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 8 May 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 May 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 299 226 266
Rank change year-on-year -73 +40 +95
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 311 275 321
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.77% 1.13% 0.87%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.38% 3.62% 2.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 206 155 209
10th Percentile £161 £200 £183
25th Percentile £350 £257 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £478 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -4.50% - -0.50%
75th Percentile £588 £634 £575
90th Percentile £688 £716 £675
UK median daily rate £475 £475 £475
% change year-on-year - - -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 14 33 61
10th Percentile £21.35 - £13.69
25th Percentile £41.50 £14.99 £14.16
Median hourly rate £63.14 £17.44 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +262.01% +6.99% +5.16%
75th Percentile £178.75 £21.46 £21.37
90th Percentile - £36.75 £21.46
UK median hourly rate £63.14 £17.44 £16.30
% change year-on-year +262.01% +6.99% +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 13,083 7,596 11,497
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 32.29% 31.35% 31.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,792 4,819 7,090
10th Percentile £340 £289 £310
25th Percentile £425 £414 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year -0.95% -2.33% -2.27%
75th Percentile £621 £626 £650
90th Percentile £725 £725 £750
UK median daily rate £519 £525 £535
% change year-on-year -1.14% -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 963 440 982
10th Percentile £17.10 £18.13 £14.00
25th Percentile £21.25 £22.27 £18.00
Median hourly rate £48.05 £40.55 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +18.51% +1.36% -23.81%
75th Percentile £72.52 £67.50 £62.25
90th Percentile £85.50 £81.35 £77.45
UK median hourly rate £47.54 £38.27 £40.00
% change year-on-year +24.22% -4.33% -25.93%

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 8 May 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 8 May 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 8 May 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 -31 113 £525 +5.00% 76
North of England -59 63 £476 +3.28% 68
North West -48 47 £476 +0.23% 32
South East -64 40 £256 -51.19% 73
South West -25 39 £500 -9.09% 29
Midlands -58 32 £425 +72.94% 37
West Midlands -50 26 £425 +72.94% 18
East of England -44 21 £181 -9.38% 38
Yorkshire -38 13 £484 +21.00% 27
East Midlands -23 6 £275 - 19
North East -16 3 - - 10
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 37 (11.90%) Microsoft Exchange
2 28 (9.00%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.96%) Exchange Server 2013
4 1 (0.32%) Apache Spark
4 1 (0.32%) Confluence
Applications
1 20 (6.43%) Microsoft Office
2 6 (1.93%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.64%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.32%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 8 (2.57%) Veritas eDiscovery
2 5 (1.61%) Maximo
3 4 (1.29%) Dynamics CRM
4 2 (0.64%) Oracle Payables
5 1 (0.32%) Dynamics AX
Cloud Services
1 141 (45.34%) Azure
2 86 (27.65%) Microsoft 365
3 61 (19.61%) Entra ID
4 49 (15.76%) Power Platform
5 30 (9.65%) Microsoft Purview
6 29 (9.32%) Azure DevOps
7 26 (8.36%) PowerApps
8 25 (8.04%) Power Automate
9 23 (7.40%) Azure Data Factory
10 21 (6.75%) AWS
10 21 (6.75%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 19 (6.11%) GitHub
12 17 (5.47%) Dynamics 365
13 16 (5.14%) OneDrive
14 15 (4.82%) Azure Monitor
15 12 (3.86%) Azure AKS
15 12 (3.86%) Microsoft Copilot
16 11 (3.54%) Azure Logic Apps
16 11 (3.54%) Azure Sentinel
17 9 (2.89%) Azure Key Vault
Communications & Networking
1 41 (13.18%) SAN
2 27 (8.68%) DNS
3 26 (8.36%) Firewall
4 24 (7.72%) VPN
5 12 (3.86%) TCP/IP
6 9 (2.89%) DHCP
6 9 (2.89%) LAN
7 7 (2.25%) Wi-Fi
8 6 (1.93%) Network Security
8 6 (1.93%) SSL
9 5 (1.61%) Kerberos
9 5 (1.61%) VLAN
10 4 (1.29%) DMZ
10 4 (1.29%) NAS
11 3 (0.96%) NGFW
11 3 (0.96%) SMTP
11 3 (0.96%) VoIP
12 2 (0.64%) DKIM
12 2 (0.64%) DMARC
12 2 (0.64%) RS-232
Database & Business Intelligence
1 27 (8.68%) Power BI
1 27 (8.68%) SQL Server
2 14 (4.50%) Data Lake
3 12 (3.86%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 9 (2.89%) Azure SQL Database
4 9 (2.89%) Data Warehouse
4 9 (2.89%) Metadata
5 7 (2.25%) PostgreSQL
6 6 (1.93%) MySQL
6 6 (1.93%) Spark SQL
7 5 (1.61%) Delta Lake
7 5 (1.61%) Power Query
8 4 (1.29%) Metadata Repository
9 3 (0.96%) Big Data
9 3 (0.96%) Oracle Database
9 3 (0.96%) Star Schema
10 2 (0.64%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.64%) Tableau
11 1 (0.32%) MongoDB
11 1 (0.32%) Oracle Database 12c
Development Applications
1 15 (4.82%) Git
2 5 (1.61%) GitLab
3 3 (0.96%) Visual Studio Code
4 2 (0.64%) Bitbucket
4 2 (0.64%) Cypress.io
4 2 (0.64%) JDeveloper
4 2 (0.64%) JIRA
4 2 (0.64%) Selenium
4 2 (0.64%) WebDriver
5 1 (0.32%) AdminStudio
5 1 (0.32%) InstallShield
5 1 (0.32%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.32%) MLflow
5 1 (0.32%) MSI
5 1 (0.32%) Sonatype Nexus
5 1 (0.32%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 99 (31.83%) Social Skills
2 68 (21.86%) Analytical Skills
3 37 (11.90%) Finance
4 32 (10.29%) Public Sector
5 16 (5.14%) Telecoms
6 14 (4.50%) Legal
7 9 (2.89%) Banking
7 9 (2.89%) Documentation Skills
8 4 (1.29%) Aerospace
8 4 (1.29%) Front Office
8 4 (1.29%) Investment Banking
8 4 (1.29%) Marketing
8 4 (1.29%) Military
9 3 (0.96%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 3 (0.96%) International Banking
9 3 (0.96%) Organisational Skills
10 2 (0.64%) Aeronautics
10 2 (0.64%) Influencing Skills
10 2 (0.64%) Law
10 2 (0.64%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 46 (14.79%) Architect
2 42 (13.50%) IT Engineer
3 37 (11.90%) Field Engineer
3 37 (11.90%) Field Service Engineer
4 31 (9.97%) Senior
5 29 (9.32%) IT Support
6 28 (9.00%) Analyst
7 20 (6.43%) Support Engineer
8 18 (5.79%) IT Support Engineer
8 18 (5.79%) Wintel Engineer
9 16 (5.14%) Administrator
9 16 (5.14%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
9 16 (5.14%) Support Analyst
10 15 (4.82%) IT Analyst
10 15 (4.82%) Solutions Architect
11 13 (4.18%) Cloud Engineer
11 13 (4.18%) Developer
11 13 (4.18%) Field Support Engineer
12 11 (3.54%) DBA
12 11 (3.54%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (4.82%) OAuth
2 13 (4.18%) OpenID
2 13 (4.18%) SAML
3 12 (3.86%) .NET
4 11 (3.54%) LDAP
4 11 (3.54%) OAuth2
5 10 (3.22%) ARM Templates
6 6 (1.93%) Microsoft Graph
7 5 (1.61%) ONVIF
7 5 (1.61%) REST
8 4 (1.29%) SailPoint
8 4 (1.29%) Web Services
8 4 (1.29%) YAML
9 3 (0.96%) React
10 2 (0.64%) CSS
10 2 (0.64%) Jest
10 2 (0.64%) OpenGL
10 2 (0.64%) PySpark
10 2 (0.64%) Qt
10 2 (0.64%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 40 (12.86%) Analytical Mindset
1 40 (12.86%) Data Centre
2 22 (7.07%) Onboarding
3 18 (5.79%) Replication
4 17 (5.47%) Enterprise Software
5 16 (5.14%) Clustering
6 10 (3.22%) BYOD
6 10 (3.22%) Hybrid Cloud
7 8 (2.57%) Cloud Native
8 7 (2.25%) Legacy Systems
8 7 (2.25%) PKI
8 7 (2.25%) Security Posture
9 5 (1.61%) Cloud Security Posture
9 5 (1.61%) Low-Code
9 5 (1.61%) Management Information System
9 5 (1.61%) Mobile App
9 5 (1.61%) Video\Live Streaming
10 4 (1.29%) Operational Technology
10 4 (1.29%) Public Cloud
11 3 (0.96%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 99 (31.83%) Windows
2 48 (15.43%) Windows Server
3 29 (9.32%) Windows 10
4 18 (5.79%) Linux
5 9 (2.89%) Android
6 7 (2.25%) Windows 7
6 7 (2.25%) Windows Server 2003
6 7 (2.25%) Windows Server 2016
7 6 (1.93%) Apple iOS
7 6 (1.93%) Unix
8 5 (1.61%) Mac OS
8 5 (1.61%) VMS
8 5 (1.61%) Windows Server 2012
9 3 (0.96%) Windows Server 2019
10 2 (0.64%) AIX
11 1 (0.32%) CentOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 106 (34.08%) Problem-Solving
2 59 (18.97%) Customer Service
3 55 (17.68%) ITIL
4 52 (16.72%) DevOps
5 51 (16.40%) Migration
6 46 (14.79%) Analytics
6 46 (14.79%) CI/CD
7 37 (11.90%) Agile
7 37 (11.90%) Break/Fix
8 33 (10.61%) Disaster Recovery
8 33 (10.61%) High Availability
8 33 (10.61%) Infrastructure as Code
9 28 (9.00%) Computer Science
9 28 (9.00%) Data Governance
9 28 (9.00%) Identity Access Management
9 28 (9.00%) Project Delivery
10 27 (8.68%) Business Intelligence
10 27 (8.68%) RBAC
11 26 (8.36%) Roadmaps
12 24 (7.72%) Data Loss Prevention
Programming Languages
1 91 (29.26%) PowerShell
2 38 (12.22%) SQL
3 30 (9.65%) Python
4 18 (5.79%) Bicep
5 10 (3.22%) Bash
5 10 (3.22%) C#
6 7 (2.25%) T-SQL
7 5 (1.61%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 5 (1.61%) JavaScript
8 4 (1.29%) R
8 4 (1.29%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.32%) Java
9 1 (0.32%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.32%) PL/SQL
9 1 (0.32%) VB
9 1 (0.32%) VBScript
9 1 (0.32%) X++
Qualifications
1 92 (29.58%) MCSE
2 91 (29.26%) Security Cleared
3 79 (25.40%) Degree
4 76 (24.44%) SC Cleared
5 58 (18.65%) Cisco Certification
6 56 (18.01%) Azure Certification
7 51 (16.40%) A+ Certification
8 49 (15.76%) CCNA
9 48 (15.43%) Network+ Certification
10 40 (12.86%) MCSA
11 25 (8.04%) Computer Science Degree
12 23 (7.40%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 21 (6.75%) DV Cleared
14 16 (5.14%) CISSP
15 14 (4.50%) VCAP
16 10 (3.22%) Microsoft Certified Professional
17 9 (2.89%) CCNP
18 8 (2.57%) CompTIA Security+
19 7 (2.25%) AWS Certification
19 7 (2.25%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (5.79%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 18 (5.79%) NIST
2 10 (3.22%) GDPR
3 8 (2.57%) Data Quality
3 8 (2.57%) SLA
4 7 (2.25%) NIST 800
5 6 (1.93%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.93%) NCSC
6 4 (1.29%) Accessibility
6 4 (1.29%) QA
7 3 (0.96%) WCAG
8 1 (0.32%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 1 (0.32%) GRC
8 1 (0.32%) GxP
8 1 (0.32%) HIPAA
8 1 (0.32%) Sarbanes-Oxley
8 1 (0.32%) SOC 2
System Software
1 108 (34.73%) Active Directory
2 32 (10.29%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (6.11%) VMware ESXi
4 16 (5.14%) Virtual Desktop
5 15 (4.82%) Virtual Machines
5 15 (4.82%) vSphere
6 14 (4.50%) Docker
7 9 (2.89%) Hyper-V
8 2 (0.64%) Firmware
8 2 (0.64%) Microsoft App-V
8 2 (0.64%) VMware NSX
8 2 (0.64%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.32%) BitLocker
Systems Management
1 36 (11.58%) Microsoft Intune
1 36 (11.58%) Terraform
2 31 (9.97%) Ansible
3 18 (5.79%) Kubernetes
4 17 (5.47%) Active Directory Federation Services
4 17 (5.47%) vCenter Server
5 16 (5.14%) SCCM
6 7 (2.25%) Single Sign-On
7 6 (1.93%) CASB
8 5 (1.61%) Nessus
8 5 (1.61%) WSUS
9 3 (0.96%) Podman
10 2 (0.64%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
10 2 (0.64%) Packer
10 2 (0.64%) QRadar
10 2 (0.64%) SCOM
11 1 (0.32%) Cisco CUCM
11 1 (0.32%) Jamf Pro
11 1 (0.32%) Oracle RMAN
11 1 (0.32%) PaperCut
Vendors
1 248 (79.74%) Microsoft
2 40 (12.86%) VMware
3 38 (12.22%) Dell
4 26 (8.36%) Cisco
5 14 (4.50%) Oracle
6 12 (3.86%) Apple
6 12 (3.86%) ServiceNow
7 11 (3.54%) Citrix
7 11 (3.54%) Databricks
8 7 (2.25%) CyberArk
9 6 (1.93%) Red Hat
9 6 (1.93%) Remedy
9 6 (1.93%) Tenable
10 5 (1.61%) IBM
10 5 (1.61%) Palo Alto
11 4 (1.29%) Atlassian
11 4 (1.29%) NetApp
11 4 (1.29%) Reuters
11 4 (1.29%) Splunk
11 4 (1.29%) Veeam
285 Microsoft Certification jobs in England