HNC Contract Job Trends in the North West

Higher National Certificate (HNC)
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the North West with a requirement for HNC qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 18 September 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 160 128 115
Rank change year-on-year -32 -13 +21
Contract jobs citing HNC 19 2 7
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 0.49% 0.092% 0.29%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.56% 0.27% 1.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £613 - -
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £625 - -
75th Percentile £638 - -
90th Percentile - - -
England median daily rate £481 £500 £350
% change year-on-year -3.75% +42.86% -22.22%
Number of hourly rates quoted 13 2 3
10th Percentile £18.99 £18.55 £37.24
25th Percentile £28.69 £21.25 £40.59
Median hourly rate £32.23 £26.50 £46.18
Median % change year-on-year +21.60% -42.62% +9.55%
75th Percentile £37.00 £31.75 -
90th Percentile - £34.45 -
England median hourly rate £34.75 £43.00 £43.00
% change year-on-year -19.19% - -18.10%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
North West

HNC 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 1,217 747 645
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 31.26% 34.20% 26.86%
Number of daily rates quoted 779 468 356
10th Percentile £310 £313 £294
25th Percentile £420 £410 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £519 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.82% - -4.76%
75th Percentile £614 £638 £600
90th Percentile £680 £729 £688
England median daily rate £528 £525 £538
% change year-on-year +0.48% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 121 72 59
10th Percentile £17.25 £15.50 £16.78
25th Percentile £28.50 £18.87 £22.22
Median hourly rate £43.96 £27.19 £46.18
Median % change year-on-year +61.69% -41.13% +0.65%
75th Percentile £64.09 £58.34 £55.79
90th Percentile £83.75 £73.52 £81.18
England median hourly rate £53.00 £25.15 £54.00
% change year-on-year +110.74% -53.43% -

HNC
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

HNC job vacancy trend in the North West

HNC
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

HNC
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

HNC
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing HNC in the North West over the 6 months to 18 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for HNC in the North West

HNC
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 HNC within the North West region over the 6 months to 18 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
Manchester -25 10 - - 31
Cheshire - 6 - - 23
Lancashire - 3 £625 - 11
HNC
England

HNC
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:

Applications
1 2 (10.53%) CATIA
Business Applications
1 1 (5.26%) SAP ERP
General
1 14 (73.68%) Manufacturing
2 6 (31.58%) Social Skills
3 5 (26.32%) Aerospace
4 2 (10.53%) Electronics
4 2 (10.53%) French Language
5 1 (5.26%) Analytical Skills
5 1 (5.26%) Automotive
5 1 (5.26%) Documentation Skills
5 1 (5.26%) Law
5 1 (5.26%) Organisational Skills
5 1 (5.26%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 5 (26.32%) Test Engineer
2 3 (15.79%) PCB Engineer
3 2 (10.53%) Manufacturing Engineer
3 2 (10.53%) Programmer
3 2 (10.53%) QA Engineer
3 2 (10.53%) Quality Engineer
3 2 (10.53%) Senior
4 1 (5.26%) Administrator
4 1 (5.26%) Design Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Electronics Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Electronics Test Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Security Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Senior Design Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Senior Security Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Senior Systems Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Systems Engineer
4 1 (5.26%) Technical Administrator
Miscellaneous
1 3 (15.79%) Robotics
2 2 (10.53%) Analogue Electronics
2 2 (10.53%) Industry 4.0
3 1 (5.26%) Self-Motivation
Processes & Methodologies
1 9 (47.37%) Problem-Solving
2 8 (42.11%) Continuous Improvement
3 5 (26.32%) Root Cause Analysis
4 4 (21.05%) Preventative Maintenance
5 3 (15.79%) AI
5 3 (15.79%) Lean Manufacturing
5 3 (15.79%) Predictive Maintenance
6 2 (10.53%) Analytics
6 2 (10.53%) Cost Reduction
6 2 (10.53%) Data Analysis
6 2 (10.53%) Data Analytics
6 2 (10.53%) Manufacturing Engineering
6 2 (10.53%) QMS
6 2 (10.53%) Quality Management
6 2 (10.53%) Six Sigma
7 1 (5.26%) Collaborative Working
7 1 (5.26%) Decision-Making
7 1 (5.26%) Process Improvement
7 1 (5.26%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 1 (5.26%) Test Automation
Qualifications
1 6 (31.58%) Degree
1 6 (31.58%) HND
2 5 (26.32%) Security Cleared
3 4 (21.05%) SC Cleared
4 2 (10.53%) BPSS Clearance
4 2 (10.53%) City & Guilds
4 2 (10.53%) NVQ Level 3
4 2 (10.53%) NVQ Level 4
5 1 (5.26%) Chartered Engineer
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (10.53%) QA
2 1 (5.26%) IEC 61508
Systems Management
1 1 (5.26%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 5 (26.32%) SAP
2 1 (5.26%) Siemens