Microsoft Certification Contract Job Trends in England

Microsoft Certification
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in England with a requirement for Microsoft Certification qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 28 March 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 298 226 285
Rank change year-on-year -72 +59 +74
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 322 270 293
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.85% 1.11% 0.78%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.51% 3.56% 2.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 219 155 203
10th Percentile £224 £210 £205
25th Percentile £400 £313 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £508 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +1.50% - -
75th Percentile £620 £638 £597
90th Percentile £712 £725 £715
UK median daily rate £500 £481 £450
% change year-on-year +3.90% +6.94% -10.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 16 26 45
10th Percentile £6.00 £14.99 £13.69
25th Percentile £13.50 £15.44 £14.16
Median hourly rate £22.50 £21.46 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +4.85% +31.66% +5.16%
75th Percentile £28.67 £28.85 £21.37
90th Percentile £123.29 £37.50 £21.46
UK median hourly rate £22.50 £21.46 £16.30
% change year-on-year +4.85% +31.66% +5.16%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
England

Microsoft Certification 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 England.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 12,810 7,587 11,788
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.74% 31.28% 31.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,514 4,857 7,312
10th Percentile £338 £298 £300
25th Percentile £425 £419 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year -0.95% -2.33% -2.27%
75th Percentile £621 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £515 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -1.90% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 987 429 913
10th Percentile £16.35 £18.51 £14.00
25th Percentile £20.35 £25.26 £17.80
Median hourly rate £35.00 £50.00 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +33.33% -25.00%
75th Percentile £68.75 £68.00 £63.00
90th Percentile £85.36 £82.13 £76.91
UK median hourly rate £36.00 £42.50 £37.83
% change year-on-year -15.29% +12.35% -27.44%

Microsoft Certification
Job Vacancy Trend in England

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

Microsoft Certification job vacancy trend in England

Microsoft Certification
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Microsoft Certification.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Microsoft Certification

Microsoft Certification
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft Certification in England over the 6 months to 28 March 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft Certification in England

Microsoft Certification
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Microsoft Certification.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Microsoft Certification

Microsoft Certification
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft Certification in England over the 6 months to 28 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft Certification in England

Microsoft Certification
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 Microsoft Certification within the England region over the 6 months to 28 March 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
London -8 124 £525 +5.00% 73
North of England -72 50 £469 -7.21% 40
South West -3 49 £560 +2.99% 30
North West -52 39 £465 -7.08% 24
Midlands -63 39 £400 +15.94% 39
South East -67 34 £503 -1.95% 70
West Midlands -49 31 £425 +89.73% 27
East of England -36 21 £173 -54.90% 27
East Midlands -29 8 £215 -46.25% 12
Yorkshire -47 8 £484 -19.33% 11
North East -8 3 - - 5
Microsoft Certification
UK

Microsoft Certification
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 42 (13.04%) Microsoft Exchange
2 32 (9.94%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.93%) Confluence
3 3 (0.93%) Exchange Server 2013
4 1 (0.31%) Apache Spark
4 1 (0.31%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 18 (5.59%) Microsoft Office
2 11 (3.42%) Microsoft Excel
3 8 (2.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.24%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.93%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 8 (2.48%) Veritas eDiscovery
2 7 (2.17%) Maximo
3 6 (1.86%) Dynamics CRM
4 2 (0.62%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.31%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 150 (46.58%) Azure
2 103 (31.99%) Microsoft 365
3 62 (19.25%) Entra ID
4 56 (17.39%) Power Platform
5 33 (10.25%) Azure DevOps
6 29 (9.01%) Microsoft Purview
7 26 (8.07%) AWS
7 26 (8.07%) Power Automate
7 26 (8.07%) PowerApps
8 21 (6.52%) Azure Data Factory
8 21 (6.52%) Azure Synapse Analytics
9 19 (5.90%) Azure Monitor
9 19 (5.90%) Dynamics 365
10 17 (5.28%) Microsoft Copilot
11 16 (4.97%) GitHub
11 16 (4.97%) OneDrive
12 14 (4.35%) Azure AKS
13 13 (4.04%) Azure Logic Apps
13 13 (4.04%) Azure Sentinel
14 12 (3.73%) Copilot Studio
Communications & Networking
1 40 (12.42%) Firewall
2 39 (12.11%) DNS
3 32 (9.94%) VPN
4 21 (6.52%) SAN
5 13 (4.04%) TCP/IP
6 12 (3.73%) Wi-Fi
7 11 (3.42%) DHCP
7 11 (3.42%) LAN
8 9 (2.80%) Network Security
9 6 (1.86%) SSL
9 6 (1.86%) VLAN
10 4 (1.24%) DKIM
10 4 (1.24%) DMARC
10 4 (1.24%) Skype
11 3 (0.93%) DMZ
11 3 (0.93%) Kerberos
11 3 (0.93%) NetScaler
11 3 (0.93%) RS-232
11 3 (0.93%) SMTP
11 3 (0.93%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (9.32%) SQL Server
2 26 (8.07%) Power BI
3 17 (5.28%) Data Lake
4 12 (3.73%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 9 (2.80%) MySQL
5 9 (2.80%) PostgreSQL
6 8 (2.48%) Azure SQL Database
6 8 (2.48%) Data Warehouse
7 7 (2.17%) Metadata
8 6 (1.86%) Spark SQL
9 5 (1.55%) Delta Lake
9 5 (1.55%) Power Query
10 4 (1.24%) Metadata Repository
11 3 (0.93%) Oracle Database
11 3 (0.93%) Star Schema
11 3 (0.93%) Tableau
12 2 (0.62%) Big Data
12 2 (0.62%) Relational Database
13 1 (0.31%) Oracle Database 12c
13 1 (0.31%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 15 (4.66%) Git
2 5 (1.55%) JIRA
3 4 (1.24%) Bitbucket
3 4 (1.24%) GitLab
3 4 (1.24%) Jenkins
4 2 (0.62%) Cypress.io
4 2 (0.62%) JDeveloper
4 2 (0.62%) Selenium
4 2 (0.62%) Visual Studio Code
4 2 (0.62%) WebDriver
5 1 (0.31%) AdminStudio
5 1 (0.31%) CircleCI
5 1 (0.31%) InstallShield
5 1 (0.31%) MLflow
5 1 (0.31%) MSI
5 1 (0.31%) Sonatype Nexus
5 1 (0.31%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 124 (38.51%) Social Skills
2 52 (16.15%) Analytical Skills
3 35 (10.87%) Public Sector
4 32 (9.94%) Finance
5 15 (4.66%) Documentation Skills
6 13 (4.04%) Legal
7 12 (3.73%) Banking
8 7 (2.17%) Telecoms
9 6 (1.86%) Marketing
10 5 (1.55%) Military
11 4 (1.24%) Aerospace
11 4 (1.24%) International Banking
12 3 (0.93%) Front Office
12 3 (0.93%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.93%) Organisational Skills
12 3 (0.93%) Polish Language
12 3 (0.93%) Retail
13 2 (0.62%) Aeronautics
13 2 (0.62%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 2 (0.62%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 52 (16.15%) Architect
2 36 (11.18%) Analyst
3 27 (8.39%) Senior
4 25 (7.76%) IT Engineer
5 21 (6.52%) Administrator
5 21 (6.52%) IT Support
5 21 (6.52%) Solutions Architect
6 19 (5.90%) Field Engineer
6 19 (5.90%) Field Service Engineer
7 18 (5.59%) Support Engineer
8 16 (4.97%) Support Analyst
9 15 (4.66%) Azure Engineer
9 15 (4.66%) Lead
9 15 (4.66%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
10 14 (4.35%) DBA
10 14 (4.35%) IT Analyst
10 14 (4.35%) Wintel Engineer
11 13 (4.04%) Cloud Engineer
11 13 (4.04%) Developer
11 13 (4.04%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (8.39%) OAuth
2 23 (7.14%) SAML
3 22 (6.83%) OpenID
4 18 (5.59%) OAuth2
5 12 (3.73%) .NET
5 12 (3.73%) ARM Templates
6 10 (3.11%) LDAP
6 10 (3.11%) Microsoft Graph
6 10 (3.11%) REST
7 4 (1.24%) JSON
8 3 (0.93%) YAML
9 2 (0.62%) ASP.NET Web API
9 2 (0.62%) CSS
9 2 (0.62%) Jest
9 2 (0.62%) Model Context Protocol
9 2 (0.62%) Next.js
9 2 (0.62%) PySpark
9 2 (0.62%) React
9 2 (0.62%) RESTful
9 2 (0.62%) Tailwind CSS
Miscellaneous
1 20 (6.21%) Analytical Mindset
1 20 (6.21%) Data Centre
2 19 (5.90%) Enterprise Software
2 19 (5.90%) Replication
3 17 (5.28%) Onboarding
4 16 (4.97%) Hybrid Cloud
5 11 (3.42%) BYOD
5 11 (3.42%) PKI
6 10 (3.11%) Clustering
6 10 (3.11%) Security Posture
7 9 (2.80%) Private Cloud
8 8 (2.48%) Management Information System
9 7 (2.17%) Cloud Native
10 5 (1.55%) Cloud Security Posture
10 5 (1.55%) Legacy Systems
10 5 (1.55%) Low-Code
10 5 (1.55%) NHS
10 5 (1.55%) Operational Technology
10 5 (1.55%) Security Operations Centre
11 3 (0.93%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 119 (36.96%) Windows
2 60 (18.63%) Windows Server
3 29 (9.01%) Windows 10
4 20 (6.21%) Linux
5 13 (4.04%) Windows Server 2012
6 12 (3.73%) Windows Server 2003
7 8 (2.48%) Mac OS
8 7 (2.17%) Windows 7
8 7 (2.17%) Windows Server 2016
9 6 (1.86%) Unix
10 5 (1.55%) Android
11 4 (1.24%) VMS
12 3 (0.93%) CentOS
13 2 (0.62%) AIX
13 2 (0.62%) Apple iOS
13 2 (0.62%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 89 (27.64%) Problem-Solving
2 65 (20.19%) ITIL
3 54 (16.77%) Migration
4 48 (14.91%) DevOps
5 47 (14.60%) Customer Service
6 46 (14.29%) CI/CD
7 43 (13.35%) RBAC
8 39 (12.11%) Analytics
8 39 (12.11%) Identity Access Management
9 34 (10.56%) Agile
10 32 (9.94%) Disaster Recovery
11 30 (9.32%) Cloud Security
11 30 (9.32%) Identity Management
12 29 (9.01%) Roadmaps
13 28 (8.70%) Business Intelligence
13 28 (8.70%) Computer Science
13 28 (8.70%) Continuous Improvement
13 28 (8.70%) Infrastructure as Code
14 27 (8.39%) High Availability
15 26 (8.07%) Data Loss Prevention
Programming Languages
1 101 (31.37%) PowerShell
2 41 (12.73%) SQL
3 30 (9.32%) Python
4 18 (5.59%) Bicep
5 10 (3.11%) C#
6 7 (2.17%) Bash
6 7 (2.17%) T-SQL
7 5 (1.55%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 5 (1.55%) JavaScript
8 4 (1.24%) R
8 4 (1.24%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.31%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.31%) PL/SQL
9 1 (0.31%) VBScript
9 1 (0.31%) X++
Qualifications
1 104 (32.30%) Security Cleared
2 89 (27.64%) Degree
3 79 (24.53%) MCSE
4 76 (23.60%) SC Cleared
5 63 (19.57%) Azure Certification
6 34 (10.56%) Cisco Certification
7 33 (10.25%) DV Cleared
7 33 (10.25%) MCSA
8 29 (9.01%) A+ Certification
9 27 (8.39%) Computer Science Degree
9 27 (8.39%) Network+ Certification
10 25 (7.76%) CCNA
10 25 (7.76%) CISSP
11 21 (6.52%) Microsoft Certified Professional
12 14 (4.35%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 12 (3.73%) CompTIA Security+
14 11 (3.42%) CISM
15 10 (3.11%) CCNP
16 9 (2.80%) AWS Certification
17 8 (2.48%) VCAP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (5.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 18 (5.59%) NIST
3 14 (4.35%) GDPR
4 8 (2.48%) NCSC
4 8 (2.48%) NIST 800
5 6 (1.86%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.86%) SLA
6 5 (1.55%) Data Quality
7 4 (1.24%) Accessibility
7 4 (1.24%) QA
8 2 (0.62%) HMG Security Policy Framework
8 2 (0.62%) WCAG
9 1 (0.31%) California Consumer Privacy Act
9 1 (0.31%) GxP
9 1 (0.31%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.31%) PMO
9 1 (0.31%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.31%) SOC 2
System Software
1 135 (41.93%) Active Directory
2 25 (7.76%) VMware Infrastructure
3 12 (3.73%) Docker
4 11 (3.42%) Virtual Desktop
5 10 (3.11%) VMware ESXi
5 10 (3.11%) vSphere
6 9 (2.80%) Virtual Machines
7 8 (2.48%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.93%) Firmware
9 1 (0.31%) BitLocker
9 1 (0.31%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 40 (12.42%) Microsoft Intune
2 38 (11.80%) Terraform
3 30 (9.32%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 22 (6.83%) SCCM
5 21 (6.52%) Kubernetes
6 19 (5.90%) Ansible
6 19 (5.90%) Single Sign-On
7 9 (2.80%) vCenter Server
8 6 (1.86%) CASB
8 6 (1.86%) WSUS
9 5 (1.55%) Nessus
10 4 (1.24%) SCOM
11 2 (0.62%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
11 2 (0.62%) PowerCLI
12 1 (0.31%) Cisco CUCM
12 1 (0.31%) Jamf Pro
12 1 (0.31%) Kubeflow
12 1 (0.31%) PaperCut
12 1 (0.31%) Podman
12 1 (0.31%) QRadar
Vendors
1 279 (86.65%) Microsoft
2 37 (11.49%) VMware
3 21 (6.52%) Cisco
3 21 (6.52%) Dell
4 19 (5.90%) Oracle
5 17 (5.28%) ServiceNow
6 14 (4.35%) Citrix
7 10 (3.11%) Databricks
7 10 (3.11%) Red Hat
8 9 (2.80%) Tenable
9 8 (2.48%) IBM
10 7 (2.17%) Veeam
11 6 (1.86%) Apple
11 6 (1.86%) CyberArk
12 5 (1.55%) Remedy
12 5 (1.55%) SolarWinds
13 4 (1.24%) Atlassian
13 4 (1.24%) CheckPoint
13 4 (1.24%) Foundry
13 4 (1.24%) Splunk