“In the public sector it’s not brutal, it has care and a more rigorous process. We only hear in the press about the projects that go wrong, but my experience is that private sector projects fail much more often than they do in the public sector.”Obviously there’s a big difference between building a school, teaching there and answering the phones, but there is one thing that all contractors have in common: “There’s no question that the best part is being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it,” says Kick.The lowdownHow much will I be paid?More. He is part of an influx of private managers into the public sector to push through reforms. The public sector has sometimes had a bad reputation and is seen by some as sluggish and inefficient, but Kick says the more he has seen of it the more he respects it.”In industry, the pace is fast but sometimes it slips over detail and it can be brutal,” he says. Most of his work is on project reviews for central government, overseeing human resources for major government projects such as building Wembley Stadium or setting up ID cards.For the last 18 months, Kick has spent most of his time on public sector contracts, but before that he worked in the private sector. John Kick, 59, is an associate at Boyden, a leading recruitment agency specialising in management. Going back has been like going back to my family.”Contract work isn’t always a question of plugging a gap or managing change – for some, it’s a very lucrative career in itself.

“I only went to an agency as a last resort, but now I wish I’d done it years ago. They’ve done everything for me.”Despite 10 years’ experience as a nurse in Scotland, Smith was worried that her 18 months away from work had left her unfamiliar with the newest protocols and procedures So her agency, Corinth Medical, paid for a refresher course “I can’t thank them enough,” she says “Nursing isn’t just a job, it’s a life’s commitment. She may not have travelled across the world like Alexander, but the move from Argyllshire to Staffordshire was tough enough.”When I moved here, finding a permanent job was a bit of a nightmare I didn’t know which trusts were looking for work,” she says. Smith, 38, has been going through a once-in-a-lifetime experience of a different kind, moving from her childhood home in Scotland to England to start a family She gave birth to her first son, Lee, 18 months ago. The kids here are pretty tough,” she says.One person who has that to look forward to in a few years is Sharon Smith.

“You can just take off if you want, or take a long weekend if you feel like it.” While working as a teacher, Alexander has been able to take trips to Austria, Scotland and Germany, but she admits that it hasn’t always been an easy option “It’s been a challenge. Now, she works as a supply teacher for AXCIS, earning £130 a day to do something she loves, while keeping the essential freedom of a temp.”If you’re a supply teacher you walk out of the school at 3.30pm and that’s the end of the day There’s no planning, no marking, no meetings,” she says. Bronwyn Alexander, 25, became a teacher in part to keep herself out of an office, but when she came to London from New Zealand last year to get a taste of life in the big city she found herself doing administration. Many find themselves doing office jobs that don’t always stretch them, but there’s much more on offer if you have the right skills. It’s a lot of responsibility and it’s challenging, but the staff are brilliant to work with.”Like Monga, many of this new generation of contract workers are young people looking for greater flexibility, often to give them time to travel. “We have to separate calls, prioritise them, and sometimes solve them,” he says.