Financial techies jumping to public sector

16 December 2008

2 minute read

Financial techies jumping to public sector

The financial sector might be trimming back its technology budgets, but the public sector is still flash with the cash. An increasing number of financial technologists are now looking to make the switch across.

A high-profile example of how bullish the public sector is being over technology is the 1.6bn the Department for Work and Pensions plans to spend on 11 IT projects in the next three years.

It was also revealed last month that the Foreign and Commonwealth and Ministry of Justice had spent a combined 660m on various ongoing tech projects in 2008.

Recruiters tell us that there are also plenty of opportunities within education, such as the Building Schools for the Future initiative, as well as within the police and NHS.

Simon Walker, director of IT recruiters Project Partners, says: "The large development projects going on in the public sector at the moment are providing a natural home for a number of ex-finance technology professionals who are faced with shrinking options."

But with the glut of talent coming out of the beleaguered financial space, HR professionals in the public sector are becoming a little sceptical about taking them on, reckons Simon Shobrook, managing consultant for IT within the public sector at recruiters Hudson.

"The concern from some of our clients is that some are seeing it as a safe place to ride out the financial crisis before potentially jumping back to the banking space in a couple of years for 20% more money," he says.

The contractor route seems to be the more lucrative option. Walker reckons a business analyst can get between 350-500 a day (dependant on experience), a project manager hauls in 500-600 a day, while development roles pay 300-500 a day.

But money isn't the sector's primary appeal, reckons Shobrook.

"The stereotypical view of the public sector being staid and backward in terms of technology isn't the case anymore. A lot of organisations are rolling out leading edge technology in a highly complex environment, so it can be an attractive area if you're working in IT."

AUTHORPaul Clarke

Wi
Wizard of EC1
16 December 2008
No surises here, I have been saying this for months. The real challenge to the IB industry will be to attract back their change people and the only real mechanism the industry has is money. The issue is that the public sector offers better work / life balance and the daily rates are now not that bad. So the IB industry will have to raise comp for change people to get them back. All this would be bad news for the human capital bottom line in ordinary circumstances, but with a dysfunctional revenue stream and an invigorated regulator demanding large scale change, the industry has yet again got itself in a pickle. Change skills hiring will be a key indicator in 12 months. Quality change folks currently out of a job are probably not looking at financial services, better to drop comp by 20% and remain employed, than knocking your head against a brick wall. The talent pool is not only getter smaller, the quality is draining as well. Why do senior management in the investment banking industry keep making the mistake of reaching for the gun as their first and only reaction to any form of crisis?
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