With the
economic slowdown affecting industries as diverse as banking
and construction, will the public sector prove a recession-proof
haven for IT professionals? For some IT workers, the answer is yes
- but the public sector is not the land of milk-and-honey it may
first appear.
Apart from anything else, the public sector is also feeling the
pinch and aiming to cut jobs. "The efficiency agenda has been a
high priority for some time," says Richard Steel, president of
Socitm and chief information officer at the London Borough of
Newnham.
"We are mandated to make year on year cuts and to work more in
partnership, so the public sector workforce has been contracting
irrespective of whether or not we are in an economic slowdown."
However, IT looks to be less affected than other areas because
IT is a major player in delivering projects to achieve greater
efficiency.
Harry Stancliffe, head of sales at IT job board PlanetRecruit,
says that while there is an overall decline in jobs advertised, the
PlanetRecruit site has seen a small increase in the number of
public sector positions, with similar rates of growth in permanent
and contract roles.
Government spending
In addition, several large programmes with a heavy IT component
will be ramping up over the next few years. These include the
£1.2bn e-borders project which, says Bob Davies, a director of
the contracts division at recruitment consultancy Abraxas, is
recruiting permanent staff but will be looking for more contractors
as the project evolves into specific project work.
Business Link, the government-funded service providing advice
and support to SMEs, is also investing heavily in web-based
services.
Projects relating to the
2012 Olympics are also coming on stream.
Stancliffe says government has also indicated that it will be
spending more on public projects to lessen the overall impact on
the economy of the slowdown.
"Lots of government agencies have indicated to us that existing
projects are being fast-forwarded to open up opportunities and that
they will be increasing spend on IT-intensive projects next year,"
he says.
He says these programmes will typically require a mix of
permanent staff for ongoing delivery and project management and
contractors available in bursts of three to six months to implement
specific elements.
However, Jeff Brooks, chair of the
Recruitment and
Employment Confederation's IT and Comms Sector Group and
chairman of recruitment consultancy Prime Sourcing, warns that some
projects may not go forward as expected, including ID cards and
some elements of the
NHS National Programme for IT.
However, says Giles Sumner, an associate director with
recruitment consultancy Computer People, the ongoing troubles of
the NHS National Programme means many NHS Trusts are stepping up IT
projects at local level to improve services while they wait for the
centre to deliver.
Similarly, in local government, a number of councils are merging
to form unitary authorities and undertaking projects to reorganise
their IT to support the new unitary structure.
The good news, Davies says, is that a clampdown on permanent
headcount in the public sector is generating sustained demand for
contractors. "We are seeing no real downturn at all in the need for
contract skills in the public sector, especially in NHS Trusts and
larger local government authorities," he says.
On top of that, there is a move in central government
departments to reduce dependence on big third-party consultants in
an attempt to drive costs down and address criticisms of
big-project failures.
"Those departments will be looking at other ways to resource
projects without turning to one-stop shops," says Sumner. "With a
capability gap in delivering projects, the public sector will be
open to bringing in high-level people from the commercial sector
who have skills in stakeholder management and financial control of
large projects."
Davies warns, however, that recruiters in organisations that
know they are recession-proof are wary of taking on permanent staff
who they think are only temporarily taking shelter from more
troubled sectors.
"They think that the moment a decent offer comes along, they
will jump ship again, and they do not want that disruption to their
IT teams," he says.
Similarly, Brooks says public sector employers tend to spend
much longer with each employer than staff in commercial sectors,
where moving jobs regularly is seen as part of career development.
So hiring managers may regard the typical CV in the finance sector
as evidence of a lack of commitment.
Private to public
To convince hiring managers that you do not just see the public
sector as a temporary refuge, Brooks says, "You have to be able to
talk about the business of government, understand the jargon - and
government uses a lot of jargon - and show that you are keen to
learn, rather than assuming your IT expertise will be good enough
on its own to secure you a job.
"It is not that the knowledge gap between public sector and
private sector cannot be bridged, but most public sector jobs
require government experience, and public sector employers are also
hotter on seeing formal accreditation for qualifications, such as
Prince."
Once in position, there may be other roadblocks. "People coming
from the commercial sector can really struggle with the culture,
and especially the decision-making process," Davies says. "You have
to recognise that the timeframes, the way tasks are prioritised and
the urgency of getting things done, and the approach to funding are
not the same."
Steel seconds this. "In the private sector, if you have a
problem, there is a tendency to throw money at it. In the public
sector, one of the challenges is working within a budget that is
set annually and fixed," he says.
That means, Sumner says, it is not an environment likely to suit
someone with a background in dotcoms and small, fast-moving
projects.
However, the public sector is certainly no longer the sleepy
backwater it was once perceived to be. These days, Steel says, it
needs people who can demonstrate flexibility, thrive in a
fast-moving environment, and work with the latest technologies.
It is also a place for people who like a challenge compared to
private companies, especially in the financial services sector, the
public sector typically has a fraction of the budget to provide
more extensive services to a larger workforce. That means that
projects in the public sector can be just as challenging - if not
more so - than private sector developments.
IT staff looking to make the switch from the commercial sector
will certainly find many of the same technologies are being used in
the public sector. Steel cites the web and social computing,
extending business networks into the wider community, and software
as a service and virtualisation as areas where the public sector
will be looking to refugees from commercial sectors for skills and
experience.
Davies confirms the need for high-level network and
infrastructure management skills. "We are seeing a lot of requests
for contractors who can analyse the existing set up of servers,
networks and storage and use products such as VMware to maximise
their use," he says.
Security is another area where the public sector is crying out
for skills, especially given the number of data breaches that have
recently come to light.
Sumner points out that many are also trying to get to grips with
citizen relationship management - the public sector version of
customer relationship management - and with updating their networks
and providing better access to desktop applications.
Another area where Davies sees increasing demand is for staff
with expertise in business intelligence.
"Public sector organisations are struggling to design
appropriate access to information, and there is a lot of demand for
business analysts, especially with experience of Sharepoint to
support that," he says.
"They are also looking for people with skills in Business
Objects, Crystal Reports and SAP Business Information Warehouse who
can pull corporate information together and maximise use of the
data they already hold."
Support staff
Although the public sector's preference for using packaged
systems and working with systems integrators means it will not be
hiring huge numbers of low-end developers, Sumner says there are
exceptions.
"Public sector organisations are required to have a web presence
that allows the public to complete transactions online, so there is
a focus on improving internet access for the public and that means
there will be plenty of opportunities for people with Web 2.0 and
Ajax skills," he explains.
Helpdesk and network and server support staff will also find
many roles open to them in have to take large pay cuts.
Although rates for contractors are similar - and in some cases
higher than in the commercial sector - Davies suggests there can be
as much as a 40% differential in salaries on the permanent side,
although Sumner says 10% to 15% is more typical.
The disparity is greatest in low-end roles Sumner says the
public sector has become better at placing senior roles to higher
grades and salary bands in order to secure good staff, and is now
more willing to be flexible over pay to secure scarce skills.
What you get as a trade-off for a lower salary, Sumner says, is
job security and peace of mind, good holiday entitlement and an
excellent pension.
The public sector is one of the few employers still offering
final salary pension schemes to new joiners, although Steel says
this is almost the only financial benefit available to public
sector employees.
"Generally speaking, the public sector is much tighter around
probity on benefits. For instance, you cannot accept hospitality in
the public sector because you have to consider the risk of being
seen as being open to bribery," he says.
Having made the move himself from merchant banking to the public
sector some 17 years ago, Steel urges others to follow suit. "I
never expected to remain in the public sector, but actually helping
make a difference to people's lives really gets under your skin. It
can be a very rewarding career," he says.