Re: if the current situation was so awful ... switching to permanent roles would be more popular
Companies hiring permanent staff look for younger people who are cheaper and will work longer hours and more flexibly.
Companies hiring contract staff will take the most experienced they can find, at the rate they are prepared to pay. That's us older, wiser folk.
Many contractors don't do this to amass a pile of cash, they (and I) do it for the flexibility. I can take as much or little holiday as I like, and I get to pick and choose where I work and for how long. That's worth far more to me than money in the bank.
You're also assuming that those permanent roles are there to be taken. My current client has a very large number of contractors on site but is only advertising for about ten technical staff at the moment. It's a similar story across the industry. Companies don't only use contractors to fill recruitment gaps. They use contractors instead of having permanent employees, full stop. And that aspect has been growing for well over 25 years.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
