Recent research has shown that there are three times the amount of young people working in low paid environments when compared to the equivalent figure of 20 years ago. Youth employment has been regularly described as experiencing a crisis point in general, and the rise in the number of graduates in low-skilled work has been attributed to a general collapse in many middle earning jobs; such as administrative and manufacturing positions.
Moreover there is also a worrying segregation with regards to gender in this statistic. Whilst the number of females gaining skilled qualifications is actually on the rise, a good deal of these women are becoming stuck within low-skilled work due to a perceived lack of options. A mere 1% of young women are working in what would be called a ‘skilled trade’, compared to a full fifth of young men. Strategies are being proposed to provide all these young workers with better training opportunities, as well as more thorough support during their early career years.
With the job market currently constituting a difficult environment for many graduates, the growth within the contracting sector may well offer some form of comfort. Many graduates in low earning positions possess a variety of skills that would fit in a contract or freelance role, such as the IT industry. You shouldn’t be scared of entering the field of self-employment as your degree will have equipped you with the expertise you need to make it as a contractor.
University equips you with many entrepreneurial skills such as the ability to be creative, opportunistic and a bit of a risk taker. Your time there is likely to have also equipped you with project management, budgeting and business planning skills, along with time management, communication and networking, these are all essential skills for contactors, freelancers and company directors to possess.
At ICS we are dedicated to assisting contractors in a variety of ways. From administrative and accounting services, to advice relating to contractor tax, we are here to help contractors operate in a stress free and efficient environment.
Many first time contractors will not have come across complex regulations such as IR35 before, and will be equally as confused when needing to decide whether to operate as a sole trader, limited company or umbrella company, and this is where we can help. Our expertise extends to dealing with contractors in any industry, so call us on 0800 195 3750 and we will be pleased to discuss your individual requirements.
