IT professionals turning to small firms for work

Recruitment firm sees flood of candidates preferring to work for SMEs during downturn

IT staff are turning to SME jobs

More than 70 per cent of IT professionals moving to a new job in the past three months have been gone to work for small businesses, according to recruitment firm Computer People.

The company came up with the figure based on its own experience of placing candidates into new roles over the past quarter-year.

Computer People managing director Nick Dettmar said many jobseekers believe they will find greater security of employment working for a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) during the recession.

“Though the IT industry isn’t immune from the effects of the economic downturn, one thing we are seeing is that it is unlocking talent that would previously have been unavailable for firms at a certain level to reach. Much as we saw happening in the City at the tail end of last year, high-flying professionals are now reconsidering careers with bigger firms, and are instead considering the perceived security of SMEs,” said Dettmar.

“With 13.5 million people working within small businesses in the UK, the phrase ‘good things come in small packages’ is becoming more and more applicable. IT professionals in particular are keen for a greater level of responsibility, ownership and variety in their day-to-day job, something they believe the SME market can offer them,” he said.

“Technology based SMEs have proved to be extremely attractive to candidates keen to take their career to the next level. SMEs offer professionals a chance to make their voice heard and see the benefits to the business first hand”.