Technology companies have always relied on freelancers to keep up with the change, but in 2023 the pace has accelerated thanks to generative AI and shows no signs of slowing down.

LinkedIn’s latest Future of Work report, released in November 2023, suggests that 55% of LinkedIn members globally are at risk of having their work disrupted or enhanced by generative AI. The skills required by the average LinkedIn member to do their job will change by 65% ​​by 2030, the platform estimates. For those in tech jobs, the goalposts continue to move. Skills gaps are widening.

This comes against a backdrop of massive layoffs. Some 240,000 workers in the global tech sector have been laid off since the start of 2023, an increase of 50% from last year, according to tracker Layoffs.fyi. Many laid-off workers have joined the ranks of freelancers, accelerating an existing transition to self-employment driven by the Great Resignation and the re-prioritization of work-life balance after the pandemic.

The net result is that tech companies of all sizes are adapting to a more diverse workforce and relying on freelancers like never before. But they’re not just looking for contractors to work with for a specific task or project. Instead, tech companies are looking for highly skilled workers who can fit into and even lead teams and who could work with the company long-term. Leading independents now have the upper hand in a seller’s market. The growing availability of highly skilled and highly specialized independent workers opens a new chapter for the technology industry.

This market evolution is accompanied by new freelance recruitment platforms that serve as progressive intermediaries for the European workforce. Through intense vetting processes and team-building tools, platforms like A.Team, Malt, and Pangea.app meet the evolving needs of tech companies while empowering top-tier freelancers. Provided the prestige of self-employment continues to grow and company practices continue to reflect the importance of contractors, current signs point to a golden age for self-employment.

Mix

The tech sector’s reliance on independent workers is not new: startups in particular rely on contract workers, using them to quickly build teams tailored to a project’s specific needs while reducing fixed labor costs. -work. However, the contextual context and the large number of companies currently adopting a blended workforce mark an inflection point. The average UK business workforce is now made up of 58 per cent full-time workers and 42 per cent freelancers and part-time staff (21 per cent each). According to workforce marketplace Fiverr, 96% of companies say they have hired or will hire freelance support in 2023.

Using independent talent allows companies to circumvent self-imposed hiring freezes or shortages of available full-time workers. Contractors can also help bypass difficult hiring processes: Time to hire has increased year over year since before the pandemic, with time to hire for technical positions averaging 29 to 66 days.

But more importantly, freelancers can fill the expertise gaps that are growing at breakneck speed. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025, 41% of employers plan to expand their use of contractors for specialized tasks. According to LinkedIn data, job postings mentioning AI have doubled on the platform over the past two years, and Fiverr data shows that searches for AI consultants and AI video editors have increased by more than 625% between January and July 2023. are also in high demand.

Build it and they will come

Finding these types of highly skilled workers and teams can be hard work, and that’s where third-party platforms come in. But unlike crowdsourcing platforms like PeoplePerHour and Upwork, which host a saturated market of freelancers offering low-cost services, the new breed of freelance recruitment platforms are designed for professional use and offer the crème de la crème of independent talents. Pangea.app began by connecting students with businesses, but has since specialized in filling gaps for highly skilled software developers, often for longer-term relationships. Fiverr, itself a crowdsourcing platform, launched Fiverr Pro in August, aiming to support tech companies in particular after major waves of layoffs.

“Once freelancers submit an application, we review and select them: each one must offer the right quality and reliability, because companies don’t have time to search thousands of profiles,” explains Shai-Lee Spigelman , general manager of Fiverr Pro. Since its launch, Spigelman says tens of thousands of companies have used Fiverr Pro, including PolyAI, Similarweb, Unilever and Rainforest Alliance. Next, the company seeks to recruit top talent in growing areas such as AI, business consulting and 3D rendering for architects.