Degree Contract Job Trends in the North West

Academic Degree
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the North West with a requirement for Degree qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 13 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 26 27 16
Rank change year-on-year +1 -11 +21
Contract jobs citing Degree 164 133 243
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 6.60% 6.50% 9.02%
As % of the Qualifications category 19.09% 20.18% 29.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 95 54 118
10th Percentile £258 £193 £173
25th Percentile £332 £356 £255
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £393 £500 £461
Median % change year-on-year -21.40% +8.40% +2.50%
75th Percentile £488 £599 £584
90th Percentile £565 £696 £700
England median daily rate £508 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -3.33% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 33 18 30
10th Percentile £15.50 £22.72 £16.03
25th Percentile £41.94 £25.96 £20.25
Median hourly rate £45.46 £32.50 £40.42
Median % change year-on-year +39.88% -19.59% +68.42%
75th Percentile £52.50 £33.75 £46.18
90th Percentile £62.84 £48.90 -
England median hourly rate £37.50 £42.50 £46.18
% change year-on-year -11.76% -7.97% +2.62%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
North West

Degree 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 the North West.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 859 659 833
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 34.60% 32.21% 30.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 576 354 542
10th Percentile £217 £250 £251
25th Percentile £380 £378 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £540
Median % change year-on-year - -12.04% +5.88%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £645
90th Percentile £688 £675 £720
England median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 82 39 70
10th Percentile £18.88 £23.74 £16.08
25th Percentile £25.15 £31.25 £28.73
Median hourly rate £45.46 £37.00 £46.18
Median % change year-on-year +22.86% -19.88% +59.24%
75th Percentile £66.75 £56.63 £49.75
90th Percentile £74.26 £81.63 £65.13
England median hourly rate £25.15 £46.18 £50.00
% change year-on-year -45.54% -7.64% +11.11%

Degree
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Degree relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Degree job vacancy trend in the North West

Degree
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Degree.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Degree

Degree
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Degree in the North West over the 6 months to 13 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Degree in the North West

Degree
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Degree.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Degree

Degree
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Degree in the North West over the 6 months to 13 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Degree in the North West

Degree
Contract Job Locations in the North West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Degree within the North West region over the 6 months to 13 January 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
Cheshire +2 78 £358 -28.40% 64
Manchester -15 43 £450 -10.00% 133
Lancashire +6 25 £513 -2.38% 65
Merseyside -19 10 £393 +12.29% 30
Cumbria -4 5 - - 9
Degree
England

Degree
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 28 (17.07%) SharePoint
2 23 (14.02%) Confluence
3 9 (5.49%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (4.27%) Exchange Server 2013
4 7 (4.27%) Skype for Business
5 3 (1.83%) SAS
6 2 (1.22%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (1.22%) Mule
6 2 (1.22%) Mule ESB
7 1 (0.61%) Anypoint
7 1 (0.61%) Apache
7 1 (0.61%) JBoss
7 1 (0.61%) nginx
7 1 (0.61%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.61%) WebLogic
Applications
1 30 (18.29%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (9.15%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (7.32%) MS Visio
4 9 (5.49%) Microsoft Project
5 8 (4.88%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.61%) InVision
6 1 (0.61%) Sketch
6 1 (0.61%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 6 (3.66%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (1.22%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.61%) NEC Housing
3 1 (0.61%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.61%) Primavera
3 1 (0.61%) SAP ERP
3 1 (0.61%) SAP HCM
3 1 (0.61%) SAP IBP
3 1 (0.61%) SAP Payroll
3 1 (0.61%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 27 (16.46%) Microsoft 365
2 23 (14.02%) Azure
3 18 (10.98%) Power Platform
4 17 (10.37%) AWS
5 10 (6.10%) Apigee
6 9 (5.49%) OneDrive
7 7 (4.27%) GCP
7 7 (4.27%) SaaS
8 6 (3.66%) GitHub
8 6 (3.66%) Kong
9 4 (2.44%) GitHub Copilot
10 3 (1.83%) Azure DevOps
10 3 (1.83%) Azure Logic Apps
10 3 (1.83%) Dynamics 365
10 3 (1.83%) Entra ID
10 3 (1.83%) Smartsheet
11 2 (1.22%) Amazon SQS
11 2 (1.22%) AWS Lambda
11 2 (1.22%) OpenShift
11 2 (1.22%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 13 (7.93%) Skype
2 10 (6.10%) SSH
3 9 (5.49%) DNS
4 8 (4.88%) Unified Communications
5 7 (4.27%) Firewall
5 7 (4.27%) VPN
6 6 (3.66%) Internet
7 5 (3.05%) Wi-Fi
8 4 (2.44%) BGP
8 4 (2.44%) HTTP
8 4 (2.44%) HTTPS
8 4 (2.44%) Network Security
9 3 (1.83%) Software-Defined Networking
9 3 (1.83%) SSL
9 3 (1.83%) VLAN
10 2 (1.22%) DHCP
10 2 (1.22%) SAN
11 1 (0.61%) LAN
11 1 (0.61%) OSPF
11 1 (0.61%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 9 (5.49%) Power BI
2 6 (3.66%) Relational Database
3 4 (2.44%) Data Warehouse
3 4 (2.44%) MySQL
3 4 (2.44%) PostgreSQL
4 3 (1.83%) SQL Server
5 2 (1.22%) Cognos Framework Manager
5 2 (1.22%) Cognos Report Studio
5 2 (1.22%) Cognos Transformer
5 2 (1.22%) OLAP
5 2 (1.22%) OLAP Cube
5 2 (1.22%) Oracle Database
5 2 (1.22%) Qlik Sense
5 2 (1.22%) SAP HANA
5 2 (1.22%) Star Schema
6 1 (0.61%) Amazon Redshift
6 1 (0.61%) Base SAS
6 1 (0.61%) SAS Data Integration Studio
6 1 (0.61%) Snowflake Schema
6 1 (0.61%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 31 (18.90%) JIRA
2 9 (5.49%) Git
3 5 (3.05%) Postman
4 4 (2.44%) GitLab
4 4 (2.44%) Jenkins
5 2 (1.22%) TestRail
6 1 (0.61%) Cucumber
6 1 (0.61%) JUnit
6 1 (0.61%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 107 (65.24%) Social Skills
2 59 (35.98%) Finance
3 41 (25.00%) Analytical Skills
4 27 (16.46%) Banking
5 12 (7.32%) Influencing Skills
6 11 (6.71%) Organisational Skills
6 11 (6.71%) Public Sector
7 8 (4.88%) Legal
8 7 (4.27%) Presentation Skills
9 6 (3.66%) Documentation Skills
10 5 (3.05%) Retail
11 4 (2.44%) Local Government
12 3 (1.83%) Investment Banking
12 3 (1.83%) Law
13 2 (1.22%) Corporate Banking
13 2 (1.22%) Marketing
13 2 (1.22%) Pharmaceutical
13 2 (1.22%) Retail Banking
14 1 (0.61%) Billing
14 1 (0.61%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 40 (24.39%) Analyst
2 23 (14.02%) Lead
3 18 (10.98%) Developer
4 17 (10.37%) Business Analyst
5 10 (6.10%) Senior
5 10 (6.10%) Support Analyst
6 9 (5.49%) Java Developer
7 8 (4.88%) IT Support
8 7 (4.27%) 1st Line Support
8 7 (4.27%) Operational Support Analyst
8 7 (4.27%) Operations Analyst
8 7 (4.27%) Operations Support Analyst
9 6 (3.66%) Cybersecurity Engineer
9 6 (3.66%) Project Manager
9 6 (3.66%) Technical Analyst
9 6 (3.66%) Technical Business Analyst
10 5 (3.05%) Designer
10 5 (3.05%) IT Technician
10 5 (3.05%) Platform Engineer
10 5 (3.05%) Service Desk Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (9.76%) JSON
2 15 (9.15%) XML
3 11 (6.71%) OAuth
3 11 (6.71%) Spring
4 10 (6.10%) JWT
4 10 (6.10%) Spring Boot
5 9 (5.49%) RESTful
6 8 (4.88%) Hibernate
6 8 (4.88%) REST
6 8 (4.88%) SOAP
7 7 (4.27%) Swagger
8 6 (3.66%) OpenAPI
9 5 (3.05%) OAuth2
10 4 (2.44%) JAX-RS
10 4 (2.44%) Spring MVC
10 4 (2.44%) Spring Security
11 2 (1.22%) .NET
11 2 (1.22%) HTML
11 2 (1.22%) J2EE
11 2 (1.22%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 14 (8.54%) Virtual Team
2 10 (6.10%) Tandem
3 8 (4.88%) Enterprise Software
3 8 (4.88%) Management Information System
3 8 (4.88%) Product Ownership
4 6 (3.66%) Onboarding
5 5 (3.05%) Data Protection Act
5 5 (3.05%) Low-Code
5 5 (3.05%) PMI
5 5 (3.05%) Video Conferencing
6 4 (2.44%) Data Centre
6 4 (2.44%) Driving Licence
6 4 (2.44%) PKI
7 3 (1.83%) Handset
7 3 (1.83%) Self-Motivation
8 2 (1.22%) Cloud Native
8 2 (1.22%) Learning Management System
8 2 (1.22%) Operational Technology
8 2 (1.22%) SCADA
9 1 (0.61%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 37 (22.56%) Windows
2 10 (6.10%) Unix
3 8 (4.88%) Windows 10
3 8 (4.88%) Windows Server
4 4 (2.44%) Linux
4 4 (2.44%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 2 (1.22%) Windows Server 2019
6 1 (0.61%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.61%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.61%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 65 (39.63%) Agile
2 56 (34.15%) Computer Science
3 52 (31.71%) Problem-Solving
4 46 (28.05%) Project Management
5 43 (26.22%) ITIL
6 40 (24.39%) Stakeholder Management
7 36 (21.95%) Continuous Improvement
8 35 (21.34%) Change Management
8 35 (21.34%) Cybersecurity
9 33 (20.12%) Project Delivery
10 29 (17.68%) DevOps
11 24 (14.63%) Six Sigma
12 23 (14.02%) PRINCE2
13 22 (13.41%) Service Delivery
14 20 (12.20%) Business Intelligence
14 20 (12.20%) CI/CD
14 20 (12.20%) Validation
15 19 (11.59%) Microservices
16 17 (10.37%) Lean Six Sigma
16 17 (10.37%) Translating Business Requirements
Programming Languages
1 25 (15.24%) SQL
2 19 (11.59%) Python
3 14 (8.54%) Java
4 8 (4.88%) PowerShell
5 5 (3.05%) Bash
6 4 (2.44%) Perl
7 3 (1.83%) C#
7 3 (1.83%) PL/SQL
8 2 (1.22%) Kusto Query Language
9 1 (0.61%) C++
9 1 (0.61%) JavaScript
9 1 (0.61%) R
9 1 (0.61%) SAS Macro
9 1 (0.61%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.61%) VBA
Qualifications
1 46 (28.05%) Computer Science Degree
2 30 (18.29%) Security Cleared
3 15 (9.15%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
4 14 (8.54%) BPSS Clearance
4 14 (8.54%) Master's Degree
5 12 (7.32%) SC Cleared
6 8 (4.88%) CISSP
6 8 (4.88%) PMI Certification
6 8 (4.88%) PMP
7 7 (4.27%) CISM
7 7 (4.27%) MBA
8 5 (3.05%) Azure Certification
8 5 (3.05%) Cisco Certification
8 5 (3.05%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 4 (2.44%) A+ Certification
9 4 (2.44%) CCNA
9 4 (2.44%) CCNP
9 4 (2.44%) Microsoft Certification
10 3 (1.83%) CCDP
10 3 (1.83%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 8 (4.88%) NIST
1 8 (4.88%) QA
2 7 (4.27%) GDPR
3 6 (3.66%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 5 (3.05%) P3O
4 5 (3.05%) PMO
5 4 (2.44%) PCI DSS
6 3 (1.83%) Data Quality
6 3 (1.83%) HIPAA
7 2 (1.22%) Accessibility
7 2 (1.22%) Basel III
7 2 (1.22%) GRC
7 2 (1.22%) NCSC
7 2 (1.22%) PSD2
7 2 (1.22%) SLA
8 1 (0.61%) Cyber Essentials
8 1 (0.61%) IEC 61131
8 1 (0.61%) IFRS
8 1 (0.61%) IFRS 17
8 1 (0.61%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 24 (14.63%) Active Directory
2 12 (7.32%) Docker
3 6 (3.66%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (1.22%) Firmware
4 2 (1.22%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.61%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 15 (9.15%) SCCM
2 13 (7.93%) Microsoft Intune
3 12 (7.32%) Kubernetes
4 4 (2.44%) QRadar
5 3 (1.83%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 2 (1.22%) HP ALM
7 1 (0.61%) Ansible
7 1 (0.61%) Control-M
7 1 (0.61%) Microsoft Clustering
7 1 (0.61%) Red Hat Satellite
7 1 (0.61%) SCOM
7 1 (0.61%) SCOrch
7 1 (0.61%) Single Sign-On
7 1 (0.61%) Terraform
7 1 (0.61%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 57 (34.76%) Microsoft
2 11 (6.71%) Citrix
2 11 (6.71%) IBM
2 11 (6.71%) Splunk
3 9 (5.49%) Cisco
3 9 (5.49%) Oracle
4 7 (4.27%) MuleSoft
4 7 (4.27%) SAP
5 6 (3.66%) Gemalto
5 6 (3.66%) Remedy
5 6 (3.66%) ServiceNow
5 6 (3.66%) Thales
5 6 (3.66%) VMware
6 4 (2.44%) ArcSight
6 4 (2.44%) Red Hat
7 3 (1.83%) HP
7 3 (1.83%) Planview
8 2 (1.22%) Apple
8 2 (1.22%) EMC
8 2 (1.22%) NetApp