Contractors eager to sharpen skills

IT contractors are more concerned about buffing up their skills than they were last year.

Skills development is now the second most important consideration for IT contractors - along with work-life balance - according to a survey conducted by giant group, a company which provides business services to contractors.

In the same survey last year, skills development came third.

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This year, income was the top priority for contractors, with job security coming in fifth.

Currently pay is quite different for skilled and unskilled contractors. Matthew Brown, managing director of giant group, said contractors at the higher end of the skills spectrum benefit from double-digit pay increases, whereas those in support roles are seeing their pay stagnate or even decline.

More than half of the UK's contractors are expecting a pay hike of at least 10 per cent in 2007, according to separate research from accountancy company JSA.