A recent survey has found that there are now more UK graduates who are choosing to join the country’s growing flexible workforce.
The Elance report has revealed that Britain’s top performing graduates are more likely to be drawn to the contracting sector, with the lifestyle being seen as a highly attractive and lucrative career option by 87% of students with first or second class degrees. This compares to 77% of those with lower class degrees.
Of the 1,000+ UK graduates surveyed, many of them said that the flexibility, and therefore the better work/life balance of being a contractor was the main reason for becoming self-employed (69%).
Thirty-eight per cent said that the opportunity to earn more money than a permanent employee was a key reason.
Another 38% said that the fact that they can have a variety of different work was a very important factor for them, and 28% see freelancing and contracting as a way to be their own boss.
Kjetil Olsen, Vice-President, Europe, Elance commented, “If the big issue for Generation X was the end of a job for life, today’s Gen Y graduates appear to be seriously questioning the nature of having a traditional job at all. They are seeing record numbers of employers around the world opting to use online work platforms to fill skills gaps and recognise that they can carve out lucrative careers working independently.”
Olsen added, “The research has far-reaching implications for employers. It’s clear that if they want access to some of the UK’s top graduates, they will increasingly need to tap into the freelance talent pool. Many are doing this already, but those that aren’t should consider putting in place processes for complementing their permanent staff with additional skilled independent workers.”
Simon Dolan is the Sales & Marketing Manager for Contractor Umbrella Ltd, one of the UK’s Most Respected Umbrella Companies and founder member of AllUmbrellaCompaniesAreEqual.
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