Contract workers are in greater demand

Move between contract and permanent roles

A 2021 survey by human capital management software company Ceridian indicated that more than half of executives polled say they intend to increase the size of their team within their organisation in the next 12 months, with 35% leveraging contract workers to do so.

As the contract economy model starts to go mainstream, 62% of executives polled think that freelance or contract workers will ‘substantially replace’ full-time employees within the next five years. The findings align with our How the STEM World Works research. Of 4,960 respondents overall, 33% say they search for contract roles only, while 27% search for both contract and permanent roles (Table 18). The percentage of respondents who have shifted from permanent to contract roles, and vice versa, are the same – 6% for each (Table 16).

Further, leading companies and their markets are moving rapidly towards SThree’s Employed Contractor Model (ECM) as a preferred method of accessing temporary skilled STEM workers. ECM is where a skilled specialist is legally employed by SThree but works for the employer. It’s a model that’s already seen majority uptake in the US market, as well as becoming increasingly popular across Europe.

Many executives think contract workers will 'substantially replace' permanent employees.

Additionally, the ECM model is increasingly attractive to employers. With employment litigation a key concern and a multitude of new workforce laws introduced in recent years, employers can mitigate risk by outsourcing employment of contractors to recruitment agencies, which take on the employment obligations around taxes and employee insurance.

“Employers enjoy lower risk and reduced cost of labour over the long term – they flex their workforce as and when it is needed. This is hugely attractive to many sectors where volatile market forces are the norm”

Explains Matt McManus, Global Process Director – Sales, for SThree. “It also gives them the ability to target and recruit niche skills that are needed to fill specific roles or projects. And it often offers a shorter recruitment period, with more candidates available in the short term. This is especially the case when specialists arrive on their first day with all the required equipment, removing the need for organisations to source tools, vehicles or arrange expensive, time-consuming training.”

But the benefits aren’t exclusively for clients. McManus adds: “Candidates, meanwhile, enjoy flexibility of roles to suit personal situations, choosing when and where they work. They have a choice of more varied roles to broaden their individual experience.” They also have opportunities to build wider professional networks, which could lead to greater career opportunities in the future.