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

6 months to
11 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 297 236 262
Rank change year-on-year -61 +26 +77
Contract jobs citing Microsoft Certification 384 311 300
As % of all contract jobs in England 0.83% 1.12% 0.91%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.59% 3.55% 3.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 267 191 179
10th Percentile £159 £190 £223
25th Percentile £325 £251 £379
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year - -10.00% -3.85%
75th Percentile £564 £600 £586
90th Percentile £650 £650 £640
UK median daily rate £451 £450 £500
% change year-on-year +0.11% -10.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 30 33
10th Percentile £15.00 £14.99 £11.75
25th Percentile £16.38 £16.30 £14.16
Median hourly rate £55.00 £17.72 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +210.38% +8.71% -8.17%
75th Percentile £70.50 £33.75 £21.37
90th Percentile £178.75 £83.66 -
UK median hourly rate £52.50 £19.23 £15.47
% change year-on-year +173.01% +24.35% -14.08%

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 14,823 8,759 9,850
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 31.95% 31.48% 29.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 9,961 5,535 6,109
10th Percentile £350 £304 £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 £631 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £713 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £525
% change year-on-year - - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,163 680 593
10th Percentile £18.25 £18.13 £17.02
25th Percentile £25.77 £18.87 £27.00
Median hourly rate £52.50 £25.15 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +108.75% -54.27% +0.40%
75th Percentile £74.00 £50.00 £69.69
90th Percentile £88.75 £73.75 £80.00
UK median hourly rate £47.50 £25.15 £50.00
% change year-on-year +88.87% -49.70% -8.73%

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 11 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 11 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 11 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 -47 129 £509 +1.70% 96
North of England -46 75 £497 +16.89% 62
South East -51 65 £300 -44.13% 68
North West -23 60 £485 +14.12% 30
Midlands -25 51 £425 +69.15% 37
West Midlands -23 46 £425 +80.85% 21
South West -54 28 £450 -13.46% 32
East of England -42 26 £160 -57.33% 28
Yorkshire -33 12 £650 +79.43% 23
East Midlands -14 5 £431 -12.35% 16
North East -46 3 £363 +81.25% 9
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 44 (11.46%) SharePoint
2 30 (7.81%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.78%) Confluence
4 2 (0.52%) Exchange Server 2010
4 2 (0.52%) HCL Notes
4 2 (0.52%) Mendix
5 1 (0.26%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.26%) Liferay
5 1 (0.26%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 13 (3.39%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (2.08%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.78%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.52%) Chatbot
5 1 (0.26%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 20 (5.21%) Dynamics CRM
2 6 (1.56%) Oracle Payables
2 6 (1.56%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.52%) Dynamics AX
3 2 (0.52%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.26%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 230 (59.90%) Azure
2 109 (28.39%) Microsoft 365
3 100 (26.04%) Power Platform
4 96 (25.00%) Entra ID
5 69 (17.97%) Azure DevOps
6 67 (17.45%) Power Automate
7 57 (14.84%) Dynamics 365
8 48 (12.50%) PowerApps
9 35 (9.11%) AWS
10 31 (8.07%) Serverless
11 27 (7.03%) Azure Functions
12 25 (6.51%) GitHub
12 25 (6.51%) Microsoft Purview
13 24 (6.25%) Azure Monitor
14 23 (5.99%) Azure Logic Apps
14 23 (5.99%) Microsoft Copilot
14 23 (5.99%) OneDrive
15 17 (4.43%) SaaS
16 14 (3.65%) Azure Data Factory
17 13 (3.39%) Azure Sentinel
Communications & Networking
1 48 (12.50%) DNS
2 33 (8.59%) DHCP
3 31 (8.07%) Firewall
4 29 (7.55%) VPN
5 27 (7.03%) SAN
6 26 (6.77%) TCP/IP
7 10 (2.60%) LAN
7 10 (2.60%) SSL
8 8 (2.08%) Kerberos
8 8 (2.08%) WAN
9 7 (1.82%) Network Security
9 7 (1.82%) NGFW
9 7 (1.82%) Wireless
10 5 (1.30%) Wi-Fi
11 4 (1.04%) VLAN
12 3 (0.78%) DMZ
12 3 (0.78%) Internet
12 3 (0.78%) NetScaler
12 3 (0.78%) Remote Desktop
13 2 (0.52%) Software-Defined Networking
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (13.28%) Power BI
1 51 (13.28%) SQL Server
2 33 (8.59%) MySQL
3 25 (6.51%) PostgreSQL
4 12 (3.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 7 (1.82%) Data Warehouse
5 7 (1.82%) Metadata
6 6 (1.56%) Power Query
7 5 (1.30%) Data Lake
8 4 (1.04%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 3 (0.78%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (0.78%) Delta Lake
10 2 (0.52%) Azure SQL Database
10 2 (0.52%) Data Mart
10 2 (0.52%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
10 2 (0.52%) Oracle Database
10 2 (0.52%) Qlik Sense
10 2 (0.52%) QlikView
10 2 (0.52%) Semantic Layer
10 2 (0.52%) Snowflake Schema
Development Applications
1 14 (3.65%) Git
2 7 (1.82%) JIRA
2 7 (1.82%) Selenium
2 7 (1.82%) WebDriver
3 6 (1.56%) Cucumber
3 6 (1.56%) Cypress.io
3 6 (1.56%) Postman
3 6 (1.56%) Visual Studio Code
4 3 (0.78%) Visual Studio
5 2 (0.52%) GitLab
6 1 (0.26%) Jenkins
General
1 182 (47.40%) Social Skills
2 89 (23.18%) Analytical Skills
3 72 (18.75%) Public Sector
4 49 (12.76%) Finance
5 31 (8.07%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 23 (5.99%) Telecoms
7 17 (4.43%) Documentation Skills
8 12 (3.13%) Aerospace
9 9 (2.34%) Legal
10 6 (1.56%) Banking
10 6 (1.56%) Military
11 5 (1.30%) Marketing
11 5 (1.30%) Pharmaceutical
12 4 (1.04%) Influencing Skills
12 4 (1.04%) Law
12 4 (1.04%) Local Government
12 4 (1.04%) Organisational Skills
13 3 (0.78%) Front Office
13 3 (0.78%) Investment Banking
13 3 (0.78%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 52 (13.54%) Analyst
2 44 (11.46%) Architect
3 42 (10.94%) Senior
4 40 (10.42%) Developer
5 35 (9.11%) IT Engineer
6 33 (8.59%) DBA
7 32 (8.33%) IT Support
7 32 (8.33%) Lead
8 30 (7.81%) Dynamics 365 Developer
9 29 (7.55%) Administrator
10 22 (5.73%) Field Engineer
10 22 (5.73%) Field Service Engineer
10 22 (5.73%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 22 (5.73%) Support Analyst
11 20 (5.21%) IT Analyst
12 19 (4.95%) Cloud Engineer
13 17 (4.43%) SQL DBA
13 17 (4.43%) Support Engineer
14 15 (3.91%) IT Support Analyst
15 14 (3.65%) IT Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (13.02%) Terraform
2 22 (5.73%) JSON
3 19 (4.95%) .NET
3 19 (4.95%) OAuth
4 16 (4.17%) OpenID
5 14 (3.65%) OAuth2
5 14 (3.65%) SAML
6 13 (3.39%) ONVIF
7 11 (2.86%) ARM Templates
7 11 (2.86%) LDAP
8 10 (2.60%) Microsoft Graph
8 10 (2.60%) REST
9 9 (2.34%) Middleware
9 9 (2.34%) SailPoint
9 9 (2.34%) Web Services
9 9 (2.34%) XML
10 8 (2.08%) XSLT
11 6 (1.56%) Gherkin
12 5 (1.30%) Azure Blueprints
12 5 (1.30%) HTML5 Canvas
Miscellaneous
1 41 (10.68%) Management Information System
2 32 (8.33%) Onboarding
3 27 (7.03%) Analytical Mindset
3 27 (7.03%) Data Centre
4 23 (5.99%) Replication
5 22 (5.73%) Cloud Native
6 20 (5.21%) Clustering
7 17 (4.43%) Security Posture
8 16 (4.17%) Product Ownership
9 14 (3.65%) Enterprise Software
10 13 (3.39%) Video\Live Streaming
11 12 (3.13%) Hybrid Cloud
11 12 (3.13%) PKI
12 10 (2.60%) Data Structures
12 10 (2.60%) Legacy Systems
13 9 (2.34%) AI Agents
13 9 (2.34%) Enterprise Cloud
14 7 (1.82%) Driving Licence
14 7 (1.82%) Mobile App
14 7 (1.82%) Taxonomies
Operating Systems
1 112 (29.17%) Windows
2 53 (13.80%) Windows Server
3 30 (7.81%) Windows 10
4 22 (5.73%) Android
5 21 (5.47%) Linux
6 17 (4.43%) Apple iOS
7 12 (3.13%) Solaris
8 11 (2.86%) Mac OS
9 8 (2.08%) Windows Server 2019
10 7 (1.82%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 4 (1.04%) VMS
12 3 (0.78%) Unix
12 3 (0.78%) Windows Server 2012
13 2 (0.52%) Alpine Linux
13 2 (0.52%) Ubuntu
13 2 (0.52%) Windows 7
13 2 (0.52%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.52%) Windows Server 2008
13 2 (0.52%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 145 (37.76%) Problem-Solving
2 105 (27.34%) DevOps
3 89 (23.18%) Agile
4 85 (22.14%) ITIL
5 73 (19.01%) Stakeholder Management
6 71 (18.49%) Customer Service
7 62 (16.15%) CI/CD
8 53 (13.80%) Technical Leadership
9 52 (13.54%) Continuous Improvement
10 51 (13.28%) AI
10 51 (13.28%) Analytics
10 51 (13.28%) Business Intelligence
10 51 (13.28%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 48 (12.50%) Infrastructure as Code
12 45 (11.72%) ITSM
13 44 (11.46%) Computer Science
14 41 (10.68%) Roadmaps
15 39 (10.16%) Identity Access Management
15 39 (10.16%) Migration
15 39 (10.16%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 107 (27.86%) PowerShell
2 50 (13.02%) SQL
3 46 (11.98%) C#
4 44 (11.46%) Python
5 41 (10.68%) JavaScript
6 29 (7.55%) Bicep
7 17 (4.43%) Bash
8 12 (3.13%) T-SQL
9 6 (1.56%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 6 (1.56%) X++
10 5 (1.30%) Java
11 4 (1.04%) TypeScript
12 3 (0.78%) Kusto Query Language
13 2 (0.52%) Perl
14 1 (0.26%) ActionScript
14 1 (0.26%) ActionScript 2.0
14 1 (0.26%) R
14 1 (0.26%) VB
Qualifications
1 154 (40.10%) Security Cleared
2 130 (33.85%) SC Cleared
3 122 (31.77%) Degree
4 88 (22.92%) Azure Certification
5 68 (17.71%) MCSE
6 62 (16.15%) A+ Certification
7 57 (14.84%) Cisco Certification
8 46 (11.98%) CCNA
9 40 (10.42%) Network+ Certification
10 38 (9.90%) MCSA
11 29 (7.55%) DV Cleared
12 25 (6.51%) Computer Science Degree
13 23 (5.99%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 19 (4.95%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 18 (4.69%) AWS Certification
16 17 (4.43%) BPSS Clearance
17 14 (3.65%) CISSP
18 12 (3.13%) Oracle Certification
19 11 (2.86%) OCP
20 9 (2.34%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (7.03%) Accessibility
2 26 (6.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 25 (6.51%) NIST
4 20 (5.21%) Data Quality
4 20 (5.21%) GDPR
5 15 (3.91%) WCAG
6 14 (3.65%) SLA
7 13 (3.39%) QA
8 8 (2.08%) NCSC
9 7 (1.82%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.52%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.52%) GMP
10 2 (0.52%) GRC
10 2 (0.52%) HIPAA
10 2 (0.52%) NIST 800
10 2 (0.52%) SOC 2
10 2 (0.52%) Solvency II
11 1 (0.26%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.26%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 1 (0.26%) ITGC
System Software
1 114 (29.69%) Active Directory
2 36 (9.38%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (5.21%) Virtual Machines
4 17 (4.43%) Docker
4 17 (4.43%) Virtual Desktop
4 17 (4.43%) VMware ESXi
5 13 (3.39%) vSphere
6 8 (2.08%) Hyper-V
7 3 (0.78%) BitLocker
7 3 (0.78%) Firmware
7 3 (0.78%) VMware NSX
8 2 (0.52%) Microsoft App-V
8 2 (0.52%) Virtual Servers
8 2 (0.52%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.26%) NDS
9 1 (0.26%) NetIQ eDirectory
9 1 (0.26%) NFS
Systems Management
1 58 (15.10%) Microsoft Intune
2 27 (7.03%) Ansible
3 19 (4.95%) SCCM
4 18 (4.69%) Kubernetes
4 18 (4.69%) SCOM
4 18 (4.69%) vCenter Server
5 10 (2.60%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.30%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 5 (1.30%) Podman
7 4 (1.04%) WSUS
8 3 (0.78%) Dell DRAC
8 3 (0.78%) Grafana
8 3 (0.78%) Progress Chef
8 3 (0.78%) QRadar
9 2 (0.52%) Istio
9 2 (0.52%) Packer
9 2 (0.52%) vMotion
10 1 (0.26%) FreeIPA
10 1 (0.26%) Jamf Pro
10 1 (0.26%) PingFederate
Vendors
1 336 (87.50%) Microsoft
2 42 (10.94%) VMware
3 37 (9.64%) ServiceNow
4 29 (7.55%) Oracle
5 26 (6.77%) Dell
6 23 (5.99%) Cisco
7 11 (2.86%) Google
8 10 (2.60%) Apple
8 10 (2.60%) OpenAI
9 9 (2.34%) Remedy
9 9 (2.34%) Splunk
10 8 (2.08%) Citrix
10 8 (2.08%) Red Hat
10 8 (2.08%) SolarWinds
11 7 (1.82%) Foundry
12 5 (1.30%) Atlassian
12 5 (1.30%) Databricks
12 5 (1.30%) NetApp
12 5 (1.30%) Okta
12 5 (1.30%) Salesforce