Banks in Scotland have been hiring huge numbers of contractors for change projects
With Scotland's two largest banks going through huge restructuring, and new players setting up north of the border, change management professionals have seldom been in more demand.
But with most of these projects having a finite lifecycle of around two years, more people are realising the benefits of taking the decidedly more lucrative contractor route.
The most obvious places for change management professionals to base themselves is within RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, which have been both integrating new business and restructuring at the behest of the European Union.
Much has been made of Tesco Bank's recruitment of 800 people for its Glasgow customer services centre and the hiring undertaken in its Edinburgh HQ.
However, according to recruitment sources, it's also been employing a significant number of change management professionals on a contract basis - between 500-700 - as it looks to kick-start the new operation and extract itself from RBS's systems.
Taking the contractor route is particularly lucrative; these roles pay between 350-450 a day, compared to anywhere between 45-60k a year for a permanent position.
The major banks have a contractor to permanent ratio of 6:4 for change management projects, according to recruitment sources. This is a new development.
"In Scotland, most people look for the security of a permanent position, and contracting is generally considered to be a risky option. But the greater demand combined with the more lucrative positions have led many to reassess this," says one financial services recruiter.
The question is, of course, what will happen when these contracts end. Most banks are offering two-year contracts, and permanent change management positions - by their very nature - will be at risk anyway when these projects are over.
While these huge change projects won't last forever, there's always a healthy supply of work within smaller institutions, suggest recruiters. What's more, around half of contractors working on these projects have moved to Scotland specifically for these roles.
"It's been a huge challenge finding people for these contract positions," says another financial services recruiter. "I'd say there's a 50-50 split between local candidates and those that have come from elsewhere in the UK or Europe. Once the work dries up, most will probably simply move back again."
