Data Centre Contract Job Trends in England

Data Center
UK > England

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Data Centre in contract job vacancies in England. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Data Centre over the 6 months leading up to 17 November 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 144 111 97
Rank change year-on-year -33 -14 +16
Contract jobs citing Data Centre 629 659 973
As % of all contract jobs in England 2.11% 2.13% 2.44%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 5.78% 6.76% 7.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 403 400 675
10th Percentile £221 £360 £328
25th Percentile £380 £450 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £538 £538
Median % change year-on-year -4.19% - -0.46%
75th Percentile £600 £625 £650
90th Percentile £712 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% +2.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 23 18
10th Percentile £25.04 £11.75 £19.92
25th Percentile - £12.08 £22.02
Median hourly rate £25.15 £20.00 £23.00
Median % change year-on-year +25.75% -13.04% -63.49%
75th Percentile £35.00 £26.00 £60.31
90th Percentile £68.35 £30.65 £76.53
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £23.34 £23.00
% change year-on-year +7.77% +1.47% -63.20%

All Generic Skills
England

Data Centre falls under the General and Transferable Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring generic IT skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for generic IT skills 10,884 9,753 12,923
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 36.43% 31.57% 32.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,816 5,825 8,793
10th Percentile £285 £300 £275
25th Percentile £408 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £550 £550
Median % change year-on-year -5.45% - -2.22%
75th Percentile £638 £675 £675
90th Percentile £750 £800 £775
UK median daily rate £510 £530 £550
% change year-on-year -3.77% -3.64% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 587 306 467
10th Percentile £13.50 £16.90 £17.00
25th Percentile £18.23 £24.18 £21.25
Median hourly rate £27.50 £46.18 £44.50
Median % change year-on-year -40.45% +3.78% +50.85%
75th Percentile £53.44 £70.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £72.70 £75.16 £77.70
UK median hourly rate £26.64 £37.50 £44.50
% change year-on-year -28.96% -15.73% +50.85%

Data Centre
Job Vacancy Trend in England

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

Data Centre job vacancy trend in England

Data Centre
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Data Centre.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Data Centre

Data Centre
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Data Centre in England over the 6 months to 17 November 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Data Centre in England

Data Centre
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Data Centre.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Data Centre

Data Centre
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Data Centre in England over the 6 months to 17 November 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Data Centre in England

Data Centre
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 Data Centre within the England region over the 6 months to 17 November 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 -4 257 £525 - 284
North of England -13 136 £490 -2.10% 50
Midlands -9 95 £431 -28.17% 41
North West -1 75 £550 +10.00% 37
South East -32 73 £431 -17.86% 117
West Midlands -11 72 £465 -22.50% 34
Yorkshire -22 56 £450 +7.14% 8
South West -28 34 £550 - 35
East of England -20 25 £600 +42.01% 42
East Midlands -4 23 £358 -19.55% 7
North East -5 8 £175 - 5
Data Centre
UK

Data Centre
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 29 (4.61%) SharePoint
2 21 (3.34%) Confluence
3 20 (3.18%) Microsoft Exchange
4 10 (1.59%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.79%) Apache
5 5 (0.79%) Apache Airflow
5 5 (0.79%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.64%) HCL Notes
7 3 (0.48%) CICS
7 3 (0.48%) GeoServer
7 3 (0.48%) nginx
7 3 (0.48%) Smallworld
7 3 (0.48%) ThingWorx
7 3 (0.48%) Tomcat
8 2 (0.32%) FileNet
8 2 (0.32%) WebSphere
9 1 (0.16%) IIS
9 1 (0.16%) OpenEdge
9 1 (0.16%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 55 (8.74%) Microsoft Office
2 31 (4.93%) Microsoft Excel
3 26 (4.13%) MS Visio
4 16 (2.54%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 14 (2.23%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.16%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 6 (0.95%) Payment Gateway
2 5 (0.79%) Remedy ITSM
3 3 (0.48%) Oracle Financials
4 2 (0.32%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.16%) Epicor iScala
5 1 (0.16%) Primavera
5 1 (0.16%) StreamServe
Cloud Services
1 117 (18.60%) Azure
2 90 (14.31%) AWS
3 68 (10.81%) Microsoft 365
4 35 (5.56%) GCP
5 21 (3.34%) Power Platform
6 19 (3.02%) Entra ID
7 14 (2.23%) OpenShift
8 13 (2.07%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 11 (1.75%) SaaS
10 9 (1.43%) Google Kubernetes Engine
10 9 (1.43%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 8 (1.27%) PaaS
12 7 (1.11%) IaaS
12 7 (1.11%) OCI
13 6 (0.95%) Akamai
13 6 (0.95%) AWS Direct Connect
13 6 (0.95%) npm
13 6 (0.95%) OneDrive
14 5 (0.79%) Cloud Computing
14 5 (0.79%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 177 (28.14%) Firewall
2 103 (16.38%) WAN
3 97 (15.42%) Wireless
4 60 (9.54%) DNS
5 58 (9.22%) BGP
6 55 (8.74%) VPN
7 51 (8.11%) LAN
8 39 (6.20%) SAN
9 38 (6.04%) DHCP
9 38 (6.04%) Network Security
10 36 (5.72%) OSPF
11 35 (5.56%) SD-WAN
12 34 (5.41%) Cisco ISE
12 34 (5.41%) Wi-Fi
13 32 (5.09%) VLAN
14 31 (4.93%) VXLAN
15 30 (4.77%) Cisco Nexus
16 27 (4.29%) MPLS
16 27 (4.29%) TCP/IP
17 21 (3.34%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.86%) Power BI
2 14 (2.23%) Relational Database
3 8 (1.27%) RDBMS
3 8 (1.27%) SQL Server
4 6 (0.95%) NoSQL
5 5 (0.79%) Apache Hive
5 5 (0.79%) Hadoop
5 5 (0.79%) HBase
5 5 (0.79%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.64%) Data Mining
6 4 (0.64%) GIS
6 4 (0.64%) Oracle Database
7 3 (0.48%) Big Data
7 3 (0.48%) Data Lake
7 3 (0.48%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.48%) DataStage
7 3 (0.48%) Geospatial Data
7 3 (0.48%) InfluxDB
7 3 (0.48%) QGIS
7 3 (0.48%) SQL Server Integration Services
Development Applications
1 18 (2.86%) JIRA
2 17 (2.70%) Git
3 12 (1.91%) Jenkins
3 12 (1.91%) Sonatype Nexus
4 11 (1.75%) GitLab
5 10 (1.59%) Maven
6 9 (1.43%) SonarQube
7 4 (0.64%) Gradle
7 4 (0.64%) Selenium
8 3 (0.48%) ER Studio
8 3 (0.48%) ERwin
8 3 (0.48%) TeamCity
9 2 (0.32%) Bitbucket
9 2 (0.32%) Rational DOORS
10 1 (0.16%) Fiddler
10 1 (0.16%) Postman
General
1 159 (25.28%) Social Skills
2 132 (20.99%) Finance
3 72 (11.45%) Public Sector
4 68 (10.81%) Telecoms
5 67 (10.65%) Analytical Skills
6 66 (10.49%) Banking
7 32 (5.09%) Documentation Skills
8 31 (4.93%) Manufacturing
9 25 (3.97%) Electronics
9 25 (3.97%) Marketing
10 19 (3.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 19 (3.02%) Presentation Skills
11 14 (2.23%) Organisational Skills
12 12 (1.91%) Influencing Skills
13 7 (1.11%) Front Office
13 7 (1.11%) Investment Banking
13 7 (1.11%) Local Government
14 6 (0.95%) Retail
15 5 (0.79%) Billing
15 5 (0.79%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 101 (16.06%) Network Engineer
2 96 (15.26%) Architect
3 65 (10.33%) Analyst
4 47 (7.47%) Project Manager
5 36 (5.72%) Senior
6 31 (4.93%) Network Architect
7 30 (4.77%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 29 (4.61%) Support Engineer
9 28 (4.45%) Data Centre Manager
9 28 (4.45%) IT Support
9 28 (4.45%) Security Engineer
10 26 (4.13%) Infrastructure Manager
11 25 (3.97%) Consultant
12 24 (3.82%) Desktop Support
13 23 (3.66%) 2nd Line Desktop Support
13 23 (3.66%) 2nd Line Support
13 23 (3.66%) Data Centre Engineer
13 23 (3.66%) SC Cleared Desktop Support
14 22 (3.50%) Lead
15 21 (3.34%) Cisco Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (2.86%) 802.1X
2 17 (2.70%) Middleware
3 16 (2.54%) RFC 2544
4 5 (0.79%) Spark Streaming
5 4 (0.64%) Jinja
6 2 (0.32%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.32%) LDAP
6 2 (0.32%) ModSecurity
6 2 (0.32%) REST
7 1 (0.16%) .NET
7 1 (0.16%) ASP.NET
7 1 (0.16%) eBPF
7 1 (0.16%) EJB
7 1 (0.16%) NETCONF
7 1 (0.16%) OpenConfig
7 1 (0.16%) OpenTelemetry
7 1 (0.16%) RESTCONF
7 1 (0.16%) SAML
7 1 (0.16%) Web Services
7 1 (0.16%) YANG
Miscellaneous
1 32 (5.09%) Hybrid Cloud
2 26 (4.13%) Cloud Native
3 22 (3.50%) Public Cloud
4 21 (3.34%) Replication
5 19 (3.02%) Driving Licence
6 17 (2.70%) Fibre Optics
7 15 (2.38%) Onboarding
8 14 (2.23%) Mainframe
9 13 (2.07%) Private Cloud
10 11 (1.75%) Data Protection Act
10 11 (1.75%) PKI
10 11 (1.75%) Self-Motivation
11 10 (1.59%) Management Information System
12 9 (1.43%) Clustering
12 9 (1.43%) Product Ownership
13 8 (1.27%) SCADA
14 7 (1.11%) Enterprise Storage
15 6 (0.95%) Analytical Mindset
15 6 (0.95%) Renewable Energy
15 6 (0.95%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 91 (14.47%) Windows
2 62 (9.86%) Linux
3 46 (7.31%) Android
4 44 (7.00%) Mac OS
5 36 (5.72%) Windows Server
6 19 (3.02%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 17 (2.70%) Unix
8 12 (1.91%) CentOS
9 8 (1.27%) Ubuntu
10 5 (0.79%) Windows 10
11 4 (0.64%) Apple iOS
11 4 (0.64%) Windows Server 2008
11 4 (0.64%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.48%) Solaris
13 2 (0.32%) AIX
13 2 (0.32%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.32%) zOS
14 1 (0.16%) MVS
14 1 (0.16%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 113 (17.97%) Migration
2 74 (11.76%) Problem-Solving
3 67 (10.65%) Stakeholder Management
4 61 (9.70%) Agile
5 50 (7.95%) ITIL
6 49 (7.79%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 48 (7.63%) Service Management
8 44 (7.00%) Customer Service
9 43 (6.84%) Change Management
10 41 (6.52%) CI/CD
11 40 (6.36%) Infrastructure as Code
12 39 (6.20%) Business Intelligence
12 39 (6.20%) High Availability
12 39 (6.20%) Roadmaps
13 38 (6.04%) DevOps
13 38 (6.04%) Network Design
14 35 (5.56%) Cybersecurity
14 35 (5.56%) Load Balancing
15 34 (5.41%) Disaster Recovery
15 34 (5.41%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 65 (10.33%) Python
2 41 (6.52%) PowerShell
3 31 (4.93%) SQL
4 18 (2.86%) Java
5 17 (2.70%) Bash
6 10 (1.59%) Perl
7 8 (1.27%) Lisp
7 8 (1.27%) Shell Script
8 4 (0.64%) C
8 4 (0.64%) Go
9 3 (0.48%) Bicep
9 3 (0.48%) C#
10 2 (0.32%) AWK
10 2 (0.32%) JavaScript
10 2 (0.32%) sed
10 2 (0.32%) VBA
11 1 (0.16%) C++
11 1 (0.16%) COBOL
11 1 (0.16%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.16%) PL/SQL
Qualifications
1 194 (30.84%) Security Cleared
2 164 (26.07%) SC Cleared
3 70 (11.13%) Cisco Certification
4 50 (7.95%) Degree
5 46 (7.31%) CCNP
6 39 (6.20%) DV Cleared
7 23 (3.66%) CCIE
8 20 (3.18%) CCNA
9 17 (2.70%) AWS Certification
10 13 (2.07%) CISSP
11 11 (1.75%) JNCIE
12 8 (1.27%) Computer Science Degree
12 8 (1.27%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 7 (1.11%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 7 (1.11%) CCSP
13 7 (1.11%) PMI Certification
13 7 (1.11%) PMP
14 6 (0.95%) BPSS Clearance
14 6 (0.95%) VCAP
15 5 (0.79%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (3.18%) PCI DSS
1 20 (3.18%) SLA
2 19 (3.02%) NIST
3 17 (2.70%) PMO
4 16 (2.54%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 12 (1.91%) GDPR
6 11 (1.75%) Data Quality
7 9 (1.43%) QA
8 4 (0.64%) NCSC
9 2 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.16%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.16%) GRC
10 1 (0.16%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
10 1 (0.16%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.16%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 1 (0.16%) SOC 2
System Software
1 64 (10.17%) VMware Infrastructure
2 56 (8.90%) Active Directory
3 31 (4.93%) VMware NSX
4 23 (3.66%) Docker
5 17 (2.70%) Hyper-V
6 16 (2.54%) vSphere
7 11 (1.75%) Virtual Machines
8 7 (1.11%) Firmware
8 7 (1.11%) VMware ESXi
9 5 (0.79%) HDFS
10 4 (0.64%) KVM
10 4 (0.64%) NFS
11 3 (0.48%) GPFS
12 2 (0.32%) Microsoft App-V
13 1 (0.16%) Lustre
13 1 (0.16%) Samba
13 1 (0.16%) SRDF
13 1 (0.16%) Veritas Cluster Server
13 1 (0.16%) VMware Workstation
13 1 (0.16%) Xen
Systems Management
1 64 (10.17%) Ansible
2 53 (8.43%) Terraform
3 31 (4.93%) FortiGate
4 25 (3.97%) SCCM
5 18 (2.86%) Kubernetes
6 13 (2.07%) Microsoft Intune
7 9 (1.43%) Grafana
7 9 (1.43%) SCOM
7 9 (1.43%) vCenter Server
8 7 (1.11%) Single Sign-On
9 6 (0.95%) CASB
9 6 (0.95%) Puppet
10 5 (0.79%) Hadoop YARN
10 5 (0.79%) SCOrch
11 4 (0.64%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 4 (0.64%) Argo
11 4 (0.64%) OpenView
12 3 (0.48%) Jamf Pro
12 3 (0.48%) OPNET
12 3 (0.48%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 213 (33.86%) Cisco
2 98 (15.58%) Microsoft
3 84 (13.35%) VMware
4 60 (9.54%) Dell
4 60 (9.54%) F5
5 53 (8.43%) HP
6 51 (8.11%) Palo Alto
7 49 (7.79%) Juniper
8 43 (6.84%) Apple
9 33 (5.25%) ServiceNow
10 32 (5.09%) Fortinet
11 30 (4.77%) SAP
12 23 (3.66%) Meraki
12 23 (3.66%) Oracle
13 22 (3.50%) SolarWinds
14 21 (3.34%) Arista
15 16 (2.54%) Remedy
16 15 (2.38%) CheckPoint
16 15 (2.38%) Citrix
17 13 (2.07%) IBM