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 6 November 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 238 259 331
Rank change year-on-year +21 +72 +56
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 316 290 267
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.07% 0.93% 0.68%
As % of the Qualifications category 3.25% 3.14% 2.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 220 169 192
10th Percentile £219 £210 £209
25th Percentile £305 £325 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £600 £564 £600
90th Percentile £651 £675 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 22 15 12
10th Percentile £6.00 £11.75 £15.42
25th Percentile £16.00 £11.88 £16.25
Median hourly rate £25.31 £21.46 £18.50
Median % change year-on-year +17.94% +16.00% +19.35%
75th Percentile £33.75 £42.50 £35.00
90th Percentile £88.97 £112.00 £35.57
UK median hourly rate £20.24 £21.46 £19.00
% change year-on-year -5.68% +12.95% +22.58%

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 9,718 9,241 11,569
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 32.99% 29.72% 29.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,258 5,652 7,421
10th Percentile £300 £313 £313
25th Percentile £416 £425 £438
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £530 £550
Median % change year-on-year -0.94% -3.64% -
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £715 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 844 411 701
10th Percentile £17.69 £20.12 £17.71
25th Percentile £18.87 £27.00 £26.24
Median hourly rate £25.15 £52.19 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year -51.81% -0.59% +16.67%
75th Percentile £45.46 £68.09 £70.00
90th Percentile £72.50 £75.00 £80.00
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £46.18 £52.50
% change year-on-year -45.54% -12.04% +16.67%

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 6 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 6 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 6 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 -15 110 £524 +16.39% 397
South East -2 54 £525 +13.51% 311
South West +25 52 £550 +10.00% 104
Midlands -18 37 £310 -27.10% 133
North of England -36 30 £425 -12.82% 200
East of England +2 28 £375 +27.66% 82
West Midlands -14 28 £310 -38.61% 78
North West -19 25 £450 -10.00% 117
East Midlands -14 9 £356 -11.00% 53
Yorkshire -26 5 £400 -15.79% 64
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 38 (12.03%) SharePoint
2 34 (10.76%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (1.90%) Skype for Business
4 2 (0.63%) Confluence
Applications
1 16 (5.06%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (4.75%) Microsoft Excel
3 6 (1.90%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.27%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.63%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 8 (2.53%) Dynamics CRM
2 3 (0.95%) Maximo
3 1 (0.32%) Dynamics NAV
3 1 (0.32%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 147 (46.52%) Azure
2 110 (34.81%) Microsoft 365
3 55 (17.41%) Entra ID
4 48 (15.19%) Power Platform
5 38 (12.03%) AWS
6 30 (9.49%) Azure DevOps
7 27 (8.54%) Dynamics 365
7 27 (8.54%) Power Automate
8 21 (6.65%) PowerApps
9 20 (6.33%) Microsoft Purview
10 17 (5.38%) Azure Sentinel
11 16 (5.06%) Azure Monitor
11 16 (5.06%) GitHub
12 13 (4.11%) Azure Data Factory
12 13 (4.11%) Azure Logic Apps
13 12 (3.80%) GitHub Actions
13 12 (3.80%) OneDrive
14 11 (3.48%) Azure AKS
15 10 (3.16%) SaaS
16 8 (2.53%) Azure ExpressRoute
Communications & Networking
1 53 (16.77%) DNS
2 40 (12.66%) Firewall
3 35 (11.08%) TCP/IP
4 34 (10.76%) DHCP
5 26 (8.23%) VPN
6 15 (4.75%) Fibre Channel
6 15 (4.75%) iSCSI
7 12 (3.80%) VLAN
8 10 (3.16%) LAN
9 9 (2.85%) Wi-Fi
10 8 (2.53%) Skype
10 8 (2.53%) SSL
11 6 (1.90%) Unified Communications
11 6 (1.90%) Wireless
12 5 (1.58%) Network Security
13 4 (1.27%) S/MIME
13 4 (1.27%) SAN
13 4 (1.27%) WAN
14 3 (0.95%) VSAN
15 2 (0.63%) Remote Desktop
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (7.28%) Power BI
2 20 (6.33%) SQL Server
3 14 (4.43%) Azure SQL Database
4 9 (2.85%) Data Lake
5 7 (2.22%) Data Warehouse
6 6 (1.90%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 5 (1.58%) MySQL
7 5 (1.58%) NoSQL
7 5 (1.58%) Oracle Database
7 5 (1.58%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (1.27%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (0.95%) MongoDB
9 3 (0.95%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.63%) Apache Cassandra
10 2 (0.63%) DynamoDB
10 2 (0.63%) RDBMS
10 2 (0.63%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 1 (0.32%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
11 1 (0.32%) Redis
11 1 (0.32%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 14 (4.43%) JIRA
2 6 (1.90%) Git
2 6 (1.90%) MSI
3 4 (1.27%) GitLab
4 3 (0.95%) ERwin
4 3 (0.95%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.63%) AdminStudio
5 2 (0.63%) CircleCI
5 2 (0.63%) InstallShield
5 2 (0.63%) Visual Studio Code
6 1 (0.32%) Bitbucket
General
1 130 (41.14%) Social Skills
2 63 (19.94%) Analytical Skills
3 54 (17.09%) Finance
4 42 (13.29%) Public Sector
5 20 (6.33%) Banking
6 18 (5.70%) Documentation Skills
7 7 (2.22%) Legal
7 7 (2.22%) Marketing
8 6 (1.90%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 4 (1.27%) Military
9 4 (1.27%) Organisational Skills
10 3 (0.95%) Aerospace
10 3 (0.95%) Polish Language
11 2 (0.63%) Advertising
11 2 (0.63%) Investment Banking
11 2 (0.63%) Local Government
11 2 (0.63%) Manufacturing
11 2 (0.63%) Presentation Skills
11 2 (0.63%) Retail
11 2 (0.63%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 53 (16.77%) Architect
2 47 (14.87%) Analyst
3 29 (9.18%) Support Engineer
4 26 (8.23%) Support Analyst
5 25 (7.91%) Senior
6 21 (6.65%) Consultant
7 19 (6.01%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 19 (6.01%) Security Engineer
8 16 (5.06%) Azure Engineer
8 16 (5.06%) Infrastructure Architect
8 16 (5.06%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
9 14 (4.43%) Desktop Support
9 14 (4.43%) IT Support
9 14 (4.43%) Solutions Architect
9 14 (4.43%) VMware Architect
10 13 (4.11%) Administrator
10 13 (4.11%) Developer
10 13 (4.11%) Lead
10 13 (4.11%) Technical Analyst
11 12 (3.80%) Azure Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (7.28%) OAuth
2 19 (6.01%) OpenID
3 18 (5.70%) SAML
4 13 (4.11%) .NET
5 11 (3.48%) ARM Templates
5 11 (3.48%) Microsoft Graph
5 11 (3.48%) OAuth2
6 9 (2.85%) JSON
7 8 (2.53%) REST
8 7 (2.22%) LDAP
9 5 (1.58%) RESTful
10 3 (0.95%) ADO
10 3 (0.95%) ASP.NET Web API
10 3 (0.95%) HTML
10 3 (0.95%) PySpark
11 2 (0.63%) .NET Core
11 2 (0.63%) Azure Blueprints
11 2 (0.63%) Elastic Stack
11 2 (0.63%) HTML5 Canvas
11 2 (0.63%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 19 (6.01%) PKI
2 17 (5.38%) Analytical Mindset
3 13 (4.11%) Onboarding
3 13 (4.11%) Security Posture
4 12 (3.80%) Cloud Native
4 12 (3.80%) Hybrid Cloud
4 12 (3.80%) Replication
5 11 (3.48%) Enterprise Software
5 11 (3.48%) NHS
6 10 (3.16%) Driving Licence
7 9 (2.85%) Management Information System
8 7 (2.22%) iPad
8 7 (2.22%) iPhone
9 6 (1.90%) Private Cloud
9 6 (1.90%) Video Conferencing
10 5 (1.58%) Low-Code
10 5 (1.58%) Self-Motivation
10 5 (1.58%) Team-Oriented Environment
11 4 (1.27%) Cloud Security Posture
11 4 (1.27%) Legacy Applications
Operating Systems
1 171 (54.11%) Windows
2 61 (19.30%) Windows Server
3 42 (13.29%) Windows 10
4 25 (7.91%) Mac OS
5 24 (7.59%) Linux
6 15 (4.75%) Windows Server 2019
7 9 (2.85%) Windows Server 2012
8 5 (1.58%) Windows Server 2003
9 4 (1.27%) Android
9 4 (1.27%) Apple iOS
9 4 (1.27%) Unix
10 3 (0.95%) VMS
11 2 (0.63%) CentOS
12 1 (0.32%) Mac OS X
12 1 (0.32%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 102 (32.28%) ITIL
2 90 (28.48%) Problem-Solving
3 52 (16.46%) DevOps
4 45 (14.24%) Customer Service
5 39 (12.34%) Service Management
6 37 (11.71%) CI/CD
7 36 (11.39%) Agile
8 34 (10.76%) Identity Access Management
9 33 (10.44%) Migration
10 32 (10.13%) Computer Science
11 31 (9.81%) Continuous Improvement
12 30 (9.49%) Cloud Security
13 28 (8.86%) Identity Management
13 28 (8.86%) Infrastructure Engineering
14 27 (8.54%) Analytics
14 27 (8.54%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 26 (8.23%) Business Intelligence
16 25 (7.91%) ITSM
16 25 (7.91%) RBAC
17 23 (7.28%) Data Loss Prevention
Programming Languages
1 78 (24.68%) PowerShell
2 50 (15.82%) SQL
3 15 (4.75%) Python
4 13 (4.11%) Bicep
4 13 (4.11%) JavaScript
5 12 (3.80%) Bash
5 12 (3.80%) C#
6 9 (2.85%) T-SQL
7 5 (1.58%) VBScript
8 4 (1.27%) TypeScript
9 2 (0.63%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 1 (0.32%) Java
10 1 (0.32%) Korn
10 1 (0.32%) VBA
Qualifications
1 117 (37.03%) Security Cleared
2 77 (24.37%) Degree
3 75 (23.73%) SC Cleared
4 74 (23.42%) Azure Certification
5 60 (18.99%) MCSE
6 33 (10.44%) DV Cleared
7 31 (9.81%) A+ Certification
8 26 (8.23%) MCP
9 23 (7.28%) MCSA
10 19 (6.01%) Cisco Certification
11 17 (5.38%) Network+ Certification
12 16 (5.06%) AWS Certification
12 16 (5.06%) CISSP
13 15 (4.75%) Computer Science Degree
14 14 (4.43%) CCNA
14 14 (4.43%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
15 13 (4.11%) Master's Degree
16 11 (3.48%) ITIL Certification
16 11 (3.48%) Server+ Certification
17 10 (3.16%) HNC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (10.13%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 24 (7.59%) GDPR
3 18 (5.70%) NIST
4 10 (3.16%) SLA
5 7 (2.22%) Accessibility
6 6 (1.90%) HIPAA
7 5 (1.58%) NCSC
8 3 (0.95%) NIST 800
8 3 (0.95%) PCI DSS
8 3 (0.95%) SOC 2
9 2 (0.63%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 2 (0.63%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials
10 1 (0.32%) Government Security Classifications
10 1 (0.32%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 1 (0.32%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.32%) PMO
10 1 (0.32%) QA
System Software
1 133 (42.09%) Active Directory
2 45 (14.24%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (7.28%) vSphere
4 18 (5.70%) VMware ESXi
5 15 (4.75%) Hyper-V
5 15 (4.75%) NFS
6 13 (4.11%) Docker
7 5 (1.58%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 5 (1.58%) Virtual Desktop
7 5 (1.58%) Virtual Servers
8 4 (1.27%) Firmware
8 4 (1.27%) Microsoft App-V
9 3 (0.95%) VMware NSX
10 2 (0.63%) BitLocker
11 1 (0.32%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 41 (12.97%) SCCM
2 29 (9.18%) Microsoft Intune
3 23 (7.28%) Terraform
4 22 (6.96%) Kubernetes
5 16 (5.06%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 16 (5.06%) Single Sign-On
6 8 (2.53%) SCOM
7 7 (2.22%) WSUS
8 5 (1.58%) Ansible
9 4 (1.27%) CASB
9 4 (1.27%) Nessus
9 4 (1.27%) QRadar
10 3 (0.95%) Prometheus
10 3 (0.95%) vCenter Server
11 2 (0.63%) Grafana
12 1 (0.32%) Argo
12 1 (0.32%) CSIRT
12 1 (0.32%) FortiGate
12 1 (0.32%) Istio
12 1 (0.32%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 302 (95.57%) Microsoft
2 56 (17.72%) VMware
3 27 (8.54%) Splunk
4 23 (7.28%) ServiceNow
4 23 (7.28%) Veeam
5 18 (5.70%) Cisco
6 16 (5.06%) Citrix
7 15 (4.75%) NetApp
7 15 (4.75%) Oracle
8 9 (2.85%) Dell
9 6 (1.90%) Darktrace
9 6 (1.90%) Red Hat
9 6 (1.90%) SolarWinds
9 6 (1.90%) Zscaler
10 5 (1.58%) CheckPoint
10 5 (1.58%) CyberArk
10 5 (1.58%) Databricks
10 5 (1.58%) iManage
10 5 (1.58%) Mitel
10 5 (1.58%) Tenable