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 1 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 246 256 322
Rank change year-on-year +10 +66 +49
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 329 286 270
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.08% 0.93% 0.70%
As % of the Qualifications category 3.22% 3.13% 2.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 237 165 190
10th Percentile £219 £210 £207
25th Percentile £310 £325 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £496 £485 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.16% -3.00% +11.11%
75th Percentile £600 £588 £600
90th Percentile £693 £720 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £475 £491
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.31% +9.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 19 16
10th Percentile £6.00 £11.75 £15.79
25th Percentile £16.00 £16.73 £16.25
Median hourly rate £25.15 £21.46 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +17.19% -2.45% +41.94%
75th Percentile £33.75 £35.00 £35.16
90th Percentile £89.63 £112.00 £39.77
UK median hourly rate £19.23 £21.46 £25.00
% change year-on-year -10.39% -14.16% +61.29%

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 10,206 9,145 11,629
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 33.51% 29.89% 30.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,655 5,591 7,361
10th Percentile £306 £313 £306
25th Percentile £415 £425 £438
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £531 £550
Median % change year-on-year -1.04% -3.55% -
75th Percentile £627 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £738 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 887 426 701
10th Percentile £17.58 £20.00 £17.72
25th Percentile £18.94 £25.81 £26.78
Median hourly rate £25.15 £49.50 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year -49.19% -5.71% +16.67%
75th Percentile £54.25 £68.00 £68.00
90th Percentile £76.11 £75.00 £80.00
UK median hourly rate £25.15 £41.71 £53.50
% change year-on-year -39.70% -22.05% +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 1 December 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 1 December 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 1 December 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 +12 110 £500 +11.11% 198
South West +29 60 £550 +2.33% 56
South East -14 56 £480 -3.03% 156
Midlands -17 41 £300 -29.45% 100
West Midlands -11 31 £315 -38.54% 61
North of England -44 30 £438 -7.89% 135
East of England -1 28 £438 +48.94% 77
North West -25 24 £450 -5.26% 73
East Midlands -7 10 £210 -47.50% 38
Yorkshire -34 6 £425 - 45
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 (11.85%) SharePoint
2 38 (11.55%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (1.82%) Skype for Business
4 4 (1.22%) Confluence
Applications
1 18 (5.47%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (3.95%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (2.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (1.22%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.91%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 9 (2.74%) Dynamics CRM
2 3 (0.91%) Maximo
3 1 (0.30%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.30%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 151 (45.90%) Azure
2 113 (34.35%) Microsoft 365
3 63 (19.15%) Entra ID
4 45 (13.68%) AWS
5 44 (13.37%) Power Platform
6 30 (9.12%) Azure DevOps
7 27 (8.21%) Dynamics 365
7 27 (8.21%) Power Automate
8 24 (7.29%) PowerApps
9 22 (6.69%) Microsoft Purview
10 16 (4.86%) Azure Sentinel
11 15 (4.56%) GitHub
12 14 (4.26%) Azure Monitor
13 13 (3.95%) Azure Logic Apps
14 11 (3.34%) Azure AKS
14 11 (3.34%) GitHub Actions
14 11 (3.34%) SaaS
15 10 (3.04%) OneDrive
16 9 (2.74%) GCP
17 8 (2.43%) Azure ExpressRoute
Communications & Networking
1 58 (17.63%) DNS
2 42 (12.77%) Firewall
3 36 (10.94%) DHCP
4 34 (10.33%) TCP/IP
5 26 (7.90%) VPN
6 12 (3.65%) Fibre Channel
6 12 (3.65%) iSCSI
6 12 (3.65%) VLAN
7 10 (3.04%) LAN
7 10 (3.04%) SSL
8 9 (2.74%) Skype
9 8 (2.43%) Wi-Fi
10 6 (1.82%) Unified Communications
11 5 (1.52%) Network Security
11 5 (1.52%) Wireless
12 4 (1.22%) Kerberos
12 4 (1.22%) S/MIME
12 4 (1.22%) SAN
12 4 (1.22%) WAN
13 3 (0.91%) Softphone
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (5.17%) Power BI
2 15 (4.56%) SQL Server
3 7 (2.13%) Oracle Database
4 6 (1.82%) Azure SQL Database
5 5 (1.52%) Data Lake
5 5 (1.52%) MySQL
5 5 (1.52%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (1.22%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.91%) Amazon RDS
7 3 (0.91%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.91%) MongoDB
7 3 (0.91%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.61%) Apache Cassandra
8 2 (0.61%) RDBMS
8 2 (0.61%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 1 (0.30%) Big Data
9 1 (0.30%) DynamoDB
9 1 (0.30%) Redis
9 1 (0.30%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 1 (0.30%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 16 (4.86%) JIRA
2 12 (3.65%) Git
3 7 (2.13%) MSI
4 6 (1.82%) GitLab
5 5 (1.52%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.91%) AdminStudio
6 3 (0.91%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.91%) InstallShield
7 2 (0.61%) CircleCI
8 1 (0.30%) Cypress.io
General
1 139 (42.25%) Social Skills
2 61 (18.54%) Analytical Skills
3 50 (15.20%) Finance
4 42 (12.77%) Public Sector
5 20 (6.08%) Banking
6 19 (5.78%) Documentation Skills
7 7 (2.13%) Legal
7 7 (2.13%) Marketing
8 5 (1.52%) Military
8 5 (1.52%) Organisational Skills
9 4 (1.22%) Aerospace
9 4 (1.22%) Retail
10 3 (0.91%) Polish Language
11 2 (0.61%) Advertising
11 2 (0.61%) Aeronautics
11 2 (0.61%) Influencing Skills
11 2 (0.61%) Presentation Skills
11 2 (0.61%) Telecoms
12 1 (0.30%) Agriculture
12 1 (0.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 54 (16.41%) Architect
2 44 (13.37%) Analyst
3 29 (8.81%) Senior
3 29 (8.81%) Support Engineer
4 24 (7.29%) Support Analyst
5 22 (6.69%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 18 (5.47%) Consultant
6 18 (5.47%) Security Engineer
7 17 (5.17%) Lead
7 17 (5.17%) Solutions Architect
8 15 (4.56%) Administrator
8 15 (4.56%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
9 14 (4.26%) Azure Engineer
9 14 (4.26%) Technical Support
10 13 (3.95%) Developer
10 13 (3.95%) Infrastructure Architect
10 13 (3.95%) IT Support
10 13 (3.95%) Wintel Engineer
11 12 (3.65%) Desktop Support
11 12 (3.65%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 28 (8.51%) OAuth
2 23 (6.99%) OpenID
2 23 (6.99%) SAML
3 14 (4.26%) .NET
3 14 (4.26%) OAuth2
4 11 (3.34%) ARM Templates
4 11 (3.34%) Microsoft Graph
5 9 (2.74%) LDAP
6 8 (2.43%) JSON
6 8 (2.43%) REST
7 6 (1.82%) RESTful
8 3 (0.91%) ASP.NET Web API
8 3 (0.91%) HTML
8 3 (0.91%) PySpark
9 2 (0.61%) Azure Blueprints
9 2 (0.61%) Elastic Stack
9 2 (0.61%) HTML5 Canvas
9 2 (0.61%) React
9 2 (0.61%) SailPoint
9 2 (0.61%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 23 (6.99%) PKI
2 17 (5.17%) Analytical Mindset
3 14 (4.26%) Onboarding
4 13 (3.95%) Cloud Native
4 13 (3.95%) Enterprise Software
4 13 (3.95%) Hybrid Cloud
4 13 (3.95%) Security Posture
5 12 (3.65%) Replication
6 11 (3.34%) NHS
7 10 (3.04%) Driving Licence
8 9 (2.74%) Management Information System
9 7 (2.13%) iPad
9 7 (2.13%) iPhone
10 6 (1.82%) Private Cloud
10 6 (1.82%) Video Conferencing
11 5 (1.52%) BYOD
11 5 (1.52%) Low-Code
11 5 (1.52%) Self-Motivation
11 5 (1.52%) Team-Oriented Environment
12 4 (1.22%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 176 (53.50%) Windows
2 67 (20.36%) Windows Server
3 41 (12.46%) Windows 10
4 28 (8.51%) Linux
5 25 (7.60%) Mac OS
6 13 (3.95%) Windows Server 2019
7 11 (3.34%) Windows Server 2012
8 5 (1.52%) Android
8 5 (1.52%) Windows Server 2003
9 4 (1.22%) Apple iOS
9 4 (1.22%) Unix
10 3 (0.91%) CentOS
10 3 (0.91%) VMS
11 1 (0.30%) Mac OS X
11 1 (0.30%) Windows 7
11 1 (0.30%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 101 (30.70%) ITIL
2 94 (28.57%) Problem-Solving
3 49 (14.89%) DevOps
4 44 (13.37%) Customer Service
5 42 (12.77%) Service Management
6 39 (11.85%) Agile
6 39 (11.85%) CI/CD
6 39 (11.85%) Continuous Improvement
7 37 (11.25%) Identity Access Management
8 36 (10.94%) Computer Science
8 36 (10.94%) Migration
9 34 (10.33%) Cloud Security
10 32 (9.73%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 31 (9.42%) Identity Management
12 27 (8.21%) RBAC
13 26 (7.90%) Mentoring
13 26 (7.90%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 25 (7.60%) Change Management
15 24 (7.29%) Disaster Recovery
15 24 (7.29%) ITSM
Programming Languages
1 86 (26.14%) PowerShell
2 40 (12.16%) SQL
3 17 (5.17%) Python
4 14 (4.26%) JavaScript
5 12 (3.65%) Bicep
5 12 (3.65%) C#
6 10 (3.04%) Bash
7 6 (1.82%) TypeScript
7 6 (1.82%) VBScript
8 2 (0.61%) T-SQL
9 1 (0.30%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 1 (0.30%) Java
Qualifications
1 117 (35.56%) Security Cleared
2 86 (26.14%) Degree
3 77 (23.40%) SC Cleared
4 74 (22.49%) Azure Certification
5 63 (19.15%) MCSE
6 34 (10.33%) DV Cleared
7 31 (9.42%) A+ Certification
8 27 (8.21%) MCP
9 25 (7.60%) MCSA
10 20 (6.08%) CISSP
10 20 (6.08%) Computer Science Degree
11 18 (5.47%) AWS Certification
11 18 (5.47%) Cisco Certification
11 18 (5.47%) Network+ Certification
12 14 (4.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 13 (3.95%) CCNA
13 13 (3.95%) Master's Degree
14 11 (3.34%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
14 11 (3.34%) HND
14 11 (3.34%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (9.73%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 25 (7.60%) GDPR
3 20 (6.08%) NIST
4 8 (2.43%) SLA
5 5 (1.52%) HIPAA
5 5 (1.52%) NCSC
6 4 (1.22%) Accessibility
6 4 (1.22%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.91%) HMG Security Policy Framework
7 3 (0.91%) NIST 800
7 3 (0.91%) PCI DSS
7 3 (0.91%) SOC 2
8 2 (0.61%) ISO 22301
8 2 (0.61%) QA
9 1 (0.30%) Government Security Classifications
9 1 (0.30%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.30%) JSP 440
9 1 (0.30%) PMO
9 1 (0.30%) WCAG
System Software
1 153 (46.50%) Active Directory
2 46 (13.98%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (6.08%) vSphere
4 17 (5.17%) Docker
5 16 (4.86%) Hyper-V
6 15 (4.56%) VMware ESXi
7 12 (3.65%) NFS
8 5 (1.52%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 5 (1.52%) Virtual Desktop
8 5 (1.52%) Virtual Servers
9 4 (1.22%) Microsoft App-V
10 3 (0.91%) VMware NSX
11 2 (0.61%) Firmware
12 1 (0.30%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.30%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 44 (13.37%) SCCM
2 34 (10.33%) Microsoft Intune
3 25 (7.60%) Terraform
4 23 (6.99%) Kubernetes
5 21 (6.38%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 19 (5.78%) Single Sign-On
7 10 (3.04%) Ansible
8 9 (2.74%) WSUS
9 8 (2.43%) SCOM
10 4 (1.22%) CASB
10 4 (1.22%) Nessus
10 4 (1.22%) QRadar
11 3 (0.91%) vCenter Server
12 2 (0.61%) PowerCLI
13 1 (0.30%) Argo
13 1 (0.30%) CSIRT
13 1 (0.30%) FortiGate
13 1 (0.30%) Jamf Pro
13 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
Vendors
1 313 (95.14%) Microsoft
2 57 (17.33%) VMware
3 24 (7.29%) Splunk
4 23 (6.99%) Veeam
5 20 (6.08%) ServiceNow
6 18 (5.47%) Oracle
7 17 (5.17%) Cisco
8 16 (4.86%) Citrix
9 12 (3.65%) NetApp
10 9 (2.74%) Dell
10 9 (2.74%) SolarWinds
11 7 (2.13%) CheckPoint
11 7 (2.13%) Tenable
12 6 (1.82%) Darktrace
12 6 (1.82%) Red Hat
12 6 (1.82%) Zscaler
13 5 (1.52%) CyberArk
13 5 (1.52%) Databricks
13 5 (1.52%) Google
13 5 (1.52%) Mitel