Continuous Improvement Contract Job Trends in the South East

Continual Improvement
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Continuous Improvement skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 14 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 18 42 39
Rank change year-on-year +24 -3 +30
Contract jobs citing Continuous Improvement 470 152 244
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 7.73% 5.03% 4.25%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.55% 5.49% 5.15%
Number of daily rates quoted 271 94 128
10th Percentile £350 £325 £354
25th Percentile £425 £417 £456
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £503
Median % change year-on-year - +4.48% -8.64%
75th Percentile £616 £600 £641
90th Percentile £700 £668 £688
England median daily rate £500 £500 £525
% change year-on-year - -4.76% -6.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 57 10 18
10th Percentile £46.55 - £18.35
25th Percentile £80.75 £15.13 £27.36
Median hourly rate £87.96 £17.58 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +400.34% -53.12% -25.00%
75th Percentile £88.00 £58.19 £52.19
90th Percentile £91.80 £69.46 £62.07
England median hourly rate £55.00 £46.06 £36.50
% change year-on-year +19.41% +26.19% -12.74%

All Process & Methodology Skills
South East

Continuous Improvement falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 4,919 2,768 4,742
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 80.88% 91.63% 82.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,126 1,751 2,740
10th Percentile £280 £250 £260
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £501
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -0.10% -1.38%
75th Percentile £610 £600 £625
90th Percentile £700 £661 £700
England median daily rate £516 £520 £525
% change year-on-year -0.77% -0.95% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 481 200 469
10th Percentile £15.05 £13.25 £13.00
25th Percentile £23.00 £15.12 £18.32
Median hourly rate £52.50 £25.15 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year +108.75% -49.70% -4.76%
75th Percentile £82.25 £57.80 £65.00
90th Percentile £88.00 £75.00 £76.89
England median hourly rate £47.00 £27.53 £37.50
% change year-on-year +70.72% -26.59% +5.63%

Continuous Improvement
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Continuous Improvement relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Continuous Improvement job vacancy trend in the South East

Continuous Improvement
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Continuous Improvement.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Continuous Improvement in the South East over the 6 months to 14 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Continuous Improvement in the South East

Continuous Improvement
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Continuous Improvement.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Continuous Improvement in the South East over the 6 months to 14 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Continuous Improvement in the South East

Continuous Improvement
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Continuous Improvement within the South East region over the 6 months to 14 June 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
Thames Valley +17 218 £519 +3.80% 182
Berkshire +26 165 £510 +2.00% 100
Hampshire +21 147 £550 -8.33% 106
Surrey +15 48 £450 -14.29% 57
Buckinghamshire -9 45 £525 -4.55% 45
West Sussex -12 23 £550 +31.34% 21
Oxfordshire -24 8 £725 +190.00% 37
East Sussex -2 7 £643 +16.91% 9
Middlesex - 4 - - 5
Kent +1 2 £463 -18.50% 32
Sussex - 1 £600 - 4
Continuous Improvement
England

Continuous Improvement
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 15 (3.19%) Confluence
2 11 (2.34%) SharePoint
3 1 (0.21%) Adobe Experience Manager
3 1 (0.21%) Microsoft Exchange
3 1 (0.21%) SharePoint 2010
3 1 (0.21%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 28 (5.96%) Microsoft Excel
2 6 (1.28%) Microsoft Office
2 6 (1.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 5 (1.06%) Microsoft Project
4 3 (0.64%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.21%) Chatbot
5 1 (0.21%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 15 (3.19%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.49%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
3 4 (0.85%) Remedy ITSM
4 3 (0.64%) iTrent
4 3 (0.64%) Maximo
5 2 (0.43%) Oracle ERP
5 2 (0.43%) Salesforce CRM
5 2 (0.43%) SAP SD
5 2 (0.43%) Teamcenter
6 1 (0.21%) Primavera
6 1 (0.21%) SAP BPC
6 1 (0.21%) SAP BRIM
6 1 (0.21%) SAP Business One
6 1 (0.21%) SAP Convergent Charging
6 1 (0.21%) SAP ERP
6 1 (0.21%) SAP PLM
Cloud Services
1 67 (14.26%) Azure
2 45 (9.57%) AWS
3 23 (4.89%) Power Platform
4 14 (2.98%) GCP
5 12 (2.55%) Azure DevOps
5 12 (2.55%) Entra ID
6 10 (2.13%) Serverless
7 9 (1.91%) SaaS
8 6 (1.28%) OpenShift
9 5 (1.06%) GitHub
9 5 (1.06%) GitHub Actions
9 5 (1.06%) Microsoft 365
9 5 (1.06%) Microsoft Purview
10 4 (0.85%) Amazon EKS
10 4 (0.85%) Amazon S3
10 4 (0.85%) AWS Lambda
10 4 (0.85%) Azure Logic Apps
10 4 (0.85%) dbt
10 4 (0.85%) OCI
11 3 (0.64%) SuccessFactors
Communications & Networking
1 15 (3.19%) Network Security
2 13 (2.77%) LAN
3 12 (2.55%) Firewall
4 7 (1.49%) VPN
5 6 (1.28%) DNS
5 6 (1.28%) WAN
5 6 (1.28%) Wi-Fi
6 5 (1.06%) SD-WAN
6 5 (1.06%) VLAN
6 5 (1.06%) Wireless
7 4 (0.85%) TCP/IP
8 3 (0.64%) BGP
8 3 (0.64%) DHCP
8 3 (0.64%) MQTT
8 3 (0.64%) OSPF
9 2 (0.43%) Intrusion Detection
9 2 (0.43%) IPv4
9 2 (0.43%) IPv6
9 2 (0.43%) MPLS
9 2 (0.43%) Multicast
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (4.68%) Power BI
2 9 (1.91%) Metadata
3 7 (1.49%) Data Warehouse
4 6 (1.28%) Tableau
5 4 (0.85%) Data Lake
5 4 (0.85%) Geospatial Data
5 4 (0.85%) GIS
5 4 (0.85%) Oracle Reports
5 4 (0.85%) PostgreSQL
5 4 (0.85%) SQL Server
6 3 (0.64%) DynamoDB
6 3 (0.64%) Elasticsearch
6 3 (0.64%) Metadata Repository
6 3 (0.64%) Redis
6 3 (0.64%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 2 (0.43%) Azure SQL Database
7 2 (0.43%) NoSQL
7 2 (0.43%) SAP HANA
7 2 (0.43%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 2 (0.43%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 27 (5.74%) Rational DOORS
2 21 (4.47%) JIRA
3 10 (2.13%) GitLab
4 7 (1.49%) Jenkins
5 6 (1.28%) Git
6 5 (1.06%) SonarQube
7 3 (0.64%) Hudson
7 3 (0.64%) Selenium
8 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
8 2 (0.43%) SpecFlow
8 2 (0.43%) Visual Studio
9 1 (0.21%) Balsamiq
9 1 (0.21%) Bitbucket
9 1 (0.21%) Cucumber
9 1 (0.21%) Cypress.io
9 1 (0.21%) ERwin
9 1 (0.21%) Postman
9 1 (0.21%) SoapUI
9 1 (0.21%) TestRail
9 1 (0.21%) WebDriver
General
1 209 (44.47%) Social Skills
2 111 (23.62%) Analytical Skills
3 105 (22.34%) Finance
4 55 (11.70%) Public Sector
5 51 (10.85%) Aerospace
6 17 (3.62%) Legal
6 17 (3.62%) Retail
7 16 (3.40%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 15 (3.19%) Telecoms
9 14 (2.98%) Organisational Skills
10 13 (2.77%) French Language
10 13 (2.77%) Spanish Language
11 12 (2.55%) Influencing Skills
11 12 (2.55%) Law
12 7 (1.49%) Documentation Skills
13 6 (1.28%) Presentation Skills
14 5 (1.06%) Aviation
14 5 (1.06%) Marketing
15 4 (0.85%) Billing
15 4 (0.85%) Military
Job Titles
1 67 (14.26%) Analyst
2 49 (10.43%) Lead
2 49 (10.43%) Senior
3 47 (10.00%) Delivery Manager
4 36 (7.66%) Architect
4 36 (7.66%) Product Manager
5 29 (6.17%) Product Delivery Manager
6 22 (4.68%) IT Manager
6 22 (4.68%) Systems Delivery Manager
6 22 (4.68%) Systems Manager
7 17 (3.62%) Service Manager
8 14 (2.98%) Data Analyst
8 14 (2.98%) Solutions Architect
9 13 (2.77%) 2nd Line Support
9 13 (2.77%) 2nd Line Technical Support
9 13 (2.77%) Senior Analyst
9 13 (2.77%) Technical Support
10 12 (2.55%) Consultant
10 12 (2.55%) Service Analyst
11 11 (2.34%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (2.34%) OAuth
2 9 (1.91%) RESTful
3 8 (1.70%) SAML
3 8 (1.70%) SOAP
4 7 (1.49%) .NET
4 7 (1.49%) OpenID
5 6 (1.28%) LDAP
5 6 (1.28%) OAuth2
6 5 (1.06%) GraphQL
6 5 (1.06%) JSON
6 5 (1.06%) Kafka
6 5 (1.06%) Keycloak
6 5 (1.06%) REST
7 4 (0.85%) ARM Templates
7 4 (0.85%) EDI
7 4 (0.85%) Elastic Stack
7 4 (0.85%) Middleware
7 4 (0.85%) XML
8 3 (0.64%) Protocol Buffers
8 3 (0.64%) React
Miscellaneous
1 65 (13.83%) Product Ownership
2 25 (5.32%) Data Structures
3 22 (4.68%) Management Information System
4 21 (4.47%) Onboarding
5 16 (3.40%) Data Centre
6 15 (3.19%) Security Posture
7 14 (2.98%) Analytical Mindset
7 14 (2.98%) Cloud Native
7 14 (2.98%) Legacy Systems
8 12 (2.55%) Operational Technology
9 11 (2.34%) PMI
10 8 (1.70%) CMDB
10 8 (1.70%) Data Protection Act
11 6 (1.28%) Taxonomies
12 5 (1.06%) Distributed Systems
12 5 (1.06%) PKI
12 5 (1.06%) Security Operations Centre
12 5 (1.06%) Virtual Team
13 4 (0.85%) Life Science
13 4 (0.85%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 25 (5.32%) Windows
2 9 (1.91%) Linux
3 3 (0.64%) Windows Server
4 2 (0.43%) Apple iOS
4 2 (0.43%) Windows Server 2019
5 1 (0.21%) Android
5 1 (0.21%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 153 (32.55%) Agile
2 119 (25.32%) Stakeholder Management
3 105 (22.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
4 89 (18.94%) Problem-Solving
5 84 (17.87%) ITIL
6 63 (13.40%) Roadmaps
7 62 (13.19%) Decision-Making
8 57 (12.13%) Service Management
9 49 (10.43%) Cybersecurity
9 49 (10.43%) ITSM
10 46 (9.79%) Change Management
10 46 (9.79%) Service Delivery
11 45 (9.57%) CI/CD
11 45 (9.57%) Scaled Agile Framework
12 42 (8.94%) DevOps
12 42 (8.94%) Risk Management
13 41 (8.72%) Configuration Management
13 41 (8.72%) PRINCE2
14 40 (8.51%) Computer Science
15 39 (8.30%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 34 (7.23%) SQL
2 24 (5.11%) Python
3 15 (3.19%) Java
3 15 (3.19%) PowerShell
4 7 (1.49%) Bash
4 7 (1.49%) C#
5 4 (0.85%) Bicep
5 4 (0.85%) JavaScript
6 3 (0.64%) Rust
6 3 (0.64%) Shell Script
6 3 (0.64%) TypeScript
7 2 (0.43%) Apex Code
7 2 (0.43%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 2 (0.43%) PL/SQL
7 2 (0.43%) T-SQL
8 1 (0.21%) ABAP
8 1 (0.21%) C
8 1 (0.21%) Perl
8 1 (0.21%) Swift
8 1 (0.21%) VB
Qualifications
1 231 (49.15%) Security Cleared
2 122 (25.96%) SC Cleared
3 79 (16.81%) Degree
4 64 (13.62%) DV Cleared
5 25 (5.32%) PMI Certification
6 22 (4.68%) ACCA
6 22 (4.68%) CIMA
7 15 (3.19%) PMP
8 11 (2.34%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (2.13%) CCNP
10 9 (1.91%) Azure Certification
11 6 (1.28%) BPSS Clearance
11 6 (1.28%) CCNA
11 6 (1.28%) CISSP
11 6 (1.28%) Computer Science Degree
12 5 (1.06%) AWS Certification
12 5 (1.06%) ISTQB
13 4 (0.85%) CISM
13 4 (0.85%) Six Sigma Green Belt
14 3 (0.64%) CESG Certified Professional
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (7.45%) Data Quality
2 28 (5.96%) QA
3 23 (4.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 21 (4.47%) PMO
5 17 (3.62%) NIST
6 15 (3.19%) GDPR
7 13 (2.77%) NCSC
8 11 (2.34%) SLA
9 7 (1.49%) Accessibility
10 6 (1.28%) Cyber Essentials
11 5 (1.06%) GRC
12 3 (0.64%) Def Stans
12 3 (0.64%) ISO 22301
12 3 (0.64%) ISO 31000
12 3 (0.64%) NIST 800
13 2 (0.43%) Actionable Recommendations
14 1 (0.21%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
14 1 (0.21%) Disclosure Scotland
14 1 (0.21%) IFRS
14 1 (0.21%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 16 (3.40%) Active Directory
2 14 (2.98%) Docker
2 14 (2.98%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (1.06%) Virtual Machines
4 3 (0.64%) VMware NSX
5 2 (0.43%) Firmware
5 2 (0.43%) VMware ESXi
6 1 (0.21%) Hyper-V
6 1 (0.21%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 19 (4.04%) Kubernetes
1 19 (4.04%) Terraform
2 14 (2.98%) Ansible
3 8 (1.70%) Grafana
4 7 (1.49%) Prometheus
5 5 (1.06%) Puppet
6 4 (0.85%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 4 (0.85%) Nessus
6 4 (0.85%) SCCM
6 4 (0.85%) Single Sign-On
7 3 (0.64%) Microsoft Intune
7 3 (0.64%) OpenVAS
7 3 (0.64%) Podman
8 2 (0.43%) Argo
8 2 (0.43%) Cisco Prime
8 2 (0.43%) Iperf
8 2 (0.43%) Nagios
8 2 (0.43%) Nmap
8 2 (0.43%) Progress Chef
8 2 (0.43%) Rancher
Vendors
1 39 (8.30%) Microsoft
2 36 (7.66%) SAP
3 35 (7.45%) ServiceNow
4 25 (5.32%) IBM
5 21 (4.47%) Oracle
5 21 (4.47%) VMware
6 10 (2.13%) Cisco
7 9 (1.91%) Juniper
7 9 (1.91%) Salesforce
7 9 (1.91%) SolarWinds
8 6 (1.28%) Databricks
8 6 (1.28%) Qualys
8 6 (1.28%) Remedy
8 6 (1.28%) Virgin Media
9 5 (1.06%) Aruba
9 5 (1.06%) Google
9 5 (1.06%) Palo Alto
9 5 (1.06%) Red Hat
10 4 (0.85%) ESRI
10 4 (0.85%) Rapid7