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Engineering contractor rates set to rise due to high demand

Published on Apr 10, 2008 | | Contract Rate Checker

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Hourly rates for engineering contractors are expected to rise in 2008 due to the buoyant demand for their skills, according to a recent poll.

Despite the upbeat findings, this is a slightly lower figure than the 71% of contractors who were predicting higher pay 12 months ago.

According to the research carried out by giant group, just 3.9% of engineering contractors are predicting a decline in their earnings during the next 12 months, underlying the strong demand for engineering skills in the UK economy and the shortage of qualified engineers, which together are acting to push up pay for contractors.

Matthew Brown, MD of giant group, said:

"The engineering sector has been relatively isolated from the effects of the credit crisis so far. Despite fears that bank financing for some projects would become harder to secure, the majority of projects are proceeding as planned."

"The aerospace and automotive sectors of the economy are still in robust health and there is a continuing shortage of candidates in these areas. On top of that, we have major construction on the Olympic site getting underway this summer, which will squeeze the labour market further and heap even more upward pressure on rates."

He added: "Engineering firms are already facing problems recruiting professional staff. Staffing issues will be a key factor in whether Olympic projects are delivered on time and to cost."

Returning to the survey results, 58% of engineering contractors surveyed would prefer a higher hourly rate, compared to 42% who regard contract length as more important. This is in contrast to a year ago, when the majority of contractors (56.5%) preferred long term contracts, and 43.6% higher hourly payments.

Matthew Brown continued:

"The majority of engineering contractors are focused on maximising their income over job security, which shows that confidence in the job market is strengthening and that contractors are less worried about finding new work once existing contracts come to an end than they were 12 months ago."