Test Strategy Contract Job Trends in Dorset

Test Strategy
South West > Dorset

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in Dorset requiring Test Strategy skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 19 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 29 - -
Rank change year-on-year - - -
Contract jobs citing Test Strategy 2 0 0
As % of all contract jobs in Dorset 0.75% - -
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.06% - -
Number of daily rates quoted 1 0 0
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £260 - -
South West median daily rate £488 £552 £525
% change year-on-year -11.68% +5.14% +16.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £58.43 - -
Median hourly rate £63.14 - -
75th Percentile £67.84 - -
90th Percentile - - -
South West median hourly rate £65.32 - -

All Process & Methodology Skills
Dorset

Test Strategy 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 Dorset.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 189 87 114
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Dorset 71.32% 87.00% 87.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 63 50 75
10th Percentile £350 £185 £175
25th Percentile £401 £270 £390
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £475 £488
Median % change year-on-year +13.16% -2.56% -9.30%
75th Percentile £671 £550 £630
90th Percentile £785 £566 £700
South West median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 32 15 7
10th Percentile £15.29 £14.80 £14.12
25th Percentile £17.85 £15.25 £14.41
Median hourly rate £39.25 £15.50 £15.62
Median % change year-on-year +153.23% -0.77% -72.35%
75th Percentile £69.44 £15.75 £20.40
90th Percentile £74.68 £17.21 £40.11
South West median hourly rate £62.00 £25.15 £67.50
% change year-on-year +146.52% -62.74% +4.53%

Test Strategy
Job Vacancy Trend in Dorset

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Test Strategy relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Dorset.

Test Strategy job vacancy trend in Dorset

Test Strategy
Daily Rate Trend in Dorset

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Dorset citing Test Strategy.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Dorset citing Test Strategy

Test Strategy
Hourly Rate Trend in Dorset

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Dorset citing Test Strategy.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Dorset citing Test Strategy

Test Strategy
Contract Job Locations in Dorset

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Test Strategy within the Dorset region over the 6 months to 19 September 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
Bournemouth - 1 £260 - 10
Test Strategy
South West

Test Strategy
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Dorset 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:

Development Applications
1 1 (50.00%) Cucumber
1 1 (50.00%) Selenium
General
1 1 (50.00%) Analytical Skills
1 1 (50.00%) Banking
1 1 (50.00%) Finance
1 1 (50.00%) Social Skills
Job Titles
1 2 (100.00%) Test Engineer
2 1 (50.00%) Artificial Intelligence Engineer
2 1 (50.00%) Test Automation Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (50.00%) Spring
1 1 (50.00%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 1 (50.00%) Management Information System
1 1 (50.00%) SWIFT Messaging Network
Operating Systems
1 1 (50.00%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 2 (100.00%) SDLC
1 2 (100.00%) Test Scripting
1 2 (100.00%) Validation
2 1 (50.00%) Agile
2 1 (50.00%) AI
2 1 (50.00%) Computer Science
2 1 (50.00%) Continuous Improvement
2 1 (50.00%) Defect Tracking
2 1 (50.00%) DevOps
2 1 (50.00%) Fault Analysis
2 1 (50.00%) Functional Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Logistics
2 1 (50.00%) Performance Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Regression Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Requirements Analysis
2 1 (50.00%) Software Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Stakeholder Management
2 1 (50.00%) System Integration Testing
2 1 (50.00%) Test Automation
2 1 (50.00%) User Acceptance Testing
Programming Languages
1 1 (50.00%) JavaScript
1 1 (50.00%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 1 (50.00%) Computer Science Degree
1 1 (50.00%) Degree
1 1 (50.00%) DV Cleared
1 1 (50.00%) SC Cleared
1 1 (50.00%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 1 (50.00%) ISO 20022
1 1 (50.00%) SEPA
System Software
1 1 (50.00%) Active Directory