Security Cleared Contract Job Trends in Berkshire

Security Clearance
South East > Berkshire

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in Berkshire with a requirement for Security Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 20 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 2 2 1
Rank change year-on-year 0 -1 +3
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 433 362 560
As % of all contract jobs in Berkshire 29.20% 24.13% 32.54%
As % of the Qualifications category 69.84% 64.99% 73.59%
Number of daily rates quoted 327 211 318
10th Percentile £255 £313 £205
25th Percentile £358 £413 £276
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £585 £525
Median % change year-on-year -18.80% +11.43% -8.70%
75th Percentile £538 £663 £618
90th Percentile £610 £725 £663
South East median daily rate £520 £551 £550
% change year-on-year -5.54% +0.09% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 30 24 51
10th Percentile £19.34 £55.87 £48.40
25th Percentile £26.39 £58.42 £55.97
Median hourly rate £68.50 £61.78 £63.00
Median % change year-on-year +10.89% -1.94% +162.50%
75th Percentile £95.00 £65.62 £69.56
90th Percentile £97.75 £75.24 £76.10
South East median hourly rate £25.15 £59.00 £60.00
% change year-on-year -57.37% -1.67% +14.29%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Berkshire

Security 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 620 557 761
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Berkshire 41.81% 37.13% 44.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 427 308 452
10th Percentile £255 £249 £205
25th Percentile £367 £380 £346
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £477 £556 £500
Median % change year-on-year -14.30% +11.20% -9.09%
75th Percentile £538 £656 £619
90th Percentile £625 £703 £675
South East median daily rate £500 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 39 29 53
10th Percentile £19.38 £41.20 £45.85
25th Percentile £20.79 £55.87 £55.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £61.50 £63.00
Median % change year-on-year +5.70% -2.39% +168.09%
75th Percentile £95.00 £64.73 £68.63
90th Percentile £98.00 £74.97 £76.01
South East median hourly rate £25.15 £56.75 £60.00
% change year-on-year -55.68% -5.43% +33.33%

Security Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in Berkshire

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

Security Cleared job vacancy trend in Berkshire

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Trend in Berkshire

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

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

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram in Berkshire

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Security Cleared in Berkshire over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Security Cleared in Berkshire

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend in Berkshire

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

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

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram in Berkshire

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Security Cleared in Berkshire over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Security Cleared in Berkshire

Security 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 Security Cleared within the Berkshire region over the 6 months to 20 December 2025. 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 +1 183 £500 -20.00% 26
Wokingham 0 159 £425 +21.43% 11
Bracknell -2 27 £550 +18.92% 3
Windsor - 6 £475 - 2
Slough -3 3 £438 +98.86% 2
Maidenhead -2 1 - - 3
Thatcham - 1 - - 1
Security Cleared
South East

Security 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 5 (1.15%) Microsoft Exchange
2 3 (0.69%) Confluence
3 2 (0.46%) GeoServer
3 2 (0.46%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.46%) Smallworld
4 1 (0.23%) Anypoint
4 1 (0.23%) CMS
4 1 (0.23%) Drupal
4 1 (0.23%) Skype for Business
4 1 (0.23%) WordPress
Applications
1 14 (3.23%) Microsoft Excel
2 13 (3.00%) Microsoft Office
3 8 (1.85%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.69%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 16 (3.70%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.62%) SAP EWM
2 7 (1.62%) SAP WM
3 4 (0.92%) Primavera
4 2 (0.46%) SAP HCM
4 2 (0.46%) SAP PS
5 1 (0.23%) Infor CloudSuite Industrial (formerly SyteLine)
5 1 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
5 1 (0.23%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 110 (25.40%) Azure
2 98 (22.63%) AWS
3 52 (12.01%) GCP
4 20 (4.62%) Entra ID
5 15 (3.46%) Microsoft 365
5 15 (3.46%) OneDrive
6 14 (3.23%) OpenShift
7 12 (2.77%) SaaS
8 6 (1.39%) IaaS
8 6 (1.39%) Power Platform
9 5 (1.15%) AWS CloudFormation
9 5 (1.15%) Power Automate
10 4 (0.92%) Azure Storage
11 3 (0.69%) PowerApps
12 2 (0.46%) Amazon GuardDuty
12 2 (0.46%) AWS CloudTrail
12 2 (0.46%) AWS Control Tower
12 2 (0.46%) AWS KMS
12 2 (0.46%) Serverless
12 2 (0.46%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 31 (7.16%) DNS
2 24 (5.54%) DHCP
3 23 (5.31%) Network Security
4 22 (5.08%) Firewall
5 16 (3.70%) TCP/IP
6 15 (3.46%) SAN
7 12 (2.77%) VLAN
8 11 (2.54%) Wireless
9 10 (2.31%) Unified Communications
9 10 (2.31%) Wi-Fi
10 9 (2.08%) 4G
11 7 (1.62%) Intrusion Detection
12 6 (1.39%) LAN
12 6 (1.39%) NAS
12 6 (1.39%) VPN
12 6 (1.39%) WAN
12 6 (1.39%) Wireshark
13 5 (1.15%) FTP
13 5 (1.15%) Internet
13 5 (1.15%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.62%) NoSQL
2 4 (0.92%) Power BI
2 4 (0.92%) SAP HANA
3 3 (0.69%) SAP Data Services
3 3 (0.69%) SQL Server
4 2 (0.46%) Geospatial Data
4 2 (0.46%) GIS
4 2 (0.46%) PostgreSQL
4 2 (0.46%) QGIS
5 1 (0.23%) Data Hub
5 1 (0.23%) Metadata
5 1 (0.23%) MongoDB
5 1 (0.23%) MySQL
5 1 (0.23%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 13 (3.00%) Burp Suite
1 13 (3.00%) JIRA
1 13 (3.00%) Metasploit
2 9 (2.08%) Jenkins
3 6 (1.39%) Git
4 2 (0.46%) Visual Studio
5 1 (0.23%) Android Studio
5 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.23%) GitLab
5 1 (0.23%) NeoLoad
5 1 (0.23%) Postman
5 1 (0.23%) Rational DOORS
5 1 (0.23%) Subversion
General
1 171 (39.49%) Social Skills
2 109 (25.17%) Public Sector
3 78 (18.01%) Analytical Skills
4 21 (4.85%) Documentation Skills
5 11 (2.54%) Finance
5 11 (2.54%) Telecoms
6 9 (2.08%) Manufacturing
7 8 (1.85%) Legal
7 8 (1.85%) Military
7 8 (1.85%) Presentation Skills
8 4 (0.92%) Aerospace
8 4 (0.92%) Influencing Skills
9 2 (0.46%) Banking
9 2 (0.46%) Electronics
9 2 (0.46%) Marketing
10 1 (0.23%) Billing
10 1 (0.23%) Environmental Health
10 1 (0.23%) Front Office
10 1 (0.23%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 55 (12.70%) Consultant
2 41 (9.47%) Analyst
3 36 (8.31%) Architect
4 33 (7.62%) Network Consultant
5 31 (7.16%) Lead
6 25 (5.77%) Network Engineer
7 23 (5.31%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 23 (5.31%) Senior
7 23 (5.31%) Support Engineer
8 20 (4.62%) Tester
9 16 (3.70%) Infrastructure Support
9 16 (3.70%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
10 15 (3.46%) Administrator
10 15 (3.46%) Penetration Tester
11 14 (3.23%) Data Analyst
11 14 (3.23%) Developer
11 14 (3.23%) SIEM Engineer
12 13 (3.00%) Cisco Engineer
12 13 (3.00%) Cisco Network Engineer
12 13 (3.00%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (3.00%) LDAP
2 8 (1.85%) Loki
3 5 (1.15%) Web Services
4 4 (0.92%) REST
5 3 (0.69%) .NET
5 3 (0.69%) Node.js
5 3 (0.69%) RESTful
5 3 (0.69%) SOAP
6 2 (0.46%) .NET Core
6 2 (0.46%) AngularJS
6 2 (0.46%) BAPI
6 2 (0.46%) jQuery
6 2 (0.46%) OAuth
6 2 (0.46%) OAuth2
6 2 (0.46%) OpenID
6 2 (0.46%) React
6 2 (0.46%) SAML
6 2 (0.46%) SAP Smart Forms
6 2 (0.46%) scikit-learn
7 1 (0.23%) PyTorch
Miscellaneous
1 19 (4.39%) Cloud Native
2 17 (3.93%) Onboarding
3 16 (3.70%) Management Information System
4 15 (3.46%) Data Centre
5 12 (2.77%) Analytical Mindset
5 12 (2.77%) Cyber Security Posture
6 9 (2.08%) Security Operations Centre
7 8 (1.85%) Enterprise Storage
7 8 (1.85%) Legacy Systems
7 8 (1.85%) PKI
7 8 (1.85%) Virtual Team
8 7 (1.62%) Distributed Systems
8 7 (1.62%) Greenfield Project
8 7 (1.62%) PMI
8 7 (1.62%) Security Posture
9 6 (1.39%) Driving Licence
10 5 (1.15%) Enterprise Software
10 5 (1.15%) Handset
11 4 (0.92%) Replication
11 4 (0.92%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 76 (17.55%) Windows
2 68 (15.70%) Linux
3 19 (4.39%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 16 (3.70%) Windows 10
5 11 (2.54%) Windows Server
6 7 (1.62%) Android
7 6 (1.39%) Kali Linux
8 5 (1.15%) Windows Server 2019
9 4 (0.92%) Windows Server 2012
9 4 (0.92%) Windows Server 2016
10 2 (0.46%) Apple iOS
10 2 (0.46%) SUSE
10 2 (0.46%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11 1 (0.23%) Mac OS
11 1 (0.23%) Unix
11 1 (0.23%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 89 (20.55%) Problem-Solving
2 66 (15.24%) ITIL
3 64 (14.78%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 61 (14.09%) CI/CD
5 56 (12.93%) Migration
6 53 (12.24%) Cybersecurity
7 52 (12.01%) Roadmaps
8 49 (11.32%) Service Management
9 42 (9.70%) Collaborative Working
10 41 (9.47%) Agile
10 41 (9.47%) SIEM
11 39 (9.01%) Continuous Improvement
12 38 (8.78%) DevOps
13 37 (8.55%) ITSM
13 37 (8.55%) Stakeholder Management
14 34 (7.85%) Infrastructure Engineering
15 32 (7.39%) Change Management
16 30 (6.93%) DevSecOps
16 30 (6.93%) Disaster Recovery
17 25 (5.77%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 81 (18.71%) Python
2 52 (12.01%) PowerShell
3 26 (6.00%) Bash
4 13 (3.00%) Java
5 10 (2.31%) Kusto Query Language
6 9 (2.08%) SQL
7 6 (1.39%) Go
7 6 (1.39%) JavaScript
7 6 (1.39%) Shell Script
8 5 (1.15%) C#
9 3 (0.69%) C
10 2 (0.46%) ABAP
10 2 (0.46%) Ada
10 2 (0.46%) Assembly Language
10 2 (0.46%) MATLAB
11 1 (0.23%) C++
11 1 (0.23%) DataWeave
11 1 (0.23%) PHP
11 1 (0.23%) R
11 1 (0.23%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 339 (78.29%) SC Cleared
2 52 (12.01%) DV Cleared
3 38 (8.78%) CISSP
4 25 (5.77%) Degree
5 22 (5.08%) AWS Certification
6 21 (4.85%) CEH
7 20 (4.62%) Azure Certification
8 18 (4.16%) CISM
9 17 (3.93%) GIAC
10 13 (3.00%) Cisco Certification
10 13 (3.00%) Network+ Certification
11 12 (2.77%) CCNP
11 12 (2.77%) Microsoft Certification
12 10 (2.31%) PMP
12 10 (2.31%) Server+ Certification
13 9 (2.08%) PMI Certification
14 8 (1.85%) BPSS Clearance
15 7 (1.62%) CCNA
15 7 (1.62%) CHECK Team Member
16 6 (1.39%) MAPM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (8.31%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 31 (7.16%) GDPR
3 24 (5.54%) NIST
4 17 (3.93%) QA
5 10 (2.31%) PMO
6 8 (1.85%) PCI DSS
7 6 (1.39%) SLA
8 4 (0.92%) Data Quality
8 4 (0.92%) HIPAA
8 4 (0.92%) NCSC
9 2 (0.46%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.46%) Cyber Essentials
10 1 (0.23%) Def Stans
10 1 (0.23%) EU AI Act
10 1 (0.23%) GRC
10 1 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 1 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
10 1 (0.23%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.23%) PSD2
System Software
1 51 (11.78%) Active Directory
2 33 (7.62%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (4.39%) vSphere
4 15 (3.46%) Docker
5 12 (2.77%) Hyper-V
6 6 (1.39%) VMware ESXi
6 6 (1.39%) VMware NSX
7 2 (0.46%) NFS
7 2 (0.46%) Terminal Services
7 2 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.23%) NDS
8 1 (0.23%) NetIQ eDirectory
8 1 (0.23%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 35 (8.08%) Kubernetes
2 15 (3.46%) Ansible
3 14 (3.23%) SCCM
4 13 (3.00%) Argo
4 13 (3.00%) Nmap
4 13 (3.00%) Terraform
5 10 (2.31%) Grafana
5 10 (2.31%) Kibana
5 10 (2.31%) Prometheus
6 8 (1.85%) Kustomize
6 8 (1.85%) Microsoft Intune
7 7 (1.62%) NetBackup
8 6 (1.39%) Single Sign-On
9 5 (1.15%) QRadar
9 5 (1.15%) Red Hat Satellite
9 5 (1.15%) vCenter Server
10 4 (0.92%) Cisco CUCM
10 4 (0.92%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
11 3 (0.69%) Nagios
12 2 (0.46%) Active Directory Federation Services
Vendors
1 68 (15.70%) Cisco
2 63 (14.55%) Microsoft
3 49 (11.32%) VMware
4 34 (7.85%) Aruba
5 30 (6.93%) ServiceNow
6 25 (5.77%) SAP
7 24 (5.54%) Google
7 24 (5.54%) Red Hat
8 23 (5.31%) Juniper
9 17 (3.93%) CyberArk
10 16 (3.70%) Splunk
11 14 (3.23%) BeyondTrust
11 14 (3.23%) NetApp
12 11 (2.54%) Tanium
13 10 (2.31%) FireEye
14 9 (2.08%) HP
14 9 (2.08%) Pure Storage
15 8 (1.85%) ArcSight
15 8 (1.85%) Citrix
15 8 (1.85%) Veritas