Active Directory Contract Job Trends in England

Microsoft Active Directory
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in England requiring Active Directory skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 31 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 47 36 28
Rank change year-on-year -11 -8 +7
Contract jobs citing Active Directory 1,491 1,452 2,148
As % of all contract jobs in England 4.71% 5.13% 5.92%
As % of the System Software category 37.83% 42.90% 47.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,049 939 1,477
10th Percentile £163 £175 £155
25th Percentile £214 £219 £208
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £413 £395
Median % change year-on-year +9.09% +4.43% +1.94%
75th Percentile £573 £575 £558
90th Percentile £653 £651 £675
UK median daily rate £450 £425 £400
% change year-on-year +5.88% +6.25% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 52 98
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.22 £14.00
25th Percentile £15.88 £18.15 £16.25
Median hourly rate £22.27 £22.09 £19.06
Median % change year-on-year +0.79% +15.90% +3.03%
75th Percentile £41.94 £29.25 £24.99
90th Percentile £94.10 £66.00 £57.48
UK median hourly rate £22.27 £22.50 £19.31
% change year-on-year -1.04% +16.54% +4.36%

All System Software Skills
England

Active Directory falls under the System Software category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring system software skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for system software skills 3,941 3,385 4,540
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 12.45% 11.96% 12.51%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,659 2,197 3,134
10th Percentile £213 £205 £190
25th Percentile £400 £367 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £513 £500
Median % change year-on-year -2.44% +2.50% -4.76%
75th Percentile £600 £625 £613
90th Percentile £700 £725 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 138 79 204
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.60 £15.75
25th Percentile £20.93 £21.02 £18.50
Median hourly rate £48.11 £28.41 £46.29
Median % change year-on-year +69.34% -38.62% +78.02%
75th Percentile £70.00 £64.50 £68.63
90th Percentile £90.45 £78.50 £77.85
UK median hourly rate £48.11 £27.50 £50.00
% change year-on-year +74.95% -45.00% +86.92%

Active Directory
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Active Directory relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

Active Directory job vacancy trend in England

Active Directory
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Active Directory.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Active Directory in England over the 6 months to 31 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Active Directory in England

Active Directory
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Active Directory.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Active Directory

Active Directory
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Active Directory in England over the 6 months to 31 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Active Directory in England

Active Directory
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Active Directory within the England region over the 6 months to 31 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
London -15 526 £500 +15.74% 277
South East -6 280 £481 +10.63% 389
North of England -16 245 £290 +16.00% 288
Midlands -5 181 £325 +44.44% 207
South West -10 151 £500 +11.11% 147
North West -5 145 £300 - 155
West Midlands -9 114 £400 +88.24% 110
East of England -10 84 £226 -35.36% 163
Yorkshire -24 81 £290 +18.37% 101
East Midlands +7 67 £220 -41.33% 90
North East -6 21 £200 -27.27% 35
Active Directory
UK

Active Directory
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England 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
1 285 (19.11%) Microsoft Exchange
2 215 (14.42%) SharePoint
3 36 (2.41%) Skype for Business
4 23 (1.54%) Confluence
5 20 (1.34%) IIS
6 15 (1.01%) Exchange Server 2010
7 14 (0.94%) Apache
7 14 (0.94%) Exchange Server 2013
8 13 (0.87%) Mattermost
8 13 (0.87%) SharePoint Server
9 12 (0.80%) JBoss
9 12 (0.80%) WebSphere
10 11 (0.74%) WebSphere Application Server
11 10 (0.67%) iPlanet
12 7 (0.47%) Exchange Server 2003
12 7 (0.47%) Exchange Server 2007
12 7 (0.47%) Office Communications Server
13 2 (0.13%) nginx
13 2 (0.13%) Tomcat
13 2 (0.13%) WordPress
Applications
1 143 (9.59%) Microsoft Office
2 35 (2.35%) Microsoft Excel
3 22 (1.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 16 (1.07%) MS Visio
5 4 (0.27%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.13%) Windchill
7 1 (0.067%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.067%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.067%) Trello
Business Applications
1 20 (1.34%) Remedy ITSM
2 6 (0.40%) Veritas eDiscovery
3 5 (0.34%) assyst
4 3 (0.20%) Dynamics CRM
5 2 (0.13%) SystmOne
5 2 (0.13%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.13%) Workday HCM
6 1 (0.067%) Eikon
6 1 (0.067%) Eze OMS
6 1 (0.067%) Fidessa
6 1 (0.067%) Remedy AR System
6 1 (0.067%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 662 (44.40%) Azure
2 641 (42.99%) Microsoft 365
3 494 (33.13%) Entra ID
4 186 (12.47%) AWS
5 111 (7.44%) OneDrive
6 103 (6.91%) GCP
7 54 (3.62%) SaaS
8 53 (3.55%) Azure DevOps
8 53 (3.55%) Power Platform
9 45 (3.02%) Azure Monitor
10 43 (2.88%) GitHub
11 41 (2.75%) Azure Sentinel
12 39 (2.62%) IaaS
13 37 (2.48%) Azure Logic Apps
14 36 (2.41%) PaaS
15 33 (2.21%) Serverless
16 30 (2.01%) Microsoft Purview
17 29 (1.95%) Power Automate
18 27 (1.81%) GitHub Actions
19 24 (1.61%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 287 (19.25%) DNS
2 197 (13.21%) Firewall
3 174 (11.67%) DHCP
4 130 (8.72%) VPN
5 91 (6.10%) TCP/IP
6 69 (4.63%) Wi-Fi
7 60 (4.02%) WAN
8 54 (3.62%) LAN
9 39 (2.62%) Network Security
10 38 (2.55%) Kerberos
11 36 (2.41%) Skype
12 32 (2.15%) SAN
13 31 (2.08%) VLAN
14 27 (1.81%) Wireless
15 23 (1.54%) Unified Communications
16 22 (1.48%) Cisco IOS
17 21 (1.41%) SSH
17 21 (1.41%) SSL
18 19 (1.27%) Internet
19 18 (1.21%) Cisco ISE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 49 (3.29%) SQL Server
2 27 (1.81%) Power BI
3 15 (1.01%) Azure SQL Database
4 13 (0.87%) Oracle Database
5 11 (0.74%) Elasticsearch
6 10 (0.67%) Data Lake
7 8 (0.54%) Amazon RDS
8 4 (0.27%) Metadata
8 4 (0.27%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (0.27%) Relational Database
8 4 (0.27%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 3 (0.20%) NoSQL
9 3 (0.20%) Tableau
10 2 (0.13%) Apache Cassandra
10 2 (0.13%) Data Warehouse
10 2 (0.13%) ImageNet
10 2 (0.13%) Looker
10 2 (0.13%) Oracle Reports
10 2 (0.13%) Power Query
10 2 (0.13%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 52 (3.49%) JIRA
2 46 (3.09%) Git
3 33 (2.21%) Jenkins
4 22 (1.48%) GitLab
5 19 (1.27%) MSI
6 14 (0.94%) Sonatype Nexus
7 11 (0.74%) Bitbucket Server
7 11 (0.74%) CA Release Automation
8 8 (0.54%) InstallShield
9 7 (0.47%) Burp Suite
9 7 (0.47%) Vagrant
10 6 (0.40%) AdminStudio
10 6 (0.40%) Metasploit
10 6 (0.40%) sqlmap
11 3 (0.20%) Artifactory
11 3 (0.20%) Bitbucket
11 3 (0.20%) Fiddler
11 3 (0.20%) Robot Framework
12 2 (0.13%) Atlassian Bamboo
12 2 (0.13%) SonarQube
General
1 587 (39.37%) Social Skills
2 176 (11.80%) Finance
3 134 (8.99%) Analytical Skills
4 122 (8.18%) Public Sector
5 72 (4.83%) Documentation Skills
6 46 (3.09%) Legal
7 32 (2.15%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 31 (2.08%) Banking
9 23 (1.54%) Manufacturing
10 22 (1.48%) Organisational Skills
11 21 (1.41%) Law
11 21 (1.41%) Telecoms
12 16 (1.07%) Marketing
13 14 (0.94%) Electronics
13 14 (0.94%) Presentation Skills
14 10 (0.67%) Aerospace
15 8 (0.54%) Influencing Skills
15 8 (0.54%) Military
16 7 (0.47%) Retail
16 7 (0.47%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 212 (14.22%) Support Engineer
2 195 (13.08%) Analyst
3 158 (10.60%) IT Support
4 132 (8.85%) Architect
5 112 (7.51%) IT Engineer
6 107 (7.18%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 102 (6.84%) Support Analyst
8 96 (6.44%) Senior
9 85 (5.70%) IT Support Engineer
10 83 (5.57%) Desktop Support
11 66 (4.43%) 2nd Line Support
12 65 (4.36%) Consultant
13 63 (4.23%) Desktop Engineer
14 55 (3.69%) Service Analyst
15 54 (3.62%) Desktop Support Engineer
15 54 (3.62%) Security Engineer
15 54 (3.62%) Service Desk Analyst
16 53 (3.55%) Platform Engineer
17 49 (3.29%) Deployment Engineer
18 48 (3.22%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 131 (8.79%) LDAP
2 86 (5.77%) OAuth
3 83 (5.57%) SAML
4 64 (4.29%) OpenID
4 64 (4.29%) REST
5 46 (3.09%) SailPoint
6 38 (2.55%) SOAP
7 33 (2.21%) Microsoft Graph
8 32 (2.15%) .NET
9 31 (2.08%) OAuth2
10 21 (1.41%) ARM Templates
10 21 (1.41%) React
11 17 (1.14%) YAML
12 16 (1.07%) Middleware
13 15 (1.01%) AngularJS
14 12 (0.80%) .NET Core
14 12 (0.80%) Node.js
14 12 (0.80%) Web Services
14 12 (0.80%) XMPP
15 10 (0.67%) JSON
Miscellaneous
1 102 (6.84%) Onboarding
2 74 (4.96%) PKI
3 65 (4.36%) Enterprise Software
4 63 (4.23%) Security Posture
5 46 (3.09%) Data Centre
6 45 (3.02%) Replication
7 43 (2.88%) Driving Licence
8 34 (2.28%) Management Information System
9 32 (2.15%) Self-Motivation
10 29 (1.95%) Video Conferencing
11 25 (1.68%) NHS
12 23 (1.54%) Cloud Native
12 23 (1.54%) Smartphone
13 22 (1.48%) Hybrid Cloud
14 21 (1.41%) CMDB
15 18 (1.21%) Data Protection Act
16 17 (1.14%) Fat Client
16 17 (1.14%) Thin Client
17 16 (1.07%) Legacy Systems
17 16 (1.07%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 921 (61.77%) Windows
2 318 (21.33%) Windows Server
3 306 (20.52%) Windows 10
4 171 (11.47%) Linux
5 62 (4.16%) Mac OS
6 57 (3.82%) Apple iOS
7 43 (2.88%) Android
8 33 (2.21%) Windows Server 2012
9 28 (1.88%) Windows Server 2016
10 25 (1.68%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 24 (1.61%) Windows Server 2019
12 18 (1.21%) VMS
12 18 (1.21%) Windows 7
12 18 (1.21%) Windows Server 2003
13 17 (1.14%) Unix
14 11 (0.74%) CentOS
15 9 (0.60%) Solaris
16 7 (0.47%) AIX
16 7 (0.47%) Amazon Linux
16 7 (0.47%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 315 (21.13%) Problem-Solving
2 270 (18.11%) ITIL
3 181 (12.14%) Customer Service
4 173 (11.60%) Migration
5 166 (11.13%) ITSM
6 157 (10.53%) DevOps
7 154 (10.33%) Identity Access Management
8 150 (10.06%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 133 (8.92%) Cybersecurity
10 119 (7.98%) Agile
10 119 (7.98%) CI/CD
11 111 (7.44%) Service Management
12 109 (7.31%) RBAC
13 106 (7.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 103 (6.91%) SIEM
15 92 (6.17%) Change Management
15 92 (6.17%) Infrastructure as Code
16 88 (5.90%) Privileged Access Management
17 83 (5.57%) Continuous Improvement
18 80 (5.37%) Zero Trust
Programming Languages
1 457 (30.65%) PowerShell
2 178 (11.94%) Python
3 98 (6.57%) SQL
4 49 (3.29%) Bash
5 39 (2.62%) Java
6 36 (2.41%) Bicep
7 28 (1.88%) JavaScript
8 23 (1.54%) C#
9 19 (1.27%) Groovy
9 19 (1.27%) Shell Script
10 18 (1.21%) Perl
11 17 (1.14%) TypeScript
12 16 (1.07%) BeanShell
13 14 (0.94%) Kusto Query Language
14 13 (0.87%) VBScript
15 6 (0.40%) Go
15 6 (0.40%) T-SQL
16 4 (0.27%) PHP
17 3 (0.20%) MATLAB
17 3 (0.20%) VB
Qualifications
1 450 (30.18%) Security Cleared
2 318 (21.33%) SC Cleared
3 145 (9.73%) Microsoft Certification
4 127 (8.52%) Degree
5 100 (6.71%) DV Cleared
6 55 (3.69%) CISSP
7 45 (3.02%) Azure Certification
8 41 (2.75%) ITIL Certification
9 36 (2.41%) Cisco Certification
9 36 (2.41%) CISM
10 31 (2.08%) MCSE
11 23 (1.54%) CCNA
12 22 (1.48%) MCSA
13 20 (1.34%) AWS Certification
13 20 (1.34%) CCNP
14 19 (1.27%) A+ Certification
14 19 (1.27%) BPSS Clearance
15 18 (1.21%) CompTIA Security+
16 17 (1.14%) Computer Science Degree
16 17 (1.14%) MCP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 86 (5.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 79 (5.30%) GDPR
3 57 (3.82%) NIST
4 41 (2.75%) SLA
5 18 (1.21%) NCSC
6 12 (0.80%) Cyber Essentials
6 12 (0.80%) PCI DSS
7 11 (0.74%) SOC 2
8 10 (0.67%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 7 (0.47%) Accessibility
10 6 (0.40%) QA
11 4 (0.27%) Data Quality
12 3 (0.20%) HIPAA
12 3 (0.20%) PMO
13 2 (0.13%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 2 (0.13%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 2 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 42001
13 2 (0.13%) NIST 800
13 2 (0.13%) PSD2
14 1 (0.067%) EU AI Act
System Software
1 156 (10.46%) VMware Infrastructure
2 64 (4.29%) Hyper-V
3 57 (3.82%) Docker
4 39 (2.62%) Virtual Desktop
5 33 (2.21%) Virtual Machines
5 33 (2.21%) VMware NSX
6 23 (1.54%) vSphere
7 16 (1.07%) VMware ESXi
8 15 (1.01%) Microsoft App-V
8 15 (1.01%) Terminal Services
9 10 (0.67%) DFS Replication
10 9 (0.60%) Virtual Servers
11 8 (0.54%) BitLocker
11 8 (0.54%) Firmware
11 8 (0.54%) Tivoli Directory Server
12 7 (0.47%) Brightmail
12 7 (0.47%) ISA Server
13 5 (0.34%) Microsoft Virtual Server
14 4 (0.27%) KVM
15 3 (0.20%) Xen
Systems Management
1 271 (18.18%) Microsoft Intune
2 235 (15.76%) SCCM
3 107 (7.18%) Terraform
4 106 (7.11%) Single Sign-On
5 76 (5.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 64 (4.29%) Ansible
7 49 (3.29%) Kubernetes
8 46 (3.09%) SCOM
9 44 (2.95%) vCenter Server
10 33 (2.21%) Jamf Pro
11 21 (1.41%) HP SiteScope
12 19 (1.27%) WSUS
13 16 (1.07%) Microsoft Clustering
14 13 (0.87%) Grafana
15 12 (0.80%) Nessus
16 11 (0.74%) CA Single Sign-On
16 11 (0.74%) Progress Chef
17 10 (0.67%) CA Wily
17 10 (0.67%) CASB
17 10 (0.67%) WMI
Vendors
1 940 (63.04%) Microsoft
2 221 (14.82%) VMware
3 151 (10.13%) ServiceNow
4 109 (7.31%) Cisco
5 91 (6.10%) CyberArk
6 87 (5.84%) Citrix
7 61 (4.09%) BeyondTrust
8 58 (3.89%) Splunk
9 46 (3.09%) Apple
10 44 (2.95%) SolarWinds
11 35 (2.35%) Google
12 32 (2.15%) Okta
13 31 (2.08%) Veeam
14 30 (2.01%) Oracle
15 29 (1.95%) Centrify
15 29 (1.95%) Remedy
16 27 (1.81%) Dell
17 26 (1.74%) Red Hat
18 23 (1.54%) Palo Alto
19 22 (1.48%) SAP