The Government has been approached by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo) to create training incentives for independent IT contractors. They state that such a move would help bridge the current IT skills gap.

It is estimated that for IT Contractors to keep up-to-date with their IT skills costs them around £5,000 a year, also combined with the fact that whilst contractors are being trained, they are losing out on work.

ATSCo have suggested that the Government should consider making training expenses tax deductible, not only technical skills training, but also management skills, languages and soft skills courses, to ensure that the IT person is able to maintain their skills in the most productive manner.

These policies should affect around 100,000 contractors currently in the UK and even though it is recognised that the Government are already taking measures to bridge the existing IT skills gap, this training incentive would make a substantial difference. It is necessary to continually update IT skills as this is crucial to the success of the IT industry in the UK. Independent contractors are certainly at a disadvantage at the moment compared with those in employment whose employers pay for their training and then manage to get tax deducted from their own corporation tax.