Contract hiring in technology is being shaped by speed. Businesses need specialist skills for specific pieces of work, and many cannot wait months for a permanent hire to start.
Josh Hares, Head of Interim at Consortia, has spent seven years placing contractors across Product, UX, Data and Engineering. We put nine questions to him about the contract market in September 2026: what is driving demand, where day rates are heading, how IR35 is playing out, and what to expect over the next six months.
A condensed version of these insights lives on our Contract Recruitment page and is refreshed quarterly. This is the full conversation.
What's driving contract demand right now?
Speed is still the biggest driver. Businesses simply can't wait up to three months to bring in the skills they need. A contractor can hit the ground running, often while the client searches for the permanent person in the background.
Alongside that, we're seeing a lot of project-based hiring, particularly around digital change programmes, AI adoption, cybersecurity and heavy data initiatives. Compared with last year, AI-related projects have become a much larger part of the conversation.
Budget caution is definitely still there. Rather than stopping hiring altogether, many organisations are using contractors to stay flexible and avoid long-term headcount commitments. The skills they're looking for are often not very common either, so finding that person on a permanent basis can take even longer. That pushes more of them down the contract route.
Which roles are going to contract first, and which have swung back to permanent?
Technology continues to dominate the contract market. Software engineers, cloud and DevOps specialists, cybersecurity specialists, data engineers and AI specialists are all in strong demand on a contract basis.
We also see strong demand for product managers, project managers, business analysts and change professionals. That ties back to the change programmes and delivery work I mentioned, which is a big focus at the moment.
Permanent hiring has picked up where companies are building long-term capability, particularly in leadership positions and core teams. Contractors are increasingly brought in to deliver specific outcomes, projects and tasks, rather than to fill ongoing positions.
What's happening to day rates?
Rates vary a lot. Location, sector, skill set and the length of the engagement all play a part. A one or two-month assignment will usually carry a premium compared with a nine-month one, because contractors tend to charge more for shorter gigs.
The strongest upward pressure is around AI, particularly agentic AI engineering, along with cybersecurity and niche cloud skills. In those areas demand still outweighs supply. Some of the more general development roles have stabilised after the peaks of previous years.
Clients are also becoming more focused on value, rather than simply paying the highest rates.
Inside or outside IR35: what are clients actually doing in 2026?
IR35 has been around for a few years now, so most larger organisations have established clear policies. Some still favour inside IR35 because it's administratively simpler. Others take a more considered, role-by-role approach.
Where outside IR35 engagements are available, they generally attract a wider and often more experienced pool of contractors. The best contractors have options, so getting the determination right can make a real difference to whether you secure the person or not.
The key is making sure the engagement reflects the actual working practices. The decision can't simply follow a preference, whether that's yours or the contractor's. It has to be true to how the work is done, otherwise you risk a challenge from HMRC. HMRC's guidance on off-payroll working covers the basics.
How fast can a good contract hire actually happen?
When everything is aligned, very fast. We've placed contractors within 24 hours, but that needs the client fully on board: contracts ready to sign, interviews pre-booked and so on. In those conditions, 48 to 72 hours is realistic.
More typically, the turnaround is one to two weeks. Compliance and interview availability play a part, and a contractor who is still on an assignment may have a notice period of a week or two.
Finding the talent is rarely the biggest delay, because we have a strong network of pre-vetted contractors available. Most delays come from internal approvals, changing requirements, onboarding and security checks. The faster a client can make decisions, the better the contractors available to them. It very much comes down to how quickly and effectively the client can move.
What does a long-term contractor network actually let you do?
The biggest advantage is trust. Many of our contractors have worked with us for years, so we understand more than their technical ability. We know how they perform on projects, how they communicate and what kind of environments they thrive in.
That means we're not starting from scratch every time a requirement comes in. Consortia has been doing this since 2010, and we have contractors who've completed multiple projects across different clients over several years because they've consistently delivered. Those relationships let us move much faster, and give clients more confidence in the people we recommend.
One example: there's a contractor I've placed with three different clients over the seven years I've been here, and every one of those contracts has run for more than a year. I've met him face to face in London several times. It's a good relationship, built on helping him find the right contracts.
What's the most common mistake clients make when engaging contractors?
An unclear scope. Contractors perform best when there's a clearly defined outcome rather than an open-ended role description. I've had contractors start with a client who hadn't yet set a plan for what they wanted them to do, which is surprising given the rates involved. The best starts are simple: here's what we want you to do, and here's the work.
The second is waiting too long to secure someone. Very good contractors don't stay available for long. They tend to be in long-term contracts or moving back to back between them, so lengthy approval processes can mean missing the best people. If you can't make a decision quickly, more often than not you'll lose the contractor.
Finally, extensions. They're left to the last minute far too often. We usually start those conversations one to two months before the end date, because leaving it to the final weeks creates unnecessary uncertainty for everyone.
If a contractor has no confirmation of an extension, I can guarantee they're being contacted about other contracts and looking around. By the time the extension comes through, they may have another offer on the table paying slightly more. At best, that gives them a reason to renegotiate their rate. At worst, you lose them.
When is contract the wrong choice?
Contractors are brilliant when you need specialist expertise, extra capacity or rapid delivery. They're not the right solution when a business wants someone to build long-term capability, develop a team or become deeply embedded in the company culture. That's where a permanent hire usually makes much more sense.
It's about choosing the right solution for the objective, rather than assuming one approach fits every situation. Find the actual need first, then match it to the right kind of hire.
Where is the contract market heading over the next six months?
The market has been picking up over the last twelve months, and it feels like it's in a better place. I think demand will remain strong, particularly around agentic AI engineering, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and large change programmes.
Businesses still want flexibility, but they're becoming more selective. They'll keep investing where there's a clear business case and measurable outcomes. For contractors with specialist, in-demand skills, the market remains very positive.
For clients, the organisations that move quickly and make decisive hiring decisions will continue to secure the best talent. That's been true for years, and I expect it to stay that way.
If you're planning a contract hire, talk to us. We'll tell you honestly what the market looks like for your project, your timeline and your IR35 position. If you're a contractor looking for your next assignment, register with us.