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To understand in which economic sectors and for which professions the need for qualified personnel is increasing, we can rely on several reliable sources.

SECO’s monthly labour market report

SECO’s monthly labour market report is a very good indicator of the demand for qualified personnel in the various sectors of the economy.

For the year 2021, the national unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, has decreased from 3.3% to 2.4%.

If we compare December 2021 and December 2020, it fell by 25.6%. In the same period, the number of unemployed persons aged 50-64 fell by 17.1% to 7’776 and the number of advertised vacancies rose by 88.4% to 47’531, of which 33’503 are subject to the obligation to advertise.

The instrument of compensation for reduced working hours (RHT) has done much to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis on companies and workers, but hiring intentions are at a historically high level for this first quarter of 2022.

According to the SECO report, between December 2021 and December 2020, the sectors that saw the largest absolute positive changes excluding hotels, restaurants, trade and maintenance or repair of motor vehicles are:

• Construction and civil engineering
• Professional, scientific and technical activities
• Administrative and support service activities
• Health and social work
• Financial and insurance activities
• Electrical engineering, electronics, watches, optics
• Information and communication

These are economic sectors for which companies will need employees but also freelance consultants.

Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey

A very good indicator of the demand for qualified personnel is also the Swiss Employment Outlook Survey published by Manpower.

According to the latest survey, employers expect to increase their headcount in the first quarter of 2022 with net employment hires of +30%.

Hiring intentions are strong across the country, with Central Switzerland reporting that 50% of employers surveyed will hire, Mittelland 33%, Eastern Switzerland 38%, Zurich 33% and the Lake Geneva region 28%.

The growth sectors with the highest demand for qualified personnel are:

• IT
• Technology
• Telecommunications
• Computer Sciences
• Communications and Media
• Education, Health, Social and Government
• Industry
• Non-profit organisations

The Swiss Skills Shortage Index of the University of Zürich

Another indicator is the Swiss Skills Shortage Index of the University of Zurich (In German only).

According to the University of Zürich, the shortage of qualified personnel has increased significantly in the year 2021. The reason for this is the increase in the supply of employment contracts and the fall in the unemployment rate. The easing of the pressure on the skilled labour shortage due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 is almost not felt anymore.

The following occupations are particularly affected:

• Engineering
• IT and technology
• Human medicine
• Pharmacy

Engineering, IT, Information, Communication, Computing, Technology: these sectors need qualified Consultants

Here are some more details and figures on these sectors which are the most promising and which lend themselves well to off-payroll working, payrolling in Switzerland.

According to the latest Unesco report, “Engineering for Sustainable Development”, Switzerland, which is already facing a shortage of engineers, will see this shortage increase. According to the report, there will be a shortage of at least 25’000 engineers in Switzerland in the upcoming years in this field.

Following several EPFL studies, there is a strong demand for engineers in the following fields:

• Cybersecurity
• Data science
• Digitalisation, digital transformation
• Artificial intelligence
• Cryptocurrencies
• Digitalisation of construction (BIM)

According to the ICT journal, ICT for information and communication technologies, the IT market, which has already rebounded in 2021, stimulated by strong trends and those related to the pandemic, will continue to grow.

Switzerland will need some 117’900 additional ICT specialists by 2028. New graduates and foreign skilled personnel will not be enough to fill the gap and if training capacities are not increased, there will be a shortfall of 35’800 professionals.

Online businesses also need staff and consultants with demand increasing by 55% in 2020 and online logistics and online marketing roles being the most sought after.

A Capgemini study on IT budgets in 2022 for the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) confirms that most companies and administrations are expected to invest a larger share of their IT budget in systems modernisation, while the share of spending on maintenance is decreasing.

The opportunity of off-payroll working, working with freelance consultants using our Umbrella Company

Payrolling, off-payroll working allows a company to work with people without having to formally recruit them. It allows consultants to find and work on mandates, while receiving a salary and being assured that all social charges, insurance and insurance cover is paid.

For the company seeking to work with one or more consultants for a short or medium term mission, payrolling allows:

• Avoid hiring permanent staff by not tapping in the payroll budget
• To establish contracts with highly qualified consultants
• Free yourself from the tasks of managing salaries and personnel
• Work with consultants based in Switzerland or across the border
• Reduce the tax costs of your operations

The consultant is hired by Thalent who sends an invoice at the end of each month for the services provided, which you pay as you would when paying any other service company or supplier.

By using external service providers on a freelance basis, your company avoids numerous restrictive and time-consuming administrative procedures and can optimise its project outsourcing strategy.

The opportunity of payrolling, off-payroll working, for the Consultant

Thalent SA establishes, takes charge of, manages or offers :

• A salaried employment contract (fixed-term, open-ended or hourly)
• Contract with your client(s)
• Invoicing, reminders, VAT management
• Reimbursement of travel and related expenses
• Free advice for customer contracts
• Relations with the tax administration, the Cantonal Office of Population and Migration (OCPM) which also gives out the work permits in Switzerland
• Paid holidays, the payment of the withholding tax
• Full social security cover with a choice of options for the LPP pension fund, 2nd pillar :
  • AHV: Old-age and survivors’ insurance
  • AI: Disability insurance and income compensation benefits
  • AAP: Occupational Accident Insurance with SUVA and supplementary insurance
  • AANP: Non-occupational accident insurance at SUVA and supplementary insurance
  • RC: Adapted professional liability insurance
  • MUV/AMat/MUV: Maternity allowance
  • ALV, AC, ALV:Unemployment Insurance
  • OP/LPP/BVG: Pillar 2 pension fund with a full choice of options among the plans available from the CIEPP Fund of the Fédération des Entreprises Romandes (FER)
    

You already have, or would like to have, or are about to sign a contract with a client? Then contact us now for more information and execute the mandate as a Freelance Consultant at Thalent.com.

Besure to regularly check our homepage and follow us on our social networks for more information regarding payrolling and becoming a freelance consultant. If you like our posts we would be thankful if you could give us a like on Linkedin or Facebook!

Author: KF