QA Contracts in the UK excluding London

Quality Assurance (QA)
UK > UK excluding London

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London with a requirement for QA skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited QA over the 6 months to 29 May 2024 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
29 May 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 61 93 75
Rank change year-on-year +32 -18 +16
Contract jobs citing QA 621 603 980
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 3.00% 2.64% 3.21%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 20.76% 17.85% 22.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 407 406 682
10th Percentile £275 £275 £313
25th Percentile £398 £375 £385
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% +5.88%
75th Percentile £588 £550 £545
90th Percentile £696 £625 £625
UK median daily rate £509 £500 £513
% change year-on-year +1.70% -2.44% +7.89%
Number of hourly rates quoted 75 20 27
10th Percentile £10.82 - £19.10
25th Percentile £12.24 £10.92 £35.35
Median hourly rate £13.52 £15.50 £54.00
Median % change year-on-year -12.77% -71.30% +180.52%
75th Percentile £19.98 £22.75 £57.38
90th Percentile £65.80 £52.00 £66.20
UK median hourly rate £14.49 £22.49 £48.25
% change year-on-year -35.56% -53.40% +141.25%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK excluding London

QA is in the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 2,992 3,378 4,429
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 14.45% 14.81% 14.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,754 2,221 3,068
10th Percentile £250 £230 £206
25th Percentile £363 £363 £340
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £485 £450
Median % change year-on-year -2.06% +7.78% +5.88%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £575
90th Percentile £688 £680 £650
UK median daily rate £510 £525 £515
% change year-on-year -2.86% +1.94% +8.42%
Number of hourly rates quoted 329 192 207
10th Percentile £10.95 £13.16 £11.44
25th Percentile £12.75 £17.93 £15.25
Median hourly rate £18.27 £35.00 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year -47.80% +55.56% +7.14%
75th Percentile £45.00 £63.36 £48.75
90th Percentile £68.78 £77.35 £68.87
UK median hourly rate £21.69 £35.00 £30.00
% change year-on-year -38.04% +16.67% +42.86%

QA
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Job postings citing QA as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Job vacancy trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Daily rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 29 May 2024.

Daily rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Hourly rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 29 May 2024.

Hourly rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing QA within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 29 May 2024. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +40 160 £488 +2.63% 246
North of England +16 160 £500 - 253
South West +35 99 £550 +15.79% 146
Midlands +1 84 £450 +17.26% 184
North West +11 81 £500 +5.26% 126
Yorkshire +17 72 £550 +4.76% 77
West Midlands -3 60 £525 +5.00% 116
Scotland +23 57 £450 -10.00% 64
Wales +31 28 £533 -8.93% 26
East of England -20 23 £375 -18.48% 134
East Midlands -1 22 £255 -31.08% 68
Northern Ireland +12 12 £325 -12.75% 13
North East -5 7 £410 -15.03% 56
Isle of Man - 2 - -
QA
UK

QA
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the UK excluding London by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 23 (3.70%) Confluence
2 20 (3.22%) SharePoint
3 8 (1.29%) Apache
4 7 (1.13%) SAS
5 4 (0.64%) Apache Solr
5 4 (0.64%) nginx
6 3 (0.48%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 3 (0.48%) Apache Spark
6 3 (0.48%) CMS
6 3 (0.48%) Drupal
7 1 (0.16%) Alfresco
7 1 (0.16%) GeoServer
Applications
1 52 (8.37%) Microsoft Excel
2 18 (2.90%) Microsoft Office
3 11 (1.77%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 6 (0.97%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (0.81%) Simulink
6 2 (0.32%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.16%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.16%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.16%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.16%) InVision
Business Applications
1 8 (1.29%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
2 7 (1.13%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (0.97%) Oracle EBS
4 4 (0.64%) TrackWise
5 3 (0.48%) Adobe Campaign
5 3 (0.48%) Primavera
5 3 (0.48%) SAP S/4HANA
6 2 (0.32%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.16%) Dynamics AX
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle ERP
7 1 (0.16%) PeopleSoft HRMS
7 1 (0.16%) SAP EWM
7 1 (0.16%) SAP Hybris
7 1 (0.16%) SAP Payroll
7 1 (0.16%) SAP WM
Cloud Services
1 127 (20.45%) Azure
2 54 (8.70%) AWS
3 42 (6.76%) GitHub
4 38 (6.12%) Power Platform
5 35 (5.64%) Azure DevOps
6 20 (3.22%) GCP
7 16 (2.58%) Azure Data Factory
7 16 (2.58%) Dynamics 365
7 16 (2.58%) Entra ID
8 15 (2.42%) GitHub Actions
9 14 (2.25%) Amazon EC2
9 14 (2.25%) Amazon S3
10 12 (1.93%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 12 (1.93%) Snowflake
11 11 (1.77%) SaaS
12 9 (1.45%) Apigee
12 9 (1.45%) Kong
13 8 (1.29%) Amazon EKS
13 8 (1.29%) AWS CloudFormation
13 8 (1.29%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 25 (4.03%) TCP/IP
2 22 (3.54%) Firewall
3 19 (3.06%) DNS
3 19 (3.06%) WAN
4 18 (2.90%) VPN
5 16 (2.58%) LAN
6 9 (1.45%) HTTP
6 9 (1.45%) SSL
7 5 (0.81%) Internet
7 5 (0.81%) IPsec
7 5 (0.81%) MPLS
8 4 (0.64%) ADSL
8 4 (0.64%) Ethernet
8 4 (0.64%) HTTPS
8 4 (0.64%) Radio Access Network
9 3 (0.48%) BIG-IP
9 3 (0.48%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
9 3 (0.48%) PSTN
9 3 (0.48%) Reverse Proxy
9 3 (0.48%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 42 (6.76%) SQL Server
2 35 (5.64%) Relational Database
3 31 (4.99%) Power BI
4 28 (4.51%) MySQL
5 17 (2.74%) Elasticsearch
6 15 (2.42%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 14 (2.25%) Microsoft Analysis Services
7 14 (2.25%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 13 (2.09%) NoSQL
8 13 (2.09%) Tableau
9 12 (1.93%) Data Lake
10 8 (1.29%) Data Mining
11 7 (1.13%) Ataccama
11 7 (1.13%) PostgreSQL
11 7 (1.13%) Qlik Sense
12 5 (0.81%) Data Warehouse
13 4 (0.64%) Couchbase
13 4 (0.64%) EDMS
13 4 (0.64%) Metadata
13 4 (0.64%) RDBMS
Development Applications
1 51 (8.21%) JIRA
2 37 (5.96%) GitLab
3 29 (4.67%) Jenkins
4 28 (4.51%) Git
5 23 (3.70%) Selenium
6 21 (3.38%) Cypress.io
7 20 (3.22%) Postman
8 15 (2.42%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 12 (1.93%) Visual Studio
10 11 (1.77%) JUnit
11 10 (1.61%) CircleCI
11 10 (1.61%) Cucumber
12 9 (1.45%) Atlassian Bamboo
12 9 (1.45%) Travis CI
13 8 (1.29%) Artifactory
13 8 (1.29%) webpack
14 7 (1.13%) SonarQube
14 7 (1.13%) TestRail
15 6 (0.97%) Maven
15 6 (0.97%) Storybook
General
1 229 (36.88%) Social Skills
2 83 (13.37%) Finance
3 77 (12.40%) Analytical Skills
4 36 (5.80%) Telecoms
5 33 (5.31%) Public Sector
6 23 (3.70%) Banking
7 22 (3.54%) Pharmaceutical
8 21 (3.38%) Organisational Skills
9 18 (2.90%) Manufacturing
10 16 (2.58%) Influencing Skills
10 16 (2.58%) Legal
11 13 (2.09%) Marketing
12 12 (1.93%) Automotive
12 12 (1.93%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (1.93%) Retail
13 10 (1.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 9 (1.45%) Aerospace
15 6 (0.97%) Games
16 5 (0.81%) Documentation Skills
16 5 (0.81%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 80 (12.88%) Analyst
2 69 (11.11%) Developer
3 43 (6.92%) Architect
4 39 (6.28%) Lead
5 32 (5.15%) Project Manager
6 31 (4.99%) Senior
7 30 (4.83%) QA Analyst
8 25 (4.03%) DevOps Engineer
9 24 (3.86%) Administrator
9 24 (3.86%) Test Analyst
10 22 (3.54%) QA Engineer
10 22 (3.54%) Test Engineer
11 21 (3.38%) Full Stack Developer
11 21 (3.38%) Tester
12 18 (2.90%) Build Engineer
12 18 (2.90%) Solutions Architect
13 17 (2.74%) Data Analyst
13 17 (2.74%) Windows Build Engineer
13 17 (2.74%) Windows Engineer
14 16 (2.58%) Data Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (5.96%) React
2 28 (4.51%) .NET
3 22 (3.54%) AngularJS
4 20 (3.22%) Node.js
5 18 (2.90%) Elastic Stack
5 18 (2.90%) JSON
5 18 (2.90%) REST
6 17 (2.74%) XML
7 16 (2.58%) Playwright
7 16 (2.58%) SailPoint
8 15 (2.42%) HTML
9 13 (2.09%) Gherkin
9 13 (2.09%) RESTful
9 13 (2.09%) YAML
10 12 (1.93%) Middleware
10 12 (1.93%) Redux
10 12 (1.93%) Spring
10 12 (1.93%) Vue
11 11 (1.77%) CSS
12 10 (1.61%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 53 (8.53%) Product Ownership
2 23 (3.70%) Public Cloud
3 17 (2.74%) Management Information System
4 16 (2.58%) Mobile App
5 15 (2.42%) Onboarding
6 14 (2.25%) Data Structures
7 11 (1.77%) Legacy Systems
7 11 (1.77%) Life Science
8 9 (1.45%) NHS
8 9 (1.45%) Self-Motivation
9 8 (1.29%) Cloud Native
9 8 (1.29%) Data Protection Act
10 7 (1.13%) Enterprise Software
11 6 (0.97%) Analytical Mindset
11 6 (0.97%) CMDB
11 6 (0.97%) Freedom of Information
12 5 (0.81%) Algorithms
12 5 (0.81%) Renewable Energy
13 4 (0.64%) Data Centre
13 4 (0.64%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 64 (10.31%) Windows
2 41 (6.60%) Linux
3 23 (3.70%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.54%) Windows Server
5 18 (2.90%) Windows Server 2016
6 17 (2.74%) Windows NT
6 17 (2.74%) Windows Server 2012
6 17 (2.74%) Windows Server 2019
7 9 (1.45%) Android
8 7 (1.13%) Apple iOS
9 4 (0.64%) CentOS
9 4 (0.64%) Mac OS
9 4 (0.64%) Unix
10 2 (0.32%) Windows 7
11 1 (0.16%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 190 (30.60%) Agile
2 114 (18.36%) Test Automation
3 113 (18.20%) DevOps
4 111 (17.87%) Problem-Solving
5 99 (15.94%) Project Management
6 71 (11.43%) CI/CD
7 69 (11.11%) Continuous Improvement
8 68 (10.95%) Scrum
9 59 (9.50%) Stakeholder Management
9 59 (9.50%) User Acceptance Testing
10 52 (8.37%) ITIL
11 43 (6.92%) Continuous Integration
12 42 (6.76%) SDLC
13 41 (6.60%) Translating Business Requirements
14 40 (6.44%) Change Management
15 37 (5.96%) Test Scripting
15 37 (5.96%) Test Strategy
15 37 (5.96%) Unit Testing
16 36 (5.80%) Workflow
17 35 (5.64%) Computer Science
Programming Languages
1 69 (11.11%) SQL
2 62 (9.98%) Python
3 52 (8.37%) Java
4 34 (5.48%) C#
5 33 (5.31%) JavaScript
6 32 (5.15%) PowerShell
7 19 (3.06%) TypeScript
8 17 (2.74%) Bash
9 15 (2.42%) C
10 14 (2.25%) PHP
11 12 (1.93%) T-SQL
12 9 (1.45%) VB
13 5 (0.81%) Bicep
13 5 (0.81%) MATLAB
14 4 (0.64%) F#
14 4 (0.64%) Kotlin
14 4 (0.64%) Shell Script
14 4 (0.64%) VB6
14 4 (0.64%) VBScript
15 3 (0.48%) ActionScript
Qualifications
1 105 (16.91%) Security Cleared
2 72 (11.59%) Degree
3 57 (9.18%) SC Cleared
4 45 (7.25%) DV Cleared
5 20 (3.22%) ISTQB
6 19 (3.06%) Computer Science Degree
7 16 (2.58%) HNC
8 13 (2.09%) BPSS Clearance
9 11 (1.77%) NVQ Level 3
10 10 (1.61%) HND
11 7 (1.13%) Master's Degree
12 6 (0.97%) Cisco Certification
12 6 (0.97%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
12 6 (0.97%) PMP
13 5 (0.81%) CCNA
13 5 (0.81%) PMI Certification
14 4 (0.64%) BC Cleared
14 4 (0.64%) CCNP
14 4 (0.64%) ISEB
14 4 (0.64%) PRINCE2 Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (5.31%) Data Quality
2 15 (2.42%) SLA
3 13 (2.09%) Accessibility
4 10 (1.61%) GDPR
5 8 (1.29%) ISO 9001
6 7 (1.13%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 5 (0.81%) GMP
7 5 (0.81%) PMO
8 4 (0.64%) Disclosure Scotland
8 4 (0.64%) HIPAA
8 4 (0.64%) NIST
9 3 (0.48%) ISO/IEC 17025
9 3 (0.48%) ISO17020
9 3 (0.48%) WCAG
10 2 (0.32%) HL7
10 2 (0.32%) ISO 14001
10 2 (0.32%) ISO 22301
10 2 (0.32%) Software Quality Assurance
11 1 (0.16%) GAMP
11 1 (0.16%) GRC
System Software
1 36 (5.80%) Active Directory
2 21 (3.38%) Docker
3 19 (3.06%) Firmware
4 5 (0.81%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.32%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.32%) KVM
5 2 (0.32%) Microsoft App-V
5 2 (0.32%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (0.32%) VMware Infrastructure
5 2 (0.32%) VMware Workstation
6 1 (0.16%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.16%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 39 (6.28%) Kubernetes
2 37 (5.96%) Ansible
3 30 (4.83%) Terraform
4 21 (3.38%) SCCM
5 20 (3.22%) Grafana
6 18 (2.90%) Prometheus
7 17 (2.74%) Sysprep
7 17 (2.74%) WSUS
8 14 (2.25%) Progress Chef
8 14 (2.25%) Puppet
9 12 (1.93%) Kibana
10 9 (1.45%) Docker Swarm
10 9 (1.45%) Graylog
10 9 (1.45%) logstash
11 7 (1.13%) HP Fortify
12 6 (0.97%) Nagios
13 5 (0.81%) Nessus
13 5 (0.81%) WebInspect
14 3 (0.48%) HP Quality Center
14 3 (0.48%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 96 (15.46%) Microsoft
2 29 (4.67%) SAP
3 28 (4.51%) Oracle
4 25 (4.03%) Splunk
5 17 (2.74%) Salesforce
6 16 (2.58%) CyberArk
7 15 (2.42%) ServiceNow
8 13 (2.09%) Adobe
9 10 (1.61%) Databricks
10 8 (1.29%) BT
10 8 (1.29%) Google
10 8 (1.29%) Red Hat
11 7 (1.13%) Alteryx
11 7 (1.13%) Cisco
11 7 (1.13%) Dataiku
11 7 (1.13%) Trillium
12 5 (0.81%) Checkmarx
12 5 (0.81%) Dynatrace
12 5 (0.81%) Pega
12 5 (0.81%) Veracode