Going from perm to contracting - any advise?

I'd join the PCG if I were you.

They are the only organisation representing contractors and you'll get a wealth of information in a highly professional environment over there for just £120-odd per year.

www.pcg.org.uk

is it easy to find contracts in skills that you wish to cross train into?

No.
In the contracting world, clients expect you to hit the ground running.
If you have been academically trained, then maybe you can blag it - but you'll have to pretend you have some commercial experience, and then be prepared to back it up with some good knowledge of the product
If you've never been trained in one particular area, e.g. UNIX, then you won't be put forward for UNIX contract - your luck would be to find a job where you don't initially need UNIX experience but the client also has UNIX servers and somehow you get exposure to them

If you want Investment Banking Experience then See this thread.

Despite the money being cr@p, could be a starting point.

Hi everyone, I used to be a permanent worker, then I left work for one year to get my Master's and now am trying to make it in the wonderful world of contracting. I was wondering if anyone here had any advise for seeking that first contract, and what they think of the present market. Recruiters have told me that employers are being very picky as of late, even when it's resulted in some vacancies being very hard to fill! There are a lot of contracts that I have found that I'd be a good match for, but the fact that I don't have experience (yet) in investment banking (I live in London and want to stay there) often means that I the end employer isn't interested! Also, is it easy to find contracts in skills that you wish to cross train into? My primary skill is C , but I've been trained in Java at university, and I would like to work a contract in it to get some commercial experience on my CV. I would also like to get some commercial experience with UNIX as well.

Any advise or tips welcome. Thanks!