According to international recruitment firm PageGroup’s Global Temporary and Interim Management study, an increasing number of temporary professionals are better-skilled, have years of experience and are better educated with 75% of employees holding at least bachelor’s degree.

The study showed that temporary employees are expected to work more autonomously, take more responsibility and be more flexible. 

Furthermore, the research showed that temporary employment has changed since traditionally, flexible jobs tended to be filled by school leavers and assistants whose roles were more junior. These days, expectations are rising as 72% said that their temporary job requires more autonomy while 61% of all the interviewed candidates agreed that their tasks are getting more complex.

The research also shows that temporary employees are now more senior and specialised than ever before with 70% having 10+ years’ experience. 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% of employers invest in on-boarding training for their temporary staff.

“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,” Andrew James, Managing Director at Michael Page Property & Construction, said. “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,” James said.