Groundbreaking research conducted by leading global recruitment company PageGroup, has found that an increasing number of temporary professionals are better-skilled, have years of experience and are better educated with 75 percent boasting at least a bachelor’s degree. 

It’s revealed that they are expected to work more autonomously, take more responsibility and be more flexible. In its latest Global Temporary and Interim Management study, PageGroup surveyed 1,954 managers of companies that hire temporary employees and 4,092 professionals in temporary positions across 65 countries.

The study shows how temporary employment has changed. Traditionally, flexible jobs tended to be filled by school leavers and assistants whose roles were more junior. These days, expectations are rising: 72 percent said that their temporary job requires more autonomy; 61 percent of all the interviewed candidates agreed that their tasks are getting more complex. 

It’s therefore no surprise that the present temporary employee is more senior and specialised than ever before with 70 percent having 10+ years’ experience. It’s apparent that there has been a shift in demand from general workers to highly skilled specialists, especially in developed economies. Temporary specialists are being recruited for all business areas, from IT and Engineering to Sales and Finance & Accounting. 

A more adaptive workforce triggers higher needs for training
Results show how temporary employment has professionalised over the last few years. Employers are equally considering temporary professionals as well as permanent employees to fulfill their requirements. Since temporary employees now need to adapt to new roles, 58 percent of employers invest in on-boarding training for their temporary staff.

Speaking about the results, Andrew James, Managing Director at Michael Page Property & Construction, commented; “As the study has shown that temporary employment and interim management is more extensive and diverse than ever, it’s extremely useful to receive good insight into the changing landscape of temporary work, not only from a client perspective, but also in terms of candidate DNA and behavior. 

There’s nothing more valuable than to really understand the changing employee profile and to this end, this research has provided us with valuable insight to better advise, support and expectation manage our candidates and clients alike. The way the temporary employment market is evolving demonstrates that employees need to be engaged differently, their profiles are changing, employers now have higher expectations and the assignments are becoming more complex, diverse and challenging. It’s certainly an exciting time to be a temporary employee or interim manager.”