HNC Contract Job Trends in the South East

Higher National Certificate (HNC)
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East with a requirement for HNC qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 25 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 192 157 198
Rank change year-on-year -35 +41 +42
Contract jobs citing HNC 2 9 5
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 0.045% 0.24% 0.10%
As % of the Qualifications category 0.10% 0.64% 0.23%
Number of daily rates quoted 1 5 1
10th Percentile - £320 -
25th Percentile £263 £350 -
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £275 £400 £450
Median % change year-on-year -31.25% -11.11% +23.63%
75th Percentile £288 £685 -
90th Percentile - - -
England median daily rate £298 £400 £385
% change year-on-year -25.39% +3.90% -23.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 0 3
10th Percentile - - £58.40
25th Percentile - - £61.63
Median hourly rate £21.25 - £67.00
75th Percentile - - £71.55
90th Percentile - - £74.28
England median hourly rate £42.50 £32.50 £52.50
% change year-on-year +30.77% -38.10% +41.40%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
South East

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 South East.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 1,934 1,409 2,190
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.70% 38.20% 43.94%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,285 934 1,302
10th Percentile £270 £263 £213
25th Percentile £415 £408 £403
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% +0.23%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £638
90th Percentile £698 £700 £700
England median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 197 77 139
10th Percentile £15.70 £20.80 £27.40
25th Percentile £18.87 £31.25 £49.84
Median hourly rate £25.15 £56.75 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year -55.68% -5.43% +33.33%
75th Percentile £60.25 £64.73 £70.00
90th Percentile £90.09 £75.00 £78.00
England median hourly rate £25.15 £47.37 £52.05
% change year-on-year -46.91% -8.99% +15.67%

HNC
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

HNC job vacancy trend in the South East

HNC
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

HNC
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

HNC
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 HNC within the South East region over the 6 months to 25 December 2025. 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
Surrey -5 1 £275 -21.43% 1
Sussex - 1 - - 1
HNC
England

HNC
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:

Applications
1 2 (100.00%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (50.00%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (50.00%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 1 (50.00%) Microsoft Project
Communications & Networking
1 1 (50.00%) Broadband
General
1 1 (50.00%) Analytical Skills
1 1 (50.00%) Electronics
1 1 (50.00%) Finance
1 1 (50.00%) Organisational Skills
1 1 (50.00%) Public Sector
1 1 (50.00%) Social Skills
1 1 (50.00%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 1 (50.00%) Electronics Technician
1 1 (50.00%) Project Officer
1 1 (50.00%) Project Support Officer
1 1 (50.00%) Support Officer
Miscellaneous
1 1 (50.00%) FPGA
Processes & Methodologies
1 1 (50.00%) Change Control
1 1 (50.00%) Coaching
1 1 (50.00%) Data Management
1 1 (50.00%) Decision-Making
1 1 (50.00%) Performance Monitoring
1 1 (50.00%) Problem-Solving
1 1 (50.00%) Project Governance
1 1 (50.00%) Project Management
1 1 (50.00%) Project Planning
1 1 (50.00%) Software Testing
1 1 (50.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
1 1 (50.00%) Time Management
Qualifications
1 2 (100.00%) HND
2 1 (50.00%) Degree
2 1 (50.00%) SC Cleared
2 1 (50.00%) Security Cleared
Vendors
1 1 (50.00%) Microsoft