SC Cleared Contract Job Trends in Berkshire

Security Check (SC) Clearance
South East > Berkshire

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in Berkshire with a requirement for SC Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 18 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 2 11 10
Rank change year-on-year +9 -1 -2
Contract jobs citing SC Cleared 481 151 242
As % of all contract jobs in Berkshire 26.07% 13.02% 11.87%
As % of the Qualifications category 57.47% 36.21% 26.11%
Number of daily rates quoted 331 88 173
10th Percentile £285 £325 £400
25th Percentile £350 £405 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £447 £533 £605
Median % change year-on-year -16.06% -11.98% +3.24%
75th Percentile £575 £638 £675
90th Percentile £650 £675 £708
South East median daily rate £518 £540 £560
% change year-on-year -4.17% -3.57% +6.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 8 15
10th Percentile £24.96 £22.81 £39.41
25th Percentile £79.17 £51.73 £52.90
Median hourly rate £82.50 £67.75 £57.32
Median % change year-on-year +21.78% +18.19% -13.15%
75th Percentile £89.75 £77.89 £65.55
90th Percentile £97.50 £84.65 £78.14
South East median hourly rate £52.50 £57.50 £60.00
% change year-on-year -8.70% -4.17% -3.23%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Berkshire

SC Cleared falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in Berkshire.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 837 417 927
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Berkshire 45.37% 35.95% 45.46%
Number of daily rates quoted 531 225 439
10th Percentile £270 £325 £206
25th Percentile £358 £438 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £550 £550
Median % change year-on-year -16.36% - -
75th Percentile £588 £656 £623
90th Percentile £688 £700 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £537 £550
% change year-on-year -2.23% -2.36% +4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 128 22 82
10th Percentile £23.81 £32.05 £41.50
25th Percentile £73.00 £59.44 £52.90
Median hourly rate £83.00 £63.75 £61.60
Median % change year-on-year +30.21% +3.48% -4.75%
75th Percentile £88.00 £76.77 £76.55
90th Percentile £95.75 £88.69 £87.46
South East median hourly rate £54.50 £56.75 £57.35
% change year-on-year -3.96% -1.05% +4.74%

SC Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in Berkshire

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing SC Cleared relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Berkshire.

SC Cleared job vacancy trend in Berkshire

SC Cleared
Daily Rate Trend in Berkshire

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Berkshire citing SC Cleared.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Berkshire citing SC Cleared

SC Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram in Berkshire

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing SC Cleared in Berkshire over the 6 months to 18 April 2026.

Daily rate histogram for SC Cleared in Berkshire

SC Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend in Berkshire

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Berkshire citing SC Cleared.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Berkshire citing SC Cleared

SC Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram in Berkshire

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing SC Cleared in Berkshire over the 6 months to 18 April 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for SC Cleared in Berkshire

SC Cleared
Contract Job Locations in Berkshire

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing SC Cleared within the Berkshire region over the 6 months to 18 April 2026. 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
Reading +7 248 £500 -18.37% 27
Wokingham 0 183 £385 -14.44% 4
Bracknell +12 30 £550 -
Maidenhead +3 1 - -
Thatcham - 1 - -
SC Cleared
South East

SC Cleared
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Berkshire by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 6 (1.25%) Microsoft Exchange
2 5 (1.04%) Confluence
2 5 (1.04%) SharePoint
3 1 (0.21%) Apache
3 1 (0.21%) Apache Spark
3 1 (0.21%) ArcGIS
3 1 (0.21%) Skype for Business
3 1 (0.21%) Smallworld
Applications
1 25 (5.20%) Microsoft Excel
2 21 (4.37%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (3.33%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.62%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.21%) Autodesk Inventor
5 1 (0.21%) CATIA
5 1 (0.21%) MicroStation
5 1 (0.21%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.21%) Siemens NX
5 1 (0.21%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 16 (3.33%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (1.04%) iTrent
3 3 (0.62%) SAP EWM
4 2 (0.42%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.21%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 117 (24.32%) Azure
2 88 (18.30%) AWS
3 51 (10.60%) GCP
4 24 (4.99%) Entra ID
5 16 (3.33%) Power Platform
6 12 (2.49%) Azure DevOps
7 10 (2.08%) Datadog
7 10 (2.08%) Microsoft 365
8 9 (1.87%) OpenShift
9 6 (1.25%) Azure Sentinel
10 5 (1.04%) OneDrive
10 5 (1.04%) Power Automate
10 5 (1.04%) SaaS
10 5 (1.04%) SuccessFactors
11 4 (0.83%) AWS CloudFormation
11 4 (0.83%) IaaS
12 3 (0.62%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 3 (0.62%) Azure Monitor
12 3 (0.62%) PaaS
12 3 (0.62%) Viva Engage
Communications & Networking
1 42 (8.73%) Firewall
2 34 (7.07%) Network Security
3 23 (4.78%) LAN
4 21 (4.37%) DNS
4 21 (4.37%) Wireless
5 19 (3.95%) DHCP
5 19 (3.95%) WAN
6 14 (2.91%) BGP
6 14 (2.91%) OSPF
6 14 (2.91%) TCP/IP
7 12 (2.49%) VPN
8 11 (2.29%) SD-WAN
9 10 (2.08%) Unified Communications
9 10 (2.08%) WLAN
10 9 (1.87%) MPLS
10 9 (1.87%) VLAN
11 8 (1.66%) Cisco Nexus
11 8 (1.66%) FTP
12 7 (1.46%) Intrusion Detection
13 6 (1.25%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 14 (2.91%) Power BI
2 11 (2.29%) SQL Server
3 9 (1.87%) Oracle Database
4 6 (1.25%) Data Warehouse
4 6 (1.25%) Oracle Database 12c
4 6 (1.25%) Tableau
5 4 (0.83%) Oracle Reports
6 2 (0.42%) NoSQL
6 2 (0.42%) PostgreSQL
6 2 (0.42%) SAP Data Services
7 1 (0.21%) Amazon RDS
7 1 (0.21%) Big Data
7 1 (0.21%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.21%) GIS
7 1 (0.21%) Hadoop
7 1 (0.21%) MySQL
7 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database 11g
7 1 (0.21%) Relational Database
7 1 (0.21%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 15 (3.12%) Burp Suite
1 15 (3.12%) Metasploit
2 12 (2.49%) JIRA
3 11 (2.29%) Jenkins
4 10 (2.08%) Rational DOORS
5 7 (1.46%) Subversion
6 4 (0.83%) Bitbucket
6 4 (0.83%) Eclipse
6 4 (0.83%) Maven
7 3 (0.62%) Android Studio
8 2 (0.42%) Balsamiq
8 2 (0.42%) GitLab
8 2 (0.42%) HP UFT
9 1 (0.21%) Browser DevTools
9 1 (0.21%) Git
9 1 (0.21%) JUnit
9 1 (0.21%) Liquibase
9 1 (0.21%) Mockito
General
1 168 (34.93%) Social Skills
2 65 (13.51%) Analytical Skills
3 54 (11.23%) Public Sector
4 32 (6.65%) Aerospace
5 24 (4.99%) Documentation Skills
6 20 (4.16%) Finance
7 9 (1.87%) Telecoms
8 8 (1.66%) Advertising
9 7 (1.46%) Influencing Skills
10 6 (1.25%) Military
11 4 (0.83%) Legal
12 3 (0.62%) Law
12 3 (0.62%) Manufacturing
12 3 (0.62%) Marketing
13 2 (0.42%) Local Government
13 2 (0.42%) Police
13 2 (0.42%) Presentation Skills
14 1 (0.21%) Avionics
14 1 (0.21%) Electronics
14 1 (0.21%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 50 (10.40%) Consultant
2 42 (8.73%) Lead
3 39 (8.11%) Analyst
4 37 (7.69%) Network Engineer
5 32 (6.65%) Senior
6 29 (6.03%) Architect
7 22 (4.57%) Network Consultant
7 22 (4.57%) SIEM Engineer
8 21 (4.37%) Project Manager
9 18 (3.74%) Developer
9 18 (3.74%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 17 (3.53%) Cisco Engineer
10 17 (3.53%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 16 (3.33%) Data Analyst
11 16 (3.33%) Delivery Manager
12 15 (3.12%) Penetration Tester
12 15 (3.12%) SC Cleared Project Manager
12 15 (3.12%) Systems Engineer
13 13 (2.70%) Data Migration Lead
13 13 (2.70%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (3.12%) LDAP
2 9 (1.87%) Oracle GoldenGate
3 5 (1.04%) Loki
3 5 (1.04%) Middleware
4 4 (0.83%) Elastic Stack
4 4 (0.83%) XML
5 3 (0.62%) ARM Templates
5 3 (0.62%) SAML
6 2 (0.42%) 802.1X
6 2 (0.42%) ADO
6 2 (0.42%) OAuth
6 2 (0.42%) OAuth2
6 2 (0.42%) OpenID
7 1 (0.21%) Apache NiFi
7 1 (0.21%) LAMP
7 1 (0.21%) MERN Stack
7 1 (0.21%) React
7 1 (0.21%) WPF
7 1 (0.21%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 27 (5.61%) Data Centre
2 22 (4.57%) Onboarding
3 16 (3.33%) Security Posture
4 13 (2.70%) Cloud Native
5 11 (2.29%) Cyber Security Posture
5 11 (2.29%) Greenfield Project
6 9 (1.87%) Distributed Systems
6 9 (1.87%) Product Ownership
7 8 (1.66%) Enterprise Software
7 8 (1.66%) Management Information System
7 8 (1.66%) PMI
8 7 (1.46%) Driving Licence
8 7 (1.46%) Self-Motivation
9 6 (1.25%) Analytical Mindset
9 6 (1.25%) Data Protection Act
9 6 (1.25%) PKI
9 6 (1.25%) Virtual Team
10 5 (1.04%) Handset
10 5 (1.04%) Legacy Systems
11 4 (0.83%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 52 (10.81%) Windows
2 48 (9.98%) Linux
3 23 (4.78%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 12 (2.49%) Windows Server
5 8 (1.66%) Unix
6 7 (1.46%) Android
7 4 (0.83%) Mac OS
8 3 (0.62%) Windows 10
9 1 (0.21%) Kali Linux
9 1 (0.21%) OpenVMS
9 1 (0.21%) SUSE
9 1 (0.21%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 1 (0.21%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 83 (17.26%) ITIL
2 76 (15.80%) Problem-Solving
3 69 (14.35%) Cybersecurity
4 66 (13.72%) Migration
5 62 (12.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 61 (12.68%) CI/CD
7 56 (11.64%) Continuous Improvement
8 54 (11.23%) Roadmaps
9 52 (10.81%) DevOps
10 48 (9.98%) Stakeholder Management
11 47 (9.77%) Agile
11 47 (9.77%) Change Management
12 44 (9.15%) Service Management
13 43 (8.94%) Collaborative Working
13 43 (8.94%) SIEM
14 40 (8.32%) ITSM
15 38 (7.90%) DevSecOps
16 32 (6.65%) Validation
17 23 (4.78%) Project Management
18 22 (4.57%) Data Analysis
Programming Languages
1 70 (14.55%) Python
2 52 (10.81%) PowerShell
3 20 (4.16%) Kusto Query Language
4 16 (3.33%) Bash
4 16 (3.33%) SQL
5 12 (2.49%) Java
6 9 (1.87%) Korn
6 9 (1.87%) Shell Script
7 8 (1.66%) Go
8 5 (1.04%) Bicep
9 3 (0.62%) C++
10 2 (0.42%) VBScript
11 1 (0.21%) C#
11 1 (0.21%) JavaScript
11 1 (0.21%) Perl
11 1 (0.21%) PHP
11 1 (0.21%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 481 (100.00%) Security Cleared
2 40 (8.32%) Degree
3 34 (7.07%) DV Cleared
4 33 (6.86%) CISSP
5 20 (4.16%) PMP
6 15 (3.12%) CISM
6 15 (3.12%) PMI Certification
7 14 (2.91%) CHECK Team Member
8 13 (2.70%) AWS Certification
8 13 (2.70%) CEH
9 12 (2.49%) Azure Certification
9 12 (2.49%) BPSS Clearance
9 12 (2.49%) CREST Certified
9 12 (2.49%) Cyber Scheme
9 12 (2.49%) GIAC
10 10 (2.08%) Postgraduate
11 9 (1.87%) CCNP
11 9 (1.87%) Cisco Certification
11 9 (1.87%) TOGAF Certification
12 7 (1.46%) MAPM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (8.94%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 31 (6.44%) NIST
3 30 (6.24%) GDPR
4 18 (3.74%) PMO
5 17 (3.53%) QA
6 14 (2.91%) NCSC
6 14 (2.91%) PCI DSS
7 6 (1.25%) Data Quality
8 5 (1.04%) NIST 800
9 3 (0.62%) Accessibility
9 3 (0.62%) DO-254
9 3 (0.62%) IEC 61508
9 3 (0.62%) ISO 26262
9 3 (0.62%) SLA
10 2 (0.42%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.42%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.21%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.21%) Def Stans
11 1 (0.21%) ISO 22301
System Software
1 47 (9.77%) Active Directory
2 20 (4.16%) VMware Infrastructure
3 10 (2.08%) Docker
4 9 (1.87%) Oracle RAC
5 6 (1.25%) vSphere
6 3 (0.62%) Firmware
7 2 (0.42%) Hyper-V
7 2 (0.42%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.21%) NFS
8 1 (0.21%) Terminal Services
8 1 (0.21%) Virtual Servers
8 1 (0.21%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 27 (5.61%) Kubernetes
2 15 (3.12%) Nmap
3 12 (2.49%) Kibana
3 12 (2.49%) Terraform
4 11 (2.29%) Ansible
5 10 (2.08%) Grafana
5 10 (2.08%) Microsoft Intune
5 10 (2.08%) Oracle RMAN
5 10 (2.08%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.87%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 7 (1.46%) Red Hat Satellite
8 6 (1.25%) Argo
9 5 (1.04%) Kustomize
9 5 (1.04%) Nagios
9 5 (1.04%) SCCM
10 3 (0.62%) Single Sign-On
10 3 (0.62%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 2 (0.42%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 2 (0.42%) FortiGate
11 2 (0.42%) NetBackup
Vendors
1 62 (12.89%) Cisco
2 41 (8.52%) Microsoft
3 32 (6.65%) SAP
3 32 (6.65%) VMware
4 27 (5.61%) ServiceNow
5 25 (5.20%) Aruba
6 24 (4.99%) Red Hat
7 22 (4.57%) Google
8 21 (4.37%) Juniper
9 20 (4.16%) Oracle
10 19 (3.95%) CyberArk
11 16 (3.33%) BeyondTrust
12 15 (3.12%) Tanium
13 12 (2.49%) FireEye
14 11 (2.29%) Citrix
14 11 (2.29%) Splunk
15 10 (2.08%) AppDynamics
15 10 (2.08%) Dynatrace
16 7 (1.46%) SolarWinds
16 7 (1.46%) Workday