Shift to Contract Labor in U.S. Maritime, Offshore Sectors Underway

Maritime and Offshore recruiter Faststream has reported a shift in attitude towards temporary, project and consulting work following a recent survey to over 1,000 candidates in North America.

While employees have been reluctant to look at moving from permanent to contract work in the past, 85% of candidates surveyed stated that they would be open to contract work in the future. For many companies trying to shift from a fixed to a variable cost for their personnel, this change in attitude by industry workers could be significant.

Faststream US Managing Director Eric Peters comments: “As our survey shows, more and more professionals are open to looking at contract and project opportunities as opposed to permanent jobs which has been a tradition in the industry for many years. Candidates understand that project based employment is the way of the future in the industry as they move to become employable as opposed to employed.

Peters continued: “This is really a two-way street in maritime and offshore recruitment. Companies need talent but don’t always want permanent staff. Candidates want to work but can earn, learn and experience more by taking short and medium term project work. It’s a win-win situation”.

The survey also revealed that 70% of candidates had been approached about temporary, project or consulting opportunities in the past 12 months.