“I think 2023 will see continued growth in the IT contracts market in Ireland, the UK and the US, the markets we operate in. As some of the largest companies have laid off staff in Q4, its inevitable others will likely follow suit, and in some cases there will be hiring freezes and companies being more prudent in their permanent hiring strategies. This will lead to pent up projects where external skills will be required. This shortfall will be met through hiring IT Contractors for their expertise at short notice, for a set period, to meet business demands. This also comes from an OPEX budget and not CAPEX which can make it more acceptable in many organisations.”

“In recent years more and more companies have decided to go down the path of Low-Code/no-code platforms. These platforms can help improve the efficiency of the development process by providing pre-built components and tools that can be easily configured and customised. In 2023 there is a projected growth in this area as more organisations look to accelerate the development bespoke applications.”

IT Contracting in 2023 is expected to grow and the demand for contractors is not slowing down. Contractors will remain in the driving seat when it comes to picking what projects and organisations they work for, making it harder to attract them to your business.

“With demand for Contractors set to increase, and the cost of living continuing to rise, organisations will need to keep their day rates competitive to attract contractors. Many companies have already indicated they will raise pay again for contractors in the 12 months ahead. The struggle to hire permanent employees will also drive the high demand for IT Contractors in 2023, and organisations may need to opt for this recruitment solution more often.

Speed to hire is essential, otherwise you risk a contractor being snapped up by another organisation. Keep the number of interviews to a minimum and make sure your hiring processes are as efficient as possible to avoid losing contractors during the interview process.

IR35, or specifically the IR35 status of an assignment, will continue to rank alongside the rate as one of the most determinative factors in accepting, or rejecting, a role in 2023.”

2023 will continue to see tech companies making their global teams more efficient. This will of course lead to some layoffs, however there will continue to be strong hiring demand in the sector – and new opportunities for tech professionals both locally and remotely. Smaller tech companies should be presented with better opportunities to hire talent as a result too. 

 GreenTech companies will see continued growth and investment and won’t have any trouble attracting the brightest stars who want to be part of the solution. 

 ChatGPT and the use of other AI tools will become mainstream and will influence tech sector behaviour and hiring plans, on how to implement, as well as control, this new beast. 

“2023 will be the year to watch out for “Citizen Developers”. The ubiquity and adoption of low-code/no-code tools (as well as recent advances in AI), has started to democratise the software engineering process. While traditional coding skills will always be in high demand, we’re seeing an uptick in application development that’s happening on a “drag and drop” basis.

Digital transformation will continue to be a buzzword in 2023 as C suites plan to make smarter investments and keep a closer eye on P&L.”

“Cybersecurity will continue to be a hot topic of conversation in 2023. With the increased level of connected devices, the use of technology becoming more widespread, and high profile victims of security breaches, cybersecurity will continue to be of high interest for individuals and businesses alike. There have been significant advances in cybersecurity technologies in recent years, including the development of machine learning algorithms that can identify and mitigate cyber threats in Realtime. This will continue in years to come as cybercrime has become more advanced, the technology must follow suit.”