TopCoder runs competitions pitting programmers against one another for prizes and chances to work on contracts with royalties. There is a competition run every week and a tournaments (online and on location) twice yearly.
TopCoder provides employers with access to the programmers who show top abilities in the programming competitions.
There is also a software component library (called Component Catalog) where you can gain access to code that has been created by the programmers in the competitions. Programmers involved in the development of these components receive royalties for their work.
Programmers can sign up at topcoder.com to get into the action, see how good they are in the IT field and possibly make some money.