According to the Hays 2019 salary guide, this is also where the most money can be earned.
At the very top end, the guide found that an IT freelancer working as a core banking system analyst programmer could earn from €813 to €1,275 (8+ years’ experience) per day.
It found the number of freelancers was growing steadily in Luxembourg, driven in large part by “digitisation, the change in management requirements and lack of IT skills.”
“The world of consulting is experiencing its greatest turning point and must reinvent its business model,” the report author wrote, adding: “No more structured service companies in hierarchical pyramids, welcome to the era of the co-construction of projects between clients and service providers, the co-working and the flat hierarchy highlighting the gray matter and allowing clients to keep post-project internal knowledge.”
Data visual: Hays
It further explained that companies were moving away from the old solution of outsourcing fixed-price projects and using freelancers to grow activities, leading to an increase in daily rates. Of the companies surveyed, 41% used freelancers in a project context, 21% for an urgent and specific need to cover a lack of internal competences, a further fifth were used for recurring roles and another fifth to cover activity peaks.
Almost all employers see it as a smart ways to manage budgets. The report author wrote: “The impact of this trend is felt up to the purchase department for which managing a budget over the year becomes a real performance tightrope. In order to better control expenditure, the trend here is the outsourcing of supplier management. The MSP [managed served provider] model makes perfect sense for the customer to centralise their processes.”
Not a solution for everyone
The report included results from a poll of a representative panel of clients and candidates in Luxembourg, which found that some 29% of employees planned to become freelancers in future. However, it may not be a solution that suits everyone. A poll of freelancers found that 71% wanted to have employee status within the next two years.
Among the inconveniences of freelancing respondents cited were the need to approach clients for work, burdensome administrative tasks, cyclical revenues and the need to self-finance training and certifications.
Despite this paradox, the report predicted that the number of freelancers would continue to increase in future “as it is synonymous with choice and independence”. It said that among the candidates embracing these opportunities would be those who grew up with American success stories, like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, and who have therefore been more exposed to entrepreneurship.
