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 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 256 251 322
Rank change year-on-year -5 +71 +47
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 333 290 274
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.11% 0.94% 0.69%
As % of the Qualifications category 3.35% 3.15% 2.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 236 168 196
10th Percentile £219 £207 £208
25th Percentile £310 £325 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £613 £585 £600
90th Percentile £666 £682 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £450 £500
% change year-on-year +11.11% -10.00% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 22 18 14
10th Percentile £6.00 £11.75 £15.60
25th Percentile £16.00 £14.37 £16.69
Median hourly rate £25.31 £21.46 £27.50
Median % change year-on-year +17.94% -21.96% +77.42%
75th Percentile £33.75 £35.00 £35.47
90th Percentile £88.97 £112.00 £39.99
UK median hourly rate £20.24 £21.46 £30.00
% change year-on-year -5.68% -28.47% +93.55%

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 9,943 9,201 11,824
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.28% 29.78% 29.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,433 5,618 7,546
10th Percentile £304 £313 £308
25th Percentile £419 £425 £438
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £526 £550
Median % change year-on-year -0.19% -4.36% -
75th Percentile £626 £638 £650
90th Percentile £719 £734 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 874 424 720
10th Percentile £17.69 £20.30 £17.72
25th Percentile £18.90 £27.00 £26.25
Median hourly rate £25.15 £50.63 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year -50.32% -3.57% +16.67%
75th Percentile £45.46 £68.04 £69.72
90th Percentile £72.50 £75.00 £80.00
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £45.00 £53.50
% change year-on-year -44.11% -15.89% +18.89%

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 17 November 2025.

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 17 November 2025.

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 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 0 115 £523 +16.11% 291
South West +30 60 £550 +10.00% 77
South East -5 57 £509 +5.94% 190
Midlands -13 39 £255 -40.02% 123
East of England 0 29 £438 +48.94% 75
West Midlands -17 28 £288 -42.50% 80
North of England -42 28 £450 -5.26% 167
North West -28 24 £450 -5.26% 87
East Midlands -9 11 £215 -46.25% 42
Yorkshire -33 4 £375 -21.11% 62
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 39 (11.71%) SharePoint
2 38 (11.41%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (1.80%) Skype for Business
4 4 (1.20%) Confluence
Applications
1 17 (5.11%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (4.50%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (2.10%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (1.50%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.90%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 9 (2.70%) Dynamics CRM
2 3 (0.90%) Maximo
3 1 (0.30%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.30%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 154 (46.25%) Azure
2 113 (33.93%) Microsoft 365
3 62 (18.62%) Entra ID
4 48 (14.41%) Power Platform
5 42 (12.61%) AWS
6 31 (9.31%) Azure DevOps
7 29 (8.71%) Dynamics 365
8 26 (7.81%) Power Automate
9 24 (7.21%) Microsoft Purview
10 22 (6.61%) PowerApps
11 17 (5.11%) Azure Monitor
11 17 (5.11%) Azure Sentinel
12 16 (4.80%) GitHub
13 14 (4.20%) Azure Data Factory
13 14 (4.20%) Azure Logic Apps
14 12 (3.60%) Azure AKS
14 12 (3.60%) GitHub Actions
14 12 (3.60%) OneDrive
14 12 (3.60%) SaaS
15 9 (2.70%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 57 (17.12%) DNS
2 42 (12.61%) Firewall
3 36 (10.81%) DHCP
4 35 (10.51%) TCP/IP
5 26 (7.81%) VPN
6 14 (4.20%) Fibre Channel
6 14 (4.20%) iSCSI
7 12 (3.60%) VLAN
8 10 (3.00%) LAN
8 10 (3.00%) SSL
9 9 (2.70%) Skype
9 9 (2.70%) Wi-Fi
10 6 (1.80%) Unified Communications
10 6 (1.80%) Wireless
11 5 (1.50%) Network Security
12 4 (1.20%) S/MIME
12 4 (1.20%) WAN
13 3 (0.90%) SAN
13 3 (0.90%) Softphone
13 3 (0.90%) VSAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (6.91%) Power BI
2 20 (6.01%) SQL Server
3 13 (3.90%) Azure SQL Database
4 9 (2.70%) Data Lake
5 7 (2.10%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (1.80%) Oracle Database
6 6 (1.80%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 5 (1.50%) MySQL
7 5 (1.50%) NoSQL
7 5 (1.50%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (1.20%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (0.90%) MongoDB
9 3 (0.90%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.60%) Apache Cassandra
10 2 (0.60%) DynamoDB
10 2 (0.60%) RDBMS
10 2 (0.60%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 1 (0.30%) Big Data
11 1 (0.30%) Redis
11 1 (0.30%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 17 (5.11%) JIRA
2 11 (3.30%) Git
3 7 (2.10%) MSI
4 5 (1.50%) Jenkins
5 4 (1.20%) GitLab
6 3 (0.90%) AdminStudio
6 3 (0.90%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.90%) ERwin
6 3 (0.90%) InstallShield
7 2 (0.60%) CircleCI
8 1 (0.30%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 138 (41.44%) Social Skills
2 64 (19.22%) Analytical Skills
3 56 (16.82%) Finance
4 43 (12.91%) Public Sector
5 21 (6.31%) Banking
6 19 (5.71%) Documentation Skills
7 7 (2.10%) Legal
7 7 (2.10%) Marketing
8 5 (1.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 5 (1.50%) Military
9 4 (1.20%) Aerospace
9 4 (1.20%) Organisational Skills
9 4 (1.20%) Retail
10 3 (0.90%) Polish Language
11 2 (0.60%) Advertising
11 2 (0.60%) Investment Banking
11 2 (0.60%) Local Government
11 2 (0.60%) Manufacturing
11 2 (0.60%) Presentation Skills
11 2 (0.60%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 59 (17.72%) Architect
2 48 (14.41%) Analyst
3 29 (8.71%) Support Engineer
4 27 (8.11%) Senior
5 25 (7.51%) Support Analyst
6 21 (6.31%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 20 (6.01%) Consultant
8 19 (5.71%) Security Engineer
9 16 (4.80%) Lead
9 16 (4.80%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
9 16 (4.80%) Solutions Architect
10 15 (4.50%) Administrator
10 15 (4.50%) Azure Engineer
10 15 (4.50%) Infrastructure Architect
11 14 (4.20%) Developer
11 14 (4.20%) Technical Support
12 13 (3.90%) Desktop Support
12 13 (3.90%) Technical Analyst
12 13 (3.90%) VMware Architect
12 13 (3.90%) Wintel Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (7.51%) OAuth
2 20 (6.01%) OpenID
2 20 (6.01%) SAML
3 15 (4.50%) .NET
4 13 (3.90%) OAuth2
5 12 (3.60%) ARM Templates
6 11 (3.30%) Microsoft Graph
7 9 (2.70%) JSON
7 9 (2.70%) REST
8 7 (2.10%) LDAP
9 5 (1.50%) RESTful
10 3 (0.90%) ASP.NET Web API
10 3 (0.90%) HTML
10 3 (0.90%) PySpark
10 3 (0.90%) YAML
11 2 (0.60%) ADO
11 2 (0.60%) Azure Blueprints
11 2 (0.60%) Elastic Stack
11 2 (0.60%) HTML5 Canvas
11 2 (0.60%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 23 (6.91%) PKI
2 17 (5.11%) Analytical Mindset
3 13 (3.90%) Cloud Native
3 13 (3.90%) Onboarding
3 13 (3.90%) Security Posture
4 12 (3.60%) Enterprise Software
4 12 (3.60%) Hybrid Cloud
4 12 (3.60%) Replication
5 11 (3.30%) NHS
6 10 (3.00%) Driving Licence
6 10 (3.00%) Management Information System
7 7 (2.10%) iPad
7 7 (2.10%) iPhone
8 6 (1.80%) Private Cloud
8 6 (1.80%) Video Conferencing
9 5 (1.50%) BYOD
9 5 (1.50%) Low-Code
9 5 (1.50%) Self-Motivation
9 5 (1.50%) Team-Oriented Environment
10 4 (1.20%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 175 (52.55%) Windows
2 64 (19.22%) Windows Server
3 42 (12.61%) Windows 10
4 28 (8.41%) Linux
5 25 (7.51%) Mac OS
6 15 (4.50%) Windows Server 2019
7 11 (3.30%) Windows Server 2012
8 5 (1.50%) Android
8 5 (1.50%) Windows Server 2003
9 4 (1.20%) Apple iOS
9 4 (1.20%) Unix
10 3 (0.90%) CentOS
10 3 (0.90%) VMS
11 1 (0.30%) Mac OS X
11 1 (0.30%) Windows 7
11 1 (0.30%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 103 (30.93%) ITIL
2 93 (27.93%) Problem-Solving
3 52 (15.62%) DevOps
4 44 (13.21%) Customer Service
5 41 (12.31%) Service Management
6 39 (11.71%) Agile
6 39 (11.71%) CI/CD
7 36 (10.81%) Computer Science
7 36 (10.81%) Continuous Improvement
7 36 (10.81%) Migration
8 35 (10.51%) Identity Access Management
9 32 (9.61%) Cloud Security
10 30 (9.01%) Identity Management
10 30 (9.01%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 27 (8.11%) Analytics
11 27 (8.11%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 26 (7.81%) Business Intelligence
12 26 (7.81%) Data Loss Prevention
12 26 (7.81%) RBAC
13 25 (7.51%) Disaster Recovery
Programming Languages
1 87 (26.13%) PowerShell
2 51 (15.32%) SQL
3 18 (5.41%) Python
4 15 (4.50%) JavaScript
5 14 (4.20%) C#
6 13 (3.90%) Bicep
7 11 (3.30%) Bash
8 9 (2.70%) T-SQL
9 6 (1.80%) TypeScript
9 6 (1.80%) VBScript
10 2 (0.60%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.30%) Java
11 1 (0.30%) Korn
11 1 (0.30%) VBA
Qualifications
1 121 (36.34%) Security Cleared
2 86 (25.83%) Degree
3 79 (23.72%) Azure Certification
3 79 (23.72%) SC Cleared
4 66 (19.82%) MCSE
5 35 (10.51%) DV Cleared
6 31 (9.31%) A+ Certification
7 27 (8.11%) MCP
8 26 (7.81%) MCSA
9 19 (5.71%) Cisco Certification
9 19 (5.71%) CISSP
9 19 (5.71%) Computer Science Degree
10 17 (5.11%) Network+ Certification
11 16 (4.80%) AWS Certification
11 16 (4.80%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 14 (4.20%) CCNA
13 13 (3.90%) Master's Degree
14 11 (3.30%) CompTIA Security+
14 11 (3.30%) HND
14 11 (3.30%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (9.91%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 27 (8.11%) GDPR
3 20 (6.01%) NIST
4 9 (2.70%) SLA
5 6 (1.80%) HIPAA
6 5 (1.50%) Accessibility
6 5 (1.50%) NCSC
7 3 (0.90%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.90%) HMG Security Policy Framework
7 3 (0.90%) NIST 800
7 3 (0.90%) PCI DSS
7 3 (0.90%) SOC 2
8 2 (0.60%) ISO 22301
9 1 (0.30%) Government Security Classifications
9 1 (0.30%) ISO 9001
9 1 (0.30%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.30%) JSP 440
9 1 (0.30%) PMO
9 1 (0.30%) QA
System Software
1 147 (44.14%) Active Directory
2 47 (14.11%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (6.61%) vSphere
4 17 (5.11%) VMware ESXi
5 15 (4.50%) Docker
5 15 (4.50%) Hyper-V
6 14 (4.20%) NFS
7 5 (1.50%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 5 (1.50%) Virtual Desktop
7 5 (1.50%) Virtual Servers
8 4 (1.20%) Microsoft App-V
9 3 (0.90%) Firmware
9 3 (0.90%) VMware NSX
10 1 (0.30%) BitLocker
10 1 (0.30%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 44 (13.21%) SCCM
2 34 (10.21%) Microsoft Intune
3 26 (7.81%) Terraform
4 23 (6.91%) Kubernetes
5 18 (5.41%) Single Sign-On
6 17 (5.11%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 9 (2.70%) WSUS
8 8 (2.40%) SCOM
9 7 (2.10%) Ansible
10 4 (1.20%) CASB
10 4 (1.20%) Nessus
10 4 (1.20%) QRadar
11 3 (0.90%) vCenter Server
12 2 (0.60%) PowerCLI
12 2 (0.60%) Prometheus
13 1 (0.30%) Argo
13 1 (0.30%) CSIRT
13 1 (0.30%) Grafana
13 1 (0.30%) Istio
13 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
Vendors
1 317 (95.20%) Microsoft
2 58 (17.42%) VMware
3 26 (7.81%) Splunk
4 24 (7.21%) Veeam
5 22 (6.61%) ServiceNow
6 18 (5.41%) Cisco
6 18 (5.41%) Oracle
7 16 (4.80%) Citrix
8 14 (4.20%) NetApp
9 9 (2.70%) Dell
10 8 (2.40%) SolarWinds
11 7 (2.10%) CheckPoint
11 7 (2.10%) Red Hat
11 7 (2.10%) Tenable
12 6 (1.80%) Darktrace
12 6 (1.80%) Zscaler
13 5 (1.50%) CyberArk
13 5 (1.50%) Databricks
13 5 (1.50%) iManage
13 5 (1.50%) Mitel
860 Microsoft Certification jobs in England