percentage of employees
that say flexible working would
improve their work/life balance
Percentage of companies
that increased their flexible
working last year
20%
Targets and Goals
Percentage of employers that believe
their staff have the skills needed
to ensure company targets are met
Percentage of employees that believe
their employer can help them achieve
their career aspirations
71%
36%
79%
81%
7. 12 13
SKILLS STATUS
• JavaScript remains a highly sought-after skill in most
areas of the country, in particular AngularJS, whilst
MVC Link with .NET has also seen a rise in demand.
• Continued investment within the mobile application
market will lead to increased demand over the next
twelve months for candidates with Android and iOS
skills, particularly Swift and Xamarin.
• As wearable technology matures, there will be more
focus on cross-device applications that utilise both
mobile and wearable devices, while companies look to
innovate and diverge from the health and fitness range.
• Demand for SQL and Oracle has decreased as more
companies veer towards niche CRM and CMS systems
like the open-source Umbraco.
AVERAGE SALARIES 2015 vs 2016 AVERAGE RATES 2015 vs 2016SKILLS STATUS
• Growing and seemingly sustainable interest in DevOps
has led to more companies seeking contractors with
Ansible, Kubernetes and Docker skills.
• Whilst modern favourite JavaScript frameworks
AngularJS and ReactJS are still highly sought after,
other frameworks are experiencing more demand,
particularly Node.js.
• Mirroring the permanent market, demand remains high
for those with strong iOS and Android skills and will only
continue to increase over the next year as development
becomes even more mobile.
• Newer technologies have nearly made the older
development languages such as VB6 and VB.NET
obsolete to the point where employers rarely look to
hire contractors with these skills.
DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
PERMANENT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
.NET Developer £28,000 £45,000 £60,000 £35,000 £47,500 £70,000
Web Developer £25,000 £38,000 £60,000 £35,000 £52,500 £70,000
iOS Developer £30,000 £45,000 £65,000 £37,500 £52,500 £75,000
Java Developer £28,000 £45,000 £60,000 £35,000 £52,500 £70,000
PHP/Ruby/Perl/Scala Developer £28,000 £40,000 £55,000 £35,000 £47,500 £65,000
Flash ActionScript Developer £25,000 £40,000 £50,000 £32,500 £47,500 £62,500
UI/JavaScript Developer £25,000 £40,000 £50,000 £30,000 £42,500 £55,000
UX Designer £25,000 £35,000 £45,000 £27,500 £35,000 £50,000
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
CONTRACT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
.NET Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 £275 - £325 £325 - £425 £425 - £550
Web Developer £225 - £275 £275 - £375 £375 - £475 £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £525
iOS Developer £275 - £325 £325 - £425 £425 - £525 £300 - £350 £350 - £450 £450 - £575
Java Developer £280 - £330 £330 - £430 £430 - £525 £300 - £350 £350 - £450 £450 - £575
PHP/Ruby/Perl/Scala Developer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £450 £250 - £325 £325 - £425 £425 - £550
Flash ActionScript Developer £225 - £275 £275 - £325 £325 - £425 £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £525
UI/JavaScript Developer £250 - £325 £325 - £425 £425 - £500 £275 - £350 £350 - £450 £450 - £575
UX Designer £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 £275 - £325 £325 - £425 £425 - £550
PERMANENT CONTRACT
£55k
£50k
£45k
£40k
£35k
London
2015
London
2015
London
2016
London
2016
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2016
Thames
Valley 2016
£46,786
£39,238
£50,476
£41,286
£400
£375
£350
£325
£300
£356 £350
£385
£357
“ JavaScript remains a
highly sought-after skill in
most areas of the country.”
“ Newer technologies have
nearly made the older
development languages such
as VB6 and VB.Net obsolete.”
13
8. 14 15
SKILLS STATUS
• With DevOps here to stay, many companies are seeking
to hire permanently but are struggling to find people
available and willing to take permanent roles, particularly
those with LAMP, Puppet and Nagios skills.
• Ongoing need to supply remote services has led to an
increase in demand for virtualisation experts, particularly
those with the HyperV and VMware skillsets.
• Cloud computing is a discipline becoming generally
accepted as the future of storage, so more companies
are looking to recruit permanently in this area, with
AWS experience being the most sought-after trait.
• With the move to virtualisation seemingly universal,
there is less need for people who have hands-on
experience of working with any of the system hardware.
• The quick shift through Windows 8 to Windows 10 has
been damaging to the demand for workers who have
substantial experience of Microsoft products and systems
such as Active Directory, Exchange and even Windows 7.
AVERAGE SALARIES 2015 vs 2016 AVERAGE RATES 2015 vs 2016SKILLS STATUS
• Those who assume junior helpdesk contractors will
be in plentiful supply would be wrong - increasingly
fewer entry-level workers are prepared to have anything
to do with helpdesk, preferring to skip this traditional
“first step” and focus on specialising elsewhere.
• The increase in usage of cloud computing and
virtualisation has led to an increase in hiring for
Datacentre and Cyber Security experts, particularly
those with VMware and AWS experience.
• Over the last six months there has been an increased
demand for people who already have existing security
clearance, since reprocessing those with lapsed clearance
causes delays and can derail time sensitive projects.
• The huge surge in demand for Linux based systems has
led to Microsoft skills becoming considerably less popular,
even Windows 7 and 8 skilled workers are beginning to
struggle to find suitable contract work.
• Companies don’t want generalists any more. Previously
a good second or third line “all-rounder” would have regular
work, but companies now prefer to only engage specialists
on a contract basis.
£50k
£45k
£40k
£35k
£30k
£45,646
£37,875
£48,417
£39,729
IT SUPPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE IT SUPPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE
PERMANENT CONTRACT
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
PERMANENT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Service Desk Analyst £20,000 £24,000 £27,500 £25,000 £27,500 £32,000
Desktop Support £25,000 £30,000 £34,000 £27,500 £32,500 £37,500
Infrastructure Engineer £30,000 £40,000 £55,000 £40,000 £47,500 £60,000
Network Engineer £32,000 £45,000 £60,000 £37,500 £50,000 £65,000
Voice Engineer £30,000 £37,500 £45,000 £42,500 £57,500 £62,500
Information Security Engineer £35,000 £47,000 £65,000 £47,500 £60,000 £75,000
System Admin (Windows/Linux/Unix) £30,000 £37,500 £50,000 £37,500 £47,500 £62,500
DevOps Engineer £35,000 £45,000 £70,000 £45,000 £60,000 £80,000
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
CONTRACT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Service Desk Analyst £130 - £150 £150 - £180 £180 - £200 £120 - £160 £160 - £200 £200 - £250
Desktop Support £160 - £200 £200 - £220 £220 - £250 £170 - £200 £200 - £250 £250 - £280
Infrastructure Engineer £220 - £260 £260 - £310 £310 - £380 £220 - £280 £280 - £350 £350 - £400
Network Engineer £220 - £270 £270 - £350 £350 - £500 £270 - £330 £330 - £450 £450 - £550
Voice Engineer £220 - £300 £300 - £350 £350 - £450 £200 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £550
Information Security Engineer £300 - £350 £350 - £450 £450 - £550 £250 - £350 £350 - £475 £475 - £575
System Admin (Windows/Linux/Unix) £200 - £250 £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £285 - £350 £350 - £425 £425 - £580
DevOps Engineer £200 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £525 £300 - £400 £400 - £550 £550 - £675
£350
£325
£300
£275
£250
£321
£291
£334
£297
London
2015
London
2015
London
2016
London
2016
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2016
Thames
Valley 2016
“ With DevOps here to stay,
many companies are seeking
to hire permanently.”
“ There is a huge surge
in demand for Linux
based systems.”
15
9. 16 17
SKILLS STATUS
• The ongoing movement towards automated test
has seen an increase in need for those with test tool
experience - particularly those who can use C#,
Ruby and Java with Selenium.
• Mobile automation testing has become a red hot area
in the market, so candidates with experience of working
on Android or iOS systems are quickly snapped up.
• It is now expected that all candidates in the market will
have a solid grounding in manual testing, so this skill, by
itself, is worth very little. If this is the only skill candidates
have, they will find it difficult to secure an appropriate
job as companies now demand more out of even the
most junior workers.
AVERAGE SALARIES 2015 vs 2016 AVERAGE RATES 2015 vs 2016SKILLS STATUS
• The continuing trend towards mobile automation
testing has led to increased demand for contractors
to have very specific connected skills, most notably
Calabash and Appium.
• Major security breaches in 2015 have led to companies
upping their commitment to cyber security, leading in turn
to increased demand for non-functional and penetration
testing experts.
• Even though QTP has been rebranded as UFT, there are
few takers for this skillset outside of the banking industry.
Fortunately for HP, ALM is fast becoming the market
standard elsewhere.
• Whilst Selenium remains in demand, its popularity in
combination with skills other than Java is increasing -
many companies are finding more productive ways of
using it.
TESTING & QA TESTING & QA
PERMANENT CONTRACT
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
PERMANENT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Website Tester £25,000 £32,500 £40,000 £32,500 £42,500 £52,500
Test Analyst £27,500 £37,500 £45,000 £37,500 £42,500 £52,500
Automation Tester £36,000 £47,500 £52,000 £37,500 £52,500 £57,500
Manual Tester £30,000 £37,500 £47,000 £37,500 £42,500 £52,500
System Tester £32,500 £40,000 £55,000 £33,000 £42,500 £57,500
Mobile Tester £35,000 £43,000 £57,500 £37,500 £47,500 £62,500
Performance Tester £35,000 £43,000 £57,500 £42,500 £52,500 £62,500
Programme Test Manager n/a n/a £60,000 n/a n/a £67,500
Test Lead n/a n/a £52,500 n/a n/a £57,500
Test Manager n/a n/a £60,000 n/a n/a £65,000
QA Director n/a n/a £70,000 n/a n/a £80,000
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
CONTRACT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Website Tester £120 - £170 £170 - £300 £300 - £350 £150 - £240 £240 - £360 £360 - £450
Test Analyst £100 - £175 £175 - £250 £250 - £350 £150 - £220 £220 - £300 £300 - £350
Automation Tester £125 - £200 £200 - £300 £300 - £400 £200 - £250 £250 - £375 £375 - £550
Manual Tester £150 - £225 £225 - £275 £275 - £350 £200 - £280 £280 - £330 £330 - £425
System Tester £175 - £225 £225 - £300 £300 - £375 £200 - £280 £280 - £330 £330 - £425
Mobile Tester £175 - £250 £250 - £300 £300 - £400 £220 - £280 £280 - £380 £380 - £500
Performance Tester £275 - £350 £350 - £400 £400 - £450 £320 - £380 £380 - £420 £420 - £550
Programme Test Manager n/a n/a £400 - £500 n/a n/a £475 - £600
Test Lead n/a n/a £350 - £475 n/a n/a £410 - £500
Test Manager n/a n/a £400 - £525 n/a n/a £500 - £675
QA Director n/a n/a £600 - £800 n/a n/a £700 - £1,200
£50k
£45k
£40k
£35k
£30k
£42,500
£38,786
£46,571
£40,762
£350
£325
£300
£275
£250
£225
£313
£265
£336
£281
London
2015
London
2015
London
2016
London
2016
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2016
Thames
Valley 2016
“ Mobile automation testing
has become a red hot area
in the market.”
“ Major security breaches in
2015 have led to companies
upping their commitment
to cyber security.”
10. 18 19
SKILLS STATUS
• Though it has taken time, the acceptance of Big Data
and predictive analysis as a legitimate commercial venture
has led to a huge demand for Data Scientists, a need
which we expect to increase further over the next three
to five years.
• Despite salaries remaining stagnant, senior SQL Server
workers are heavily in demand in the Thames Valley,
as is the MSBI stack in general, suggesting hiring
companies are setting the wrong salary levels to ensure
prospect attraction.
• Business Objects will suffer from a lack of candidate
interest, as workers move towards hotter market areas
such as Big Data and Data Science, leading to upskilling
in Python, R, Matlab and Hadoop. The reduction in skilled
Business Objects workers will likely lead to businesses
moving away from this suite.
AVERAGE SALARIES 2015 vs 2016 AVERAGE RATES 2015 vs 2016SKILLS STATUS
• Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) has
enjoyed popularity in the US and is beginning to emerge
in the UK market - this may be a skill to watch in 2016.
• Fewer businesses are interested in hiring Oracle workers
than at any time in the past five years. Most businesses
seem to have moved towards SQL and there are always
plenty of Oracle professionals looking for work.
• Cognos has also become a skill which fewer and fewer
companies are utilising.
• QlikView has been one of the most in-demand skills
for the past few years and this need shows no sign
of abating in 2016.
• Similar to permanent requirements, strong knowledge
of the MSBI stack has become a primary aptitude that
businesses are increasingly seeking.
£55k
£50k
£45k
£52,000
£48,333
£54,533
£48,667
BI & DATABASES BI & DATABASES
PERMANENT CONTRACT
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
PERMANENT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Database Administrator £32,500 £45,000 £57,500 £40,000 £50,000 £60,000
SQL Server BI Developer £32,500 £45,000 £60,000 £37,500 £50,000 £67,500
OBIEE Developer £37,500 £45,000 £60,000 £43,000 £52,000 £63,000
QlikView BI Developer £37,500 £47,500 £65,000 £46,000 £58,000 £66,000
BI Architect/Consultant £37,500 £55,000 £70,000 £47,500 £60,000 £80,000
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
CONTRACT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Database Administrator £200 - £300 £300 - £375 £375 - £500 £225 - £300 £300 - £425 £425 - £550
SQL Server BI Developer £225 - £300 £300 - £400 £400 - £500 £200 - £350 £350 - £400 £400 - £600
OBIEE Developer £275 - £325 £325 - £400 £400 - £500 £300 - £350 £350 - £400 £400 - £550
QlikView BI Developer £300 - £350 £350 - £425 £425 - £525 £300 - £375 £375 - £450 £450 - £600
BI Architect/Consultant £350 - £400 £400 - £500 £500 - £600 £375 - £450 £450 - £550 £550 - £750
£425
£400
£375
£350
£397
£389
£406
£397
London
2015
London
2015
London
2016
London
2016
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2016
Thames
Valley 2016
“ Senior SQL Server workers
are heavily in demand in the
Thames Valley.”
“ QlikView has been one of
the most in-demand skills
for the past few years.”
19
11. 20 21
SKILLS STATUS
• Companies are now looking for candidates with a strong
data background who also have full life cycle experience -
they need people who know the technology but also have
good business skills.
• With the growth of Cloud Computing, more businesses
are looking for people with Azure and AWS to help
monetise the information available.
• Due to the popularity of Hadoop and how easy it is to use
with MS products, Oracle and Tibco have seen a slight
drop in usage.
AVERAGE SALARIES 2016 AVERAGE RATES 2015 vs 2016SKILLS STATUS
• There has been a noticeable increase in the uptake of
Big Data workers within education, healthcare and energy,
whilst banking and government sectors show less demand.
• Specific technical skills such as Hadoop, which has seen
a substantial increase in popularity over the last twelve
months, have become highly sought after in contractors.
• Apache Spark continues to gather momentum despite
its relatively recent entrance into the market.
£70k
£65k
£60k
£55k
£50k
£65,271
£61,128
£57,500
£54,000
BIG DATA BIG DATA
PERMANENT CONTRACT
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
PERMANENT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Data Architect n/a n/a £80,000 n/a £75,000 £90,000
Data Analyst n/a n/a £42,500 n/a £40,000 £45,000
Chief Data Officer n/a n/a £110,000 n/a n/a £120,000
Data Developer n/a n/a £60,000 n/a £57,500 £72,500
Solutions Architect n/a n/a £70,000 n/a £67,500 £80,000
Big Data DBA n/a n/a £55,000 n/a £57,500 £65,000
Business Analyst n/a n/a £52,500 n/a £52,500 £60,000
THAMES VALLEY LONDON
CONTRACT ROLES Junior Mid-Level Senior Junior Mid-Level Senior
Data Architect n/a n/a £450 - £600 n/a £400 - £550 £550 - £800
Data Analyst n/a n/a £350 - £500 n/a £300 - £350 £350 - £550
Chief Data Officer n/a n/a £500 - £700 n/a n/a £700 - £1,000
Data Developer n/a n/a £450 - £700 n/a £400 - £500 £500 - £750
Solutions Architect n/a n/a £500 - £700 n/a £400 - £500 £500 - £750
Big Data DBA n/a n/a £400 - £550 n/a £350 - £500 £500 - £600
Business Analyst n/a n/a £400 - £550 n/a £400 - £550 £550 - £800
£650
£600
£550
£500
£450
£400
£596
£489
£636
£525
London
2015
London
2015
London
2016
London
2016
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2015
Thames
Valley 2016
Thames
Valley 2016
“ Companies are now looking
for candidates with a strong
data background who also
have full life cycle experience.”
“ Hadoop has seen a substantial
increase in popularity over
the last twelve months.”
21
12. 22 23
It has become clear that this
next year is going to see a sharp
increase in competition for talent.
Our survey has shown that more
than half of UK businesses will be
hiring multiple candidates on both
permanent and contract within
the next six months, and yet our
clients acknowledge that it has
already become more difficult to
recruit quality staff.
With 43% of UK workers reporting that they would be happy
to consider relocating overseas for a job, we will lose some
British talent to Europe, so drawing on international resources
ourselves may be a necessary practice.
When faced with a requirement heavy market, Ireland
looked to attract more workers from EU countries,
particularly Spain and Eastern Europe, interviewing by
Skype rather than insisting on costly and time-consuming
face-to-face trips. This is an approach that UK clients may
wish to consider emulating should local resources run dry.
In the case of business critical roles, it is wise to consider
an interim solution earlier in the process, as permanent
roles are remaining unfilled for longer. Nearly half of
responding clients said that vacancies now take more
than six weeks to fill. Contractors can keep work
progressing and protect companies against complications
caused by delays in finding the ideal permanent worker.
Our advice to recruiting companies is to create a streamlined
recruitment plan and then be efficient and decisive
throughout the process. Companies who want the widest
choice of the best talent would be wise to remember some
of the key findings from this report; communicate with staff
to close your benefits gap, understand the importance of
your working environment, invest in upskilling your staff
and perhaps most importantly, consider the impact flexible
working can have on attraction and retention.
Good luck!
LISA FORRESTER
SALES DIRECTOR
E: lisa.forrester@gcsltd.com
T: 0118 956 3900
LOOKING AHEAD
We understand that finding and retaining individuals with
the relevant skills and experience is what every business
aspires to do. At GCS, we have been helping organisations
to do just that since 1991.
Whether you need contract solutions or permanent
results, require one individual or a whole project team,
we have the level of expertise to help secure the best
people for your organisation.
LONDON:
T: +44 (0)20 3829 3001
E: london@gcsltd.com
1st Floor
Cannongate House
62-64 Cannon Street
London EC4N 6AE
READING:
T: +44 (0)118 956 3900
E: reading@gcsltd.com
2 Wesley Gate
70-74 Queens Road
Reading, Berkshire
RG1 4AP
DUBLIN:
T: +353 (0)1 447 5262
E: dublin@gcsltd.com
Camden Business Centre
12 Camden Row
Dublin 8
NEW YORK:
T: +1 (646) 751 7892
E: newyork@gcsltd.com
300 Cadman Plaza West
One Pierrepont Plaza
12th Floor, Brooklyn
New York 11201
CONTACT US
@gcsrecruitment
/GCSRecruitment
/gcs-recruitment-specialists
@gcsrecruitment
FOLLOW US:
“ Contractors can keep
work progressing and
protect companies against
complications caused by
delays in finding the ideal
permanent worker.”
