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 6 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 3 11 10
Rank change year-on-year +8 -1 -3
Contract jobs citing SC Cleared 493 141 243
As % of all contract jobs in Berkshire 26.55% 12.26% 11.79%
As % of the Qualifications category 57.86% 34.99% 26.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 341 80 171
10th Percentile £280 £325 £356
25th Percentile £350 £400 £500
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £525 £605
Median % change year-on-year -12.38% -13.22% +4.31%
75th Percentile £558 £641 £663
90th Percentile £650 £675 £688
South East median daily rate £518 £540 £560
% change year-on-year -4.17% -3.57% +6.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 58 8 17
10th Percentile £28.54 £22.81 £43.91
25th Percentile £77.52 £51.73 £52.90
Median hourly rate £82.50 £67.75 £61.65
Median % change year-on-year +21.78% +9.90% -6.60%
75th Percentile £95.00 £77.89 £63.29
90th Percentile £97.50 £84.65 £75.01
South East median hourly rate £47.50 £56.75 £60.00
% change year-on-year -16.30% -5.42% -4.08%

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 852 403 934
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Berkshire 45.88% 35.04% 45.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 541 211 453
10th Percentile £268 £325 £205
25th Percentile £358 £438 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £550 £525
Median % change year-on-year -13.64% +4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £575 £663 £619
90th Percentile £675 £700 £688
South East median daily rate £525 £544 £550
% change year-on-year -3.45% -1.14% +4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 122 20 86
10th Percentile £24.70 £50.62 £41.50
25th Percentile £72.20 £60.31 £53.43
Median hourly rate £83.00 £63.75 £62.07
Median % change year-on-year +30.21% +2.69% -4.26%
75th Percentile £88.00 £75.92 £72.33
90th Percentile £97.25 £87.60 £87.46
South East median hourly rate £52.25 £55.00 £57.35
% change year-on-year -5.00% -4.10% +9.24%

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 6 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 6 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 6 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 +11 246 £500 -16.67% 27
Wokingham 0 194 £408 -9.44% 17
Bracknell +7 32 £550 +2.33% 5
Maidenhead +3 1 - -
Slough +3 1 - - 8
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 (1.22%) Microsoft Exchange
2 5 (1.01%) Confluence
2 5 (1.01%) SharePoint
3 1 (0.20%) Apache
3 1 (0.20%) ArcGIS
3 1 (0.20%) Skype for Business
3 1 (0.20%) Smallworld
Applications
1 24 (4.87%) Microsoft Excel
2 22 (4.46%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (3.25%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.61%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.20%) Autodesk Inventor
5 1 (0.20%) CATIA
5 1 (0.20%) MicroStation
5 1 (0.20%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.20%) Siemens NX
5 1 (0.20%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 16 (3.25%) SAP S/4HANA
2 3 (0.61%) iTrent
2 3 (0.61%) SAP EWM
3 2 (0.41%) Teamcenter
4 1 (0.20%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 117 (23.73%) Azure
2 88 (17.85%) AWS
3 48 (9.74%) GCP
4 24 (4.87%) Entra ID
5 16 (3.25%) OpenShift
6 13 (2.64%) Power Platform
7 12 (2.43%) Azure DevOps
8 10 (2.03%) Datadog
8 10 (2.03%) Microsoft 365
9 8 (1.62%) IaaS
9 8 (1.62%) OneDrive
10 6 (1.22%) Azure Sentinel
11 5 (1.01%) Power Automate
12 4 (0.81%) AWS CloudFormation
12 4 (0.81%) SaaS
13 3 (0.61%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 3 (0.61%) Azure Monitor
13 3 (0.61%) PaaS
13 3 (0.61%) SuccessFactors
13 3 (0.61%) Viva Engage
Communications & Networking
1 38 (7.71%) Firewall
2 31 (6.29%) Network Security
3 25 (5.07%) DNS
4 21 (4.26%) LAN
5 20 (4.06%) Wireless
6 19 (3.85%) DHCP
7 16 (3.25%) WAN
8 14 (2.84%) TCP/IP
9 13 (2.64%) BGP
9 13 (2.64%) OSPF
10 11 (2.23%) VPN
11 10 (2.03%) Unified Communications
12 9 (1.83%) SD-WAN
12 9 (1.83%) WLAN
13 8 (1.62%) FTP
13 8 (1.62%) Wi-Fi
14 7 (1.42%) Intrusion Detection
14 7 (1.42%) MPLS
14 7 (1.42%) VLAN
15 6 (1.22%) 4G
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (2.23%) Power BI
1 11 (2.23%) SQL Server
2 9 (1.83%) Oracle Database
3 6 (1.22%) Oracle Database 12c
4 4 (0.81%) Data Warehouse
4 4 (0.81%) Tableau
5 3 (0.61%) Oracle Reports
6 2 (0.41%) PostgreSQL
6 2 (0.41%) SAP Data Services
6 2 (0.41%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.20%) Amazon RDS
7 1 (0.20%) Data Mining
7 1 (0.20%) GIS
7 1 (0.20%) MySQL
7 1 (0.20%) Oracle Database 11g
7 1 (0.20%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 17 (3.45%) Burp Suite
1 17 (3.45%) Metasploit
2 14 (2.84%) Jenkins
3 12 (2.43%) JIRA
4 11 (2.23%) Rational DOORS
5 7 (1.42%) Subversion
6 4 (0.81%) Bitbucket
6 4 (0.81%) Eclipse
6 4 (0.81%) Maven
7 3 (0.61%) Android Studio
8 2 (0.41%) Balsamiq
8 2 (0.41%) GitLab
8 2 (0.41%) HP UFT
9 1 (0.20%) Browser DevTools
9 1 (0.20%) Git
9 1 (0.20%) JUnit
9 1 (0.20%) Liquibase
9 1 (0.20%) Mockito
General
1 170 (34.48%) Social Skills
2 66 (13.39%) Analytical Skills
2 66 (13.39%) Public Sector
3 29 (5.88%) Aerospace
4 27 (5.48%) Documentation Skills
5 21 (4.26%) Finance
6 8 (1.62%) Advertising
6 8 (1.62%) Telecoms
7 7 (1.42%) Influencing Skills
8 6 (1.22%) Military
9 4 (0.81%) Legal
10 3 (0.61%) Manufacturing
10 3 (0.61%) Marketing
11 2 (0.41%) Law
11 2 (0.41%) Local Government
11 2 (0.41%) Police
11 2 (0.41%) Presentation Skills
12 1 (0.20%) Billing
12 1 (0.20%) Electronics
12 1 (0.20%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 56 (11.36%) Consultant
2 41 (8.32%) Lead
3 40 (8.11%) Analyst
4 37 (7.51%) Network Engineer
5 33 (6.69%) Architect
5 33 (6.69%) Senior
6 28 (5.68%) Network Consultant
7 22 (4.46%) SIEM Engineer
8 21 (4.26%) Project Manager
9 19 (3.85%) Cisco Engineer
9 19 (3.85%) Cisco Network Engineer
9 19 (3.85%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 18 (3.65%) Developer
10 18 (3.65%) Penetration Tester
11 16 (3.25%) Tester
12 15 (3.04%) Delivery Manager
12 15 (3.04%) Systems Engineer
13 14 (2.84%) Data Analyst
13 14 (2.84%) Juniper Engineer
13 14 (2.84%) SC Cleared Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (3.65%) LDAP
2 9 (1.83%) Loki
2 9 (1.83%) Oracle GoldenGate
3 5 (1.01%) Middleware
4 4 (0.81%) Elastic Stack
4 4 (0.81%) XML
5 3 (0.61%) ARM Templates
5 3 (0.61%) SAML
6 2 (0.41%) ADO
6 2 (0.41%) OAuth
6 2 (0.41%) OAuth2
6 2 (0.41%) OpenID
7 1 (0.20%) 802.1X
7 1 (0.20%) LAMP
7 1 (0.20%) MERN Stack
7 1 (0.20%) React
7 1 (0.20%) WPF
7 1 (0.20%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 26 (5.27%) Data Centre
2 22 (4.46%) Onboarding
3 17 (3.45%) Cloud Native
4 16 (3.25%) Security Posture
5 11 (2.23%) Cyber Security Posture
5 11 (2.23%) Management Information System
6 10 (2.03%) Virtual Team
7 9 (1.83%) Product Ownership
8 8 (1.62%) Enterprise Software
9 7 (1.42%) Driving Licence
9 7 (1.42%) Greenfield Project
9 7 (1.42%) PMI
9 7 (1.42%) Self-Motivation
10 6 (1.22%) Analytical Mindset
10 6 (1.22%) PKI
11 5 (1.01%) Data Protection Act
11 5 (1.01%) Distributed Systems
11 5 (1.01%) Handset
12 4 (0.81%) Legacy Systems
12 4 (0.81%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 57 (11.56%) Linux
2 56 (11.36%) Windows
3 25 (5.07%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 12 (2.43%) Windows Server
5 8 (1.62%) Unix
6 7 (1.42%) Android
7 6 (1.22%) Windows 10
8 4 (0.81%) Mac OS
9 3 (0.61%) Kali Linux
10 2 (0.41%) SUSE
10 2 (0.41%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11 1 (0.20%) OpenVMS
11 1 (0.20%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 80 (16.23%) ITIL
2 75 (15.21%) Problem-Solving
3 74 (15.01%) Cybersecurity
4 72 (14.60%) Migration
5 67 (13.59%) CI/CD
5 67 (13.59%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 62 (12.58%) Roadmaps
7 53 (10.75%) DevOps
8 51 (10.34%) Continuous Improvement
9 49 (9.94%) Collaborative Working
10 47 (9.53%) Agile
11 46 (9.33%) SIEM
11 46 (9.33%) Stakeholder Management
12 43 (8.72%) Change Management
13 41 (8.32%) DevSecOps
13 41 (8.32%) Service Management
14 37 (7.51%) ITSM
15 28 (5.68%) Validation
16 25 (5.07%) Data Analysis
17 24 (4.87%) Decision-Making
Programming Languages
1 76 (15.42%) Python
2 56 (11.36%) PowerShell
3 25 (5.07%) Bash
4 20 (4.06%) Kusto Query Language
5 12 (2.43%) SQL
6 9 (1.83%) Korn
6 9 (1.83%) Shell Script
7 8 (1.62%) Java
8 5 (1.01%) Bicep
9 4 (0.81%) Go
10 3 (0.61%) C++
11 2 (0.41%) VBScript
12 1 (0.20%) C#
12 1 (0.20%) JavaScript
12 1 (0.20%) Perl
12 1 (0.20%) PHP
12 1 (0.20%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 493 (100.00%) Security Cleared
2 37 (7.51%) CISSP
2 37 (7.51%) Degree
3 33 (6.69%) DV Cleared
4 19 (3.85%) CISM
5 16 (3.25%) CEH
5 16 (3.25%) PMP
6 14 (2.84%) CHECK Team Member
7 13 (2.64%) AWS Certification
8 12 (2.43%) Azure Certification
8 12 (2.43%) CREST Certified
8 12 (2.43%) Cyber Scheme
8 12 (2.43%) GIAC
9 11 (2.23%) BPSS Clearance
9 11 (2.23%) PMI Certification
10 10 (2.03%) Postgraduate
11 9 (1.83%) TOGAF Certification
12 7 (1.42%) CCNP
12 7 (1.42%) Cisco Certification
13 6 (1.22%) MAPM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 46 (9.33%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 35 (7.10%) NIST
3 33 (6.69%) GDPR
4 17 (3.45%) PMO
5 14 (2.84%) NCSC
5 14 (2.84%) PCI DSS
5 14 (2.84%) QA
6 5 (1.01%) NIST 800
7 4 (0.81%) Data Quality
8 3 (0.61%) Accessibility
8 3 (0.61%) DO-254
8 3 (0.61%) IEC 61508
8 3 (0.61%) ISO 26262
9 2 (0.41%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.41%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.41%) SLA
10 1 (0.20%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.20%) Def Stans
10 1 (0.20%) ISO 22301
System Software
1 53 (10.75%) Active Directory
2 27 (5.48%) VMware Infrastructure
3 14 (2.84%) vSphere
4 12 (2.43%) Docker
5 9 (1.83%) Oracle RAC
6 5 (1.01%) VMware NSX
7 3 (0.61%) Firmware
8 2 (0.41%) Hyper-V
8 2 (0.41%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.20%) NFS
9 1 (0.20%) Terminal Services
Systems Management
1 30 (6.09%) Kubernetes
2 17 (3.45%) Nmap
3 15 (3.04%) Terraform
4 14 (2.84%) Ansible
4 14 (2.84%) Argo
4 14 (2.84%) Grafana
4 14 (2.84%) Prometheus
5 12 (2.43%) Kibana
6 10 (2.03%) Microsoft Intune
6 10 (2.03%) Oracle RMAN
7 9 (1.83%) Kustomize
7 9 (1.83%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 8 (1.62%) SCCM
9 7 (1.42%) Red Hat Satellite
10 5 (1.01%) Nagios
10 5 (1.01%) vCenter Server
11 3 (0.61%) Single Sign-On
11 3 (0.61%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
12 2 (0.41%) Active Directory Federation Services
12 2 (0.41%) NetBackup
Vendors
1 66 (13.39%) Cisco
2 46 (9.33%) Microsoft
3 39 (7.91%) VMware
4 31 (6.29%) SAP
5 30 (6.09%) Aruba
5 30 (6.09%) ServiceNow
6 29 (5.88%) Red Hat
7 22 (4.46%) CyberArk
7 22 (4.46%) Google
7 22 (4.46%) Juniper
8 19 (3.85%) BeyondTrust
9 18 (3.65%) Oracle
10 15 (3.04%) Tanium
11 12 (2.43%) FireEye
11 12 (2.43%) Splunk
12 11 (2.23%) Citrix
13 10 (2.03%) AppDynamics
13 10 (2.03%) Dynatrace
14 7 (1.42%) Atlassian
14 7 (1.42%) Workday