Security Cleared Contract Job Trends in the North West

Security Clearance
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the North West with a requirement for Security Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 7 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 2 2 2
Rank change year-on-year 0 0 +1
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 531 438 459
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 20.13% 20.62% 15.93%
As % of the Qualifications category 62.18% 61.95% 52.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 362 250 330
10th Percentile £314 £291 £400
25th Percentile £414 £400 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £485 £550
Median % change year-on-year +3.09% -11.82% +4.76%
75th Percentile £629 £575 £644
90th Percentile £707 £672 £721
England median daily rate £525 £550 £550
% change year-on-year -4.55% - -2.65%
Number of hourly rates quoted 53 21 43
10th Percentile £16.17 £25.26 £14.50
25th Percentile £25.15 £37.00 £33.48
Median hourly rate £52.78 £50.00 £46.18
Median % change year-on-year +5.55% +8.27% +63.76%
75th Percentile £69.25 £73.56 £57.63
90th Percentile £74.26 £85.78 £73.75
England median hourly rate £25.15 £60.00 £58.30
% change year-on-year -58.08% +2.92% -2.83%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
North West

Security Cleared 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 854 707 878
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 32.37% 33.29% 30.46%
Number of daily rates quoted 578 398 543
10th Percentile £204 £230 £268
25th Percentile £372 £369 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £473 £475 £530
Median % change year-on-year -0.42% -10.38% +6.00%
75th Percentile £581 £563 £649
90th Percentile £686 £652 £720
England median daily rate £520 £525 £545
% change year-on-year -0.95% -3.67% -0.91%
Number of hourly rates quoted 82 41 96
10th Percentile £18.88 £24.00 £13.57
25th Percentile £28.88 £26.25 £15.94
Median hourly rate £45.46 £32.50 £35.95
Median % change year-on-year +39.88% -9.60% +23.97%
75th Percentile £66.75 £55.25 £46.18
90th Percentile £74.26 £74.75 £64.38
England median hourly rate £25.15 £50.00 £46.18
% change year-on-year -49.70% +8.27% +2.62%

Security Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Security Cleared job vacancy trend in the North West

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Security Cleared in the North West over the 6 months to 7 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Security Cleared in the North West

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Security Cleared in the North West over the 6 months to 7 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Security Cleared in the North West

Security Cleared
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 Security Cleared within the North West region over the 6 months to 7 February 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 -6 156 £480 +3.78% 100
Cheshire +6 121 £598 +49.50% 13
Lancashire +2 108 £550 +69.23% 26
Cumbria 0 108 £500 -2.34% 10
Merseyside -6 28 £500 +37.46% 5
Security Cleared
England

Security Cleared
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 21 (3.95%) Microsoft Exchange
2 10 (1.88%) Confluence
2 10 (1.88%) SharePoint
3 9 (1.69%) Skype for Business
4 4 (0.75%) Apache
4 4 (0.75%) Apache Airflow
5 3 (0.56%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.56%) MTS
6 2 (0.38%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 2 (0.38%) CICS
6 2 (0.38%) Jupyter
6 2 (0.38%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.19%) CMS
7 1 (0.19%) nginx
7 1 (0.19%) SAS
Applications
1 27 (5.08%) Microsoft Office
2 5 (0.94%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 4 (0.75%) Microsoft Excel
4 2 (0.38%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.38%) Siemens NX
5 1 (0.19%) Adobe Premiere
5 1 (0.19%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.19%) Quicktime
Business Applications
1 60 (11.30%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.88%) SAP EHS
2 10 (1.88%) SAP MM
2 10 (1.88%) SAP VC
3 9 (1.69%) SAP QM
4 2 (0.38%) Remedy ITSM
4 2 (0.38%) SAP EWM
4 2 (0.38%) Teamcenter
5 1 (0.19%) Oracle EBS
5 1 (0.19%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.19%) Primavera
5 1 (0.19%) SAP HCM
5 1 (0.19%) SAP SD
5 1 (0.19%) SAP Travel Management
5 1 (0.19%) SAP WM
Cloud Services
1 68 (12.81%) AWS
2 47 (8.85%) Azure
3 32 (6.03%) Microsoft 365
4 18 (3.39%) GCP
4 18 (3.39%) Power Platform
5 13 (2.45%) GitHub
6 12 (2.26%) Entra ID
6 12 (2.26%) SaaS
7 9 (1.69%) Azure DevOps
8 8 (1.51%) Serverless
9 7 (1.32%) Amazon EKS
10 6 (1.13%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 6 (1.13%) Amazon S3
10 6 (1.13%) AWS CloudFormation
10 6 (1.13%) GitHub Actions
11 5 (0.94%) Amazon EC2
11 5 (0.94%) IaaS
11 5 (0.94%) OneDrive
12 4 (0.75%) AWS Lambda
12 4 (0.75%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 64 (12.05%) Firewall
2 33 (6.21%) VLAN
3 28 (5.27%) WAN
4 27 (5.08%) Wi-Fi
5 26 (4.90%) Network Security
6 23 (4.33%) DNS
7 17 (3.20%) VPN
8 16 (3.01%) LAN
9 15 (2.82%) SAN
10 14 (2.64%) BGP
11 13 (2.45%) TCP/IP
12 11 (2.07%) Cisco ISE
12 11 (2.07%) NetScaler
13 10 (1.88%) DHCP
14 9 (1.69%) Skype
15 8 (1.51%) Software-Defined Networking
15 8 (1.51%) Unified Communications
16 7 (1.32%) Internet
16 7 (1.32%) WebEx
16 7 (1.32%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 13 (2.45%) Power BI
2 12 (2.26%) PostgreSQL
3 10 (1.88%) Relational Database
3 10 (1.88%) SAP HANA
4 8 (1.51%) MongoDB
4 8 (1.51%) NoSQL
5 7 (1.32%) Data Warehouse
5 7 (1.32%) MySQL
6 6 (1.13%) Metadata
6 6 (1.13%) SQL Server
7 4 (0.75%) DynamoDB
7 4 (0.75%) Elasticsearch
7 4 (0.75%) Redis
8 3 (0.56%) Big Data
8 3 (0.56%) BigQuery
8 3 (0.56%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 2 (0.38%) Apache Cassandra
9 2 (0.38%) DataStage
9 2 (0.38%) RDBMS
9 2 (0.38%) WebFOCUS
Development Applications
1 30 (5.65%) GitLab
2 23 (4.33%) Git
3 15 (2.82%) JIRA
4 11 (2.07%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.75%) Rational DOORS
5 4 (0.75%) Selenium
5 4 (0.75%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.56%) Cypress.io
6 3 (0.56%) Gatling
6 3 (0.56%) JMeter
6 3 (0.56%) Postman
6 3 (0.56%) REST Assured
7 2 (0.38%) Artifactory
7 2 (0.38%) Grunt
7 2 (0.38%) gulp
7 2 (0.38%) Jasmine
7 2 (0.38%) Mockito
7 2 (0.38%) MSI
7 2 (0.38%) Serenity BDD
8 1 (0.19%) Mocha
General
1 166 (31.26%) Public Sector
2 119 (22.41%) Social Skills
3 39 (7.34%) Finance
4 38 (7.16%) Analytical Skills
5 19 (3.58%) Military
6 18 (3.39%) Documentation Skills
7 13 (2.45%) Manufacturing
8 11 (2.07%) Legal
9 10 (1.88%) Telecoms
10 9 (1.69%) Electronics
11 8 (1.51%) Marketing
12 7 (1.32%) Banking
13 6 (1.13%) Aerospace
13 6 (1.13%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 6 (1.13%) Organisational Skills
14 5 (0.94%) Influencing Skills
15 3 (0.56%) Presentation Skills
16 2 (0.38%) Corporate Banking
16 2 (0.38%) Law
17 1 (0.19%) Retail Banking
Job Titles
1 74 (13.94%) Consultant
2 66 (12.43%) Architect
3 49 (9.23%) Developer
4 41 (7.72%) Network Engineer
5 39 (7.34%) SAP Consultant
5 39 (7.34%) Senior
6 33 (6.21%) Analyst
7 23 (4.33%) Management Consultant
8 22 (4.14%) Technical Architect
9 20 (3.77%) Lead
10 19 (3.58%) Administrator
10 19 (3.58%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
11 18 (3.39%) Platform Engineer
12 17 (3.20%) DevOps Engineer
13 14 (2.64%) IT Support
13 14 (2.64%) Support Engineer
14 12 (2.26%) Business Analyst
15 11 (2.07%) Designer
15 11 (2.07%) Java Developer
15 11 (2.07%) Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (3.95%) SAP Fiori
2 18 (3.39%) Spring
3 16 (3.01%) Spring Boot
4 15 (2.82%) JSON
5 12 (2.26%) 802.1X
5 12 (2.26%) Node.js
5 12 (2.26%) RESTful
5 12 (2.26%) Web Services
5 12 (2.26%) XML
6 11 (2.07%) HTML
6 11 (2.07%) REST
7 10 (1.88%) BAPI
7 10 (1.88%) Kafka
8 9 (1.69%) CSS
9 8 (1.51%) Playwright
10 7 (1.32%) React
10 7 (1.32%) SOAP
11 6 (1.13%) Hibernate
11 6 (1.13%) OAuth
11 6 (1.13%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 56 (10.55%) Data Centre
2 29 (5.46%) Onboarding
2 29 (5.46%) Product Ownership
3 13 (2.45%) Replication
4 11 (2.07%) Clustering
5 10 (1.88%) Cyber Threat
6 9 (1.69%) Enterprise Software
7 6 (1.13%) Driving Licence
8 5 (0.94%) Cloud Native
8 5 (0.94%) Legacy Systems
8 5 (0.94%) Low-Code
8 5 (0.94%) Operational Technology
8 5 (0.94%) Video Conferencing
9 4 (0.75%) Distributed Systems
9 4 (0.75%) Mobile App
9 4 (0.75%) SCADA
9 4 (0.75%) Security Posture
10 3 (0.56%) Analytical Mindset
10 3 (0.56%) Handset
10 3 (0.56%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 73 (13.75%) Windows
2 43 (8.10%) Linux
3 24 (4.52%) Windows Server
4 23 (4.33%) Windows 10
5 18 (3.39%) Unix
6 13 (2.45%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 11 (2.07%) Solaris
8 9 (1.69%) Windows 7
9 8 (1.51%) Android
10 7 (1.32%) Mac OS
11 4 (0.75%) Apple iOS
12 2 (0.38%) AIX
12 2 (0.38%) Mac OS X
13 1 (0.19%) VMS
13 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2016
13 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 68 (12.81%) Problem-Solving
2 64 (12.05%) Agile
3 54 (10.17%) DevOps
4 51 (9.60%) CI/CD
5 47 (8.85%) ITSM
6 45 (8.47%) Migration
7 44 (8.29%) Stakeholder Management
8 43 (8.10%) Cybersecurity
8 43 (8.10%) Service Management
9 39 (7.34%) Continuous Improvement
10 36 (6.78%) Containerisation
11 35 (6.59%) High Availability
11 35 (6.59%) Validation
12 34 (6.40%) Project Delivery
13 33 (6.21%) Test Automation
14 30 (5.65%) Disaster Recovery
15 26 (4.90%) Change Management
15 26 (4.90%) Platform Engineering
15 26 (4.90%) User Experience
16 25 (4.71%) Mentoring
Programming Languages
1 64 (12.05%) Python
2 49 (9.23%) PowerShell
3 38 (7.16%) Java
4 23 (4.33%) Bash
5 16 (3.01%) JavaScript
5 16 (3.01%) Perl
6 15 (2.82%) TypeScript
7 12 (2.26%) SQL
8 11 (2.07%) ABAP
9 9 (1.69%) VB
9 9 (1.69%) VBScript
10 4 (0.75%) Go
10 4 (0.75%) Ruby
10 4 (0.75%) Rust
11 3 (0.56%) C
11 3 (0.56%) C++
11 3 (0.56%) Kusto Query Language
12 2 (0.38%) C#
12 2 (0.38%) COBOL
12 2 (0.38%) PHP
Qualifications
1 379 (71.37%) SC Cleared
2 64 (12.05%) BPSS Clearance
3 49 (9.23%) DV Cleared
4 38 (7.16%) Degree
5 27 (5.08%) CCNP
5 27 (5.08%) Cisco Certification
6 20 (3.77%) CCNA
7 11 (2.07%) Microsoft Certification
8 10 (1.88%) CCDP
8 10 (1.88%) Computer Science Degree
9 9 (1.69%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 8 (1.51%) CISSP
10 8 (1.51%) MCSA
10 8 (1.51%) MCSE
10 8 (1.51%) VCAP
11 7 (1.32%) AWS Certification
11 7 (1.32%) CISM
12 6 (1.13%) Azure Certification
12 6 (1.13%) ITIL Certification
13 5 (0.94%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (3.58%) NIST
2 18 (3.39%) Accessibility
3 12 (2.26%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 9 (1.69%) Data Quality
4 9 (1.69%) SLA
5 7 (1.32%) NCSC
5 7 (1.32%) QA
6 6 (1.13%) JSP 440
7 4 (0.75%) WCAG
8 3 (0.56%) GDPR
8 3 (0.56%) IEC 61508
8 3 (0.56%) IFRS
8 3 (0.56%) ISO 26262
9 2 (0.38%) IEC 61131
9 2 (0.38%) IEC 62304
9 2 (0.38%) IFRS 17
9 2 (0.38%) PMO
9 2 (0.38%) PSD2
10 1 (0.19%) GRC
10 1 (0.19%) SOC 2
System Software
1 35 (6.59%) Docker
2 31 (5.84%) Active Directory
3 21 (3.95%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (1.88%) Virtual Machines
4 10 (1.88%) vSphere
5 9 (1.69%) BitLocker
5 9 (1.69%) VMware ESXi
6 4 (0.75%) Firmware
7 2 (0.38%) ISA Server
8 1 (0.19%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 36 (6.78%) Kubernetes
2 33 (6.21%) Terraform
3 26 (4.90%) SCCM
4 15 (2.82%) Ansible
5 13 (2.45%) Microsoft Intune
6 11 (2.07%) vCenter Server
7 8 (1.51%) Grafana
8 7 (1.32%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 6 (1.13%) Norton AntiVirus
9 6 (1.13%) Prometheus
10 3 (0.56%) FortiGate
11 1 (0.19%) AirWatch
11 1 (0.19%) Argo
11 1 (0.19%) Cisco CUCM
11 1 (0.19%) Failover Clustering
11 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Clustering
11 1 (0.19%) Nagios
11 1 (0.19%) Packer
11 1 (0.19%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 1 (0.19%) vRealize
Vendors
1 79 (14.88%) SAP
2 74 (13.94%) Microsoft
3 71 (13.37%) Cisco
4 35 (6.59%) Palo Alto
5 32 (6.03%) Oracle
6 31 (5.84%) ServiceNow
7 28 (5.27%) VMware
8 17 (3.20%) Meraki
9 12 (2.26%) Adobe
9 12 (2.26%) Citrix
10 11 (2.07%) Dell
10 11 (2.07%) Red Hat
11 9 (1.69%) IBM
12 7 (1.32%) HP
12 7 (1.32%) McAfee
12 7 (1.32%) Splunk
12 7 (1.32%) Symantec
13 6 (1.13%) Apple
13 6 (1.13%) CyberArk
13 6 (1.13%) F5