Penetration Testing Contract Job Trends in Cheshire
Penetration Testing
North West > Cheshire
The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Cheshire requiring Penetration Testing skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 17 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 69 | 66 | 49 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -3 | -17 | -4 |
| Contract jobs citing Penetration Testing | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| As % of all contract jobs in Cheshire | 0.78% | 1.30% | 1.12% |
| As % of the Processes & Methodologies category | 0.91% | 1.44% | 1.30% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 10th Percentile | £443 | £415 | £582 |
| 25th Percentile | £472 | £463 | £698 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £574 | £604 | £775 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -4.97% | -22.13% | +24.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £595 | £658 | £788 |
| 90th Percentile | £607 | £671 | - |
| North West median daily rate | £582 | £520 | £575 |
| % change year-on-year | +11.90% | -9.55% | -8.00% |
All Process & Methodology Skills
Cheshire
Penetration Testing falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in Cheshire.
| 6 months to 17 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills | 658 | 624 | 463 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Cheshire | 85.23% | 90.17% | 86.06% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 332 | 465 | 283 |
| 10th Percentile | £295 | £274 | £324 |
| 25th Percentile | £400 | £358 | £384 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £475 | £445 | £475 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +6.74% | -6.32% | -5.00% |
| 75th Percentile | £575 | £525 | £568 |
| 90th Percentile | £626 | £688 | £650 |
| North West median daily rate | £500 | £450 | £475 |
| % change year-on-year | +11.11% | -5.26% | -5.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 70 | 32 | 20 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.91 | £12.82 | £16.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.25 | £15.50 | £21.05 |
| Median hourly rate | £35.05 | £18.87 | £35.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +85.76% | -46.09% | +34.62% |
| 75th Percentile | £85.00 | £37.56 | £43.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £111.25 | £67.25 | £44.13 |
| North West median hourly rate | £47.50 | £24.88 | £40.33 |
| % change year-on-year | +90.90% | -38.30% | +15.21% |
Penetration Testing Job Vacancy Trend in Cheshire
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Penetration Testing relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Cheshire.
Penetration Testing Daily Rate Trend in Cheshire
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Cheshire citing Penetration Testing.
Penetration Testing Daily Rate Histogram in Cheshire
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Penetration Testing in Cheshire over the 6 months to 17 October 2026.
Penetration Testing Hourly Rate Trend in Cheshire
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Cheshire citing Penetration Testing.
Penetration Testing Contract Job Locations in Cheshire
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Penetration Testing within the Cheshire region over the 6 months to 17 October 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knutsford | +17 | 5 | £565 | -13.14% | 1 |
| Penetration Testing North West |
|||||
Penetration Testing Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Cheshire by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Processes & Methodologies
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roadmaps | 66.7% | 4 |
| 1 | Vulnerability Management | 66.7% | 4 |
| 3 | AI | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Application Security | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | CI/CD | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Cryptography | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Cybersecurity | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Data Pipeline | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Data Security | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | DevSecOps | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Generative AI | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Machine Learning | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | OWASP | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Product Roadmap | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | SDLC | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Security Architecture | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | SIEM | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Threat Modelling | 50.0% | 3 |
| 3 | Vulnerability Assessment | 50.0% | 3 |
| 20 | Agile | 33.3% | 2 |