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 4 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 298 249 261
Rank change year-on-year -49 +12 +78
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 379 295 300
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.83% 1.08% 0.92%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.61% 3.46% 3.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 260 176 182
10th Percentile £156 £200 £226
25th Percentile £306 £270 £377
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £458 £500
Median % change year-on-year -1.64% -8.50% -3.15%
75th Percentile £553 £600 £587
90th Percentile £650 £650 £649
UK median daily rate £450 £450 £500
% change year-on-year - -10.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 36 30 34
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.99 £11.75
25th Percentile £23.48 £16.30 £14.16
Median hourly rate £55.00 £17.72 £16.03
Median % change year-on-year +210.38% +10.54% -8.40%
75th Percentile £72.25 £33.75 £21.37
90th Percentile £178.75 £83.66 -
UK median hourly rate £53.75 £19.23 £15.17
% change year-on-year +179.51% +26.76% -14.54%

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 14,529 8,532 9,830
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 31.84% 31.35% 30.18%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,788 5,389 6,172
10th Percentile £350 £300 £325
25th Percentile £440 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year - -2.33% -2.27%
75th Percentile £634 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £711 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £525
% change year-on-year - - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,123 659 620
10th Percentile £18.25 £18.22 £15.99
25th Percentile £25.77 £18.87 £24.18
Median hourly rate £52.50 £25.15 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year +108.75% -52.10% -3.78%
75th Percentile £74.00 £50.00 £69.70
90th Percentile £88.00 £74.00 £80.00
UK median hourly rate £47.54 £25.15 £48.56
% change year-on-year +89.03% -48.21% -11.71%

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 4 September 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 4 September 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 4 September 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 -58 130 £509 +1.70% 181
North of England -55 72 £485 +21.25% 79
South East -59 65 £288 -46.46% 88
North West -31 57 £485 +14.12% 42
Midlands -20 49 £425 +11.92% 49
West Midlands -18 44 £425 +72.94% 31
South West -50 29 £438 -7.89% 40
East of England -29 25 £160 -57.33% 35
Yorkshire -36 12 £650 +79.43% 28
East Midlands -21 5 £431 -13.05% 18
North East -37 3 £363 +81.25% 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 39 (10.29%) SharePoint
2 29 (7.65%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.79%) Confluence
4 2 (0.53%) Exchange Server 2010
4 2 (0.53%) HCL Notes
4 2 (0.53%) Mendix
5 1 (0.26%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.26%) Liferay
Applications
1 14 (3.69%) Microsoft Office
2 9 (2.37%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (1.06%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.26%) Chatbot
4 1 (0.26%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 18 (4.75%) Dynamics CRM
2 7 (1.85%) Oracle Payables
3 6 (1.58%) Remedy ITSM
4 2 (0.53%) Dynamics AX
4 2 (0.53%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.26%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 224 (59.10%) Azure
2 106 (27.97%) Microsoft 365
3 96 (25.33%) Entra ID
3 96 (25.33%) Power Platform
4 68 (17.94%) Azure DevOps
5 62 (16.36%) Power Automate
6 53 (13.98%) Dynamics 365
7 45 (11.87%) PowerApps
8 34 (8.97%) AWS
9 28 (7.39%) Serverless
10 26 (6.86%) Microsoft Purview
11 24 (6.33%) Azure Functions
11 24 (6.33%) GitHub
12 23 (6.07%) Azure Monitor
12 23 (6.07%) OneDrive
13 22 (5.80%) Azure Logic Apps
14 21 (5.54%) Microsoft Copilot
15 17 (4.49%) SaaS
16 14 (3.69%) Azure Data Factory
17 13 (3.43%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 47 (12.40%) DNS
2 32 (8.44%) DHCP
3 30 (7.92%) Firewall
4 29 (7.65%) SAN
4 29 (7.65%) VPN
5 26 (6.86%) TCP/IP
6 10 (2.64%) LAN
6 10 (2.64%) SSL
7 8 (2.11%) WAN
8 7 (1.85%) Kerberos
8 7 (1.85%) Network Security
8 7 (1.85%) Wireless
9 6 (1.58%) NGFW
10 5 (1.32%) Wi-Fi
11 4 (1.06%) VLAN
12 3 (0.79%) DMZ
12 3 (0.79%) Internet
12 3 (0.79%) NetScaler
12 3 (0.79%) Remote Desktop
13 2 (0.53%) Software-Defined Networking
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (13.46%) Power BI
2 47 (12.40%) SQL Server
3 31 (8.18%) MySQL
4 23 (6.07%) PostgreSQL
5 12 (3.17%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 7 (1.85%) Data Warehouse
6 7 (1.85%) Metadata
7 6 (1.58%) Power Query
8 5 (1.32%) Data Lake
9 4 (1.06%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 3 (0.79%) Amazon RDS
10 3 (0.79%) Delta Lake
11 2 (0.53%) Azure SQL Database
11 2 (0.53%) Data Mart
11 2 (0.53%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
11 2 (0.53%) Qlik Sense
11 2 (0.53%) QlikView
11 2 (0.53%) Semantic Layer
11 2 (0.53%) Snowflake Schema
11 2 (0.53%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 12 (3.17%) Git
2 7 (1.85%) JIRA
2 7 (1.85%) Selenium
2 7 (1.85%) WebDriver
3 6 (1.58%) Cucumber
3 6 (1.58%) Cypress.io
3 6 (1.58%) Postman
3 6 (1.58%) Visual Studio Code
4 3 (0.79%) Visual Studio
5 2 (0.53%) GitLab
6 1 (0.26%) Jenkins
General
1 180 (47.49%) Social Skills
2 90 (23.75%) Analytical Skills
3 69 (18.21%) Public Sector
4 48 (12.66%) Finance
5 29 (7.65%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 23 (6.07%) Telecoms
7 16 (4.22%) Documentation Skills
8 12 (3.17%) Aerospace
9 9 (2.37%) Legal
10 6 (1.58%) Banking
10 6 (1.58%) Military
11 5 (1.32%) Law
12 4 (1.06%) Influencing Skills
12 4 (1.06%) Local Government
12 4 (1.06%) Marketing
12 4 (1.06%) Organisational Skills
12 4 (1.06%) Pharmaceutical
13 3 (0.79%) Front Office
13 3 (0.79%) Investment Banking
13 3 (0.79%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 51 (13.46%) Analyst
2 44 (11.61%) Architect
3 40 (10.55%) Senior
4 37 (9.76%) Developer
5 36 (9.50%) IT Engineer
6 31 (8.18%) DBA
6 31 (8.18%) Lead
7 30 (7.92%) IT Support
8 28 (7.39%) Dynamics 365 Developer
9 27 (7.12%) Administrator
10 24 (6.33%) Field Engineer
10 24 (6.33%) Field Service Engineer
11 22 (5.80%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 22 (5.80%) Support Analyst
12 19 (5.01%) IT Analyst
13 18 (4.75%) Cloud Engineer
14 16 (4.22%) Support Engineer
15 15 (3.96%) IT Support Analyst
15 15 (3.96%) SQL DBA
16 13 (3.43%) IT Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (13.19%) Terraform
2 19 (5.01%) .NET
2 19 (5.01%) JSON
3 18 (4.75%) OAuth
4 15 (3.96%) OpenID
5 14 (3.69%) SAML
6 13 (3.43%) OAuth2
6 13 (3.43%) ONVIF
7 11 (2.90%) ARM Templates
7 11 (2.90%) LDAP
8 9 (2.37%) Microsoft Graph
8 9 (2.37%) Middleware
8 9 (2.37%) REST
8 9 (2.37%) SailPoint
8 9 (2.37%) Web Services
9 7 (1.85%) XML
10 6 (1.58%) Gherkin
10 6 (1.58%) XSLT
11 5 (1.32%) Azure Blueprints
11 5 (1.32%) HTML5 Canvas
Miscellaneous
1 39 (10.29%) Management Information System
2 32 (8.44%) Onboarding
3 29 (7.65%) Analytical Mindset
3 29 (7.65%) Data Centre
4 23 (6.07%) Replication
5 22 (5.80%) Cloud Native
6 20 (5.28%) Clustering
7 17 (4.49%) Security Posture
8 16 (4.22%) Product Ownership
9 13 (3.43%) Video\Live Streaming
10 12 (3.17%) Enterprise Software
10 12 (3.17%) Hybrid Cloud
10 12 (3.17%) PKI
11 10 (2.64%) Data Structures
11 10 (2.64%) Legacy Systems
12 8 (2.11%) AI Agents
12 8 (2.11%) Enterprise Cloud
13 7 (1.85%) Driving Licence
13 7 (1.85%) Mobile App
14 6 (1.58%) BYOD
Operating Systems
1 112 (29.55%) Windows
2 54 (14.25%) Windows Server
3 31 (8.18%) Windows 10
4 22 (5.80%) Android
5 21 (5.54%) Linux
6 16 (4.22%) Apple iOS
7 12 (3.17%) Mac OS
8 8 (2.11%) Solaris
8 8 (2.11%) Windows Server 2019
9 7 (1.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 4 (1.06%) VMS
11 3 (0.79%) Windows Server 2012
12 2 (0.53%) Alpine Linux
12 2 (0.53%) Ubuntu
12 2 (0.53%) Windows 7
12 2 (0.53%) Windows Server 2003
12 2 (0.53%) Windows Server 2008
12 2 (0.53%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 143 (37.73%) Problem-Solving
2 103 (27.18%) DevOps
3 87 (22.96%) Agile
4 83 (21.90%) ITIL
5 73 (19.26%) Customer Service
6 70 (18.47%) Stakeholder Management
7 63 (16.62%) CI/CD
8 51 (13.46%) Business Intelligence
8 51 (13.46%) Technical Leadership
9 50 (13.19%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 49 (12.93%) Continuous Improvement
11 48 (12.66%) Infrastructure as Code
12 47 (12.40%) Analytics
13 46 (12.14%) AI
14 44 (11.61%) Computer Science
14 44 (11.61%) ITSM
15 40 (10.55%) Migration
16 38 (10.03%) Identity Access Management
16 38 (10.03%) Roadmaps
17 36 (9.50%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 107 (28.23%) PowerShell
2 46 (12.14%) SQL
3 44 (11.61%) C#
4 43 (11.35%) Python
5 39 (10.29%) JavaScript
6 28 (7.39%) Bicep
7 19 (5.01%) Bash
8 12 (3.17%) T-SQL
9 6 (1.58%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 6 (1.58%) X++
10 5 (1.32%) Java
11 4 (1.06%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.79%) Kusto Query Language
13 2 (0.53%) Perl
14 1 (0.26%) ActionScript
14 1 (0.26%) ActionScript 2.0
14 1 (0.26%) R
14 1 (0.26%) VB
Qualifications
1 150 (39.58%) Security Cleared
2 126 (33.25%) SC Cleared
3 119 (31.40%) Degree
4 85 (22.43%) Azure Certification
5 70 (18.47%) MCSE
6 64 (16.89%) A+ Certification
7 58 (15.30%) Cisco Certification
8 48 (12.66%) CCNA
9 42 (11.08%) Network+ Certification
10 38 (10.03%) MCSA
11 29 (7.65%) DV Cleared
12 25 (6.60%) Computer Science Degree
13 23 (6.07%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 19 (5.01%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 17 (4.49%) AWS Certification
16 16 (4.22%) BPSS Clearance
17 13 (3.43%) CISSP
18 10 (2.64%) Oracle Certification
19 9 (2.37%) OCP
19 9 (2.37%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (6.86%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 25 (6.60%) Accessibility
2 25 (6.60%) NIST
3 20 (5.28%) Data Quality
4 18 (4.75%) GDPR
5 15 (3.96%) SLA
6 13 (3.43%) QA
6 13 (3.43%) WCAG
7 8 (2.11%) NCSC
8 7 (1.85%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.53%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.53%) GMP
9 2 (0.53%) GRC
9 2 (0.53%) HIPAA
9 2 (0.53%) NIST 800
9 2 (0.53%) SOC 2
9 2 (0.53%) Solvency II
10 1 (0.26%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.26%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 1 (0.26%) ITGC
System Software
1 117 (30.87%) Active Directory
2 36 (9.50%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (5.28%) Virtual Machines
4 17 (4.49%) VMware ESXi
5 16 (4.22%) Docker
5 16 (4.22%) Virtual Desktop
6 13 (3.43%) vSphere
7 8 (2.11%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.79%) BitLocker
8 3 (0.79%) Firmware
8 3 (0.79%) VMware NSX
9 2 (0.53%) Microsoft App-V
9 2 (0.53%) Virtual Servers
9 2 (0.53%) VMware Workstation
10 1 (0.26%) NDS
10 1 (0.26%) NetIQ eDirectory
10 1 (0.26%) NFS
Systems Management
1 55 (14.51%) Microsoft Intune
2 27 (7.12%) Ansible
3 20 (5.28%) SCCM
4 18 (4.75%) SCOM
4 18 (4.75%) vCenter Server
5 17 (4.49%) Kubernetes
6 10 (2.64%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (1.32%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 5 (1.32%) Podman
8 4 (1.06%) WSUS
9 3 (0.79%) Dell DRAC
9 3 (0.79%) Grafana
9 3 (0.79%) Progress Chef
9 3 (0.79%) QRadar
10 2 (0.53%) Istio
10 2 (0.53%) Packer
10 2 (0.53%) vMotion
11 1 (0.26%) FreeIPA
11 1 (0.26%) Jamf Pro
11 1 (0.26%) PingFederate
Vendors
1 329 (86.81%) Microsoft
2 42 (11.08%) VMware
3 37 (9.76%) ServiceNow
4 28 (7.39%) Dell
5 27 (7.12%) Oracle
6 24 (6.33%) Cisco
7 11 (2.90%) Apple
7 11 (2.90%) Google
8 9 (2.37%) OpenAI
8 9 (2.37%) Remedy
9 8 (2.11%) Citrix
9 8 (2.11%) Red Hat
9 8 (2.11%) SolarWinds
9 8 (2.11%) Splunk
10 6 (1.58%) Foundry
11 5 (1.32%) Atlassian
11 5 (1.32%) Databricks
11 5 (1.32%) NetApp
11 5 (1.32%) Okta
11 5 (1.32%) Salesforce