Individuals working for private firms that have been contracted to work for the government are known as government contractors. Governments frequently hire private firms to complete short-term projects in order to avoid the costs associated with hiring large numbers of long-term employees. The majority of government contractor jobs are temporary. Governments agree to multi-year contracts with businesses in some industries, implying that some of these jobs will last longer.
Contractors are frequently hired by government-owned utility companies to perform maintenance and complete major projects and upgrades at electrical and sewage plants. Engineers, electricians, and other skilled professionals are employed by private companies contracted to complete this work. In the aftermath of natural disasters, government contractor jobs abound for professionals, including engineers. Following natural disasters, medical professionals such as doctors and nurses are hired by the government, and these professionals frequently supervise volunteers from charities and other non-governmental organizations.
Private contractors are frequently hired by the military to provide security at military installations and government buildings around the world. Rather than transporting large numbers of military personnel to guard embassies and other government properties in other countries, a government can hire locally based private security contractors. Truck drivers and other individuals with experience in the transportation industry are frequently hired to transport supplies to military installations during military conflicts, which can be lucrative government contractor jobs. Despite the lucrative nature of the work, jobs in war zones expose workers to higher levels of risk, so governments typically hire companies that specialize in working in conflict zones to handle such contracts.
When a government needs to conduct a census, a large number of people are required to collect data on the population, and governments frequently hire private companies to find workers to go door-to-door and collect census data. Census workers typically work part-time and do not require any specialized knowledge or skills. Workers are paid according to the wages set by the private company that hires them, rather than by the government, though the government does have an indirect influence on wages by approving the contractor’s bid for the job.
People who work for the government as contractors are not entitled to the same benefits as government employees who are paid a salary. Because most employees are on short-term contracts and are not permanent employees, firms that bid on government contracts do not typically provide these benefits to workers. People who work on government contracts may work on the same project for several years, but they may work for several different firms during that time because the company hired to complete the project frequently changes.