Security Cleared Contract Job Trends in the South East

Security Clearance
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East with a requirement for Security Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 17 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 1 1 1
Rank change year-on-year 0 0 +1
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 1,394 1,005 1,578
As % of all contract jobs in the South East 31.92% 26.58% 31.55%
As % of the Qualifications category 73.76% 68.27% 72.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 978 711 884
10th Percentile £300 £330 £213
25th Percentile £446 £450 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £524 £563 £550
Median % change year-on-year -6.89% +2.27% -
75th Percentile £600 £638 £638
90th Percentile £725 £725 £700
England median daily rate £525 £550 £550
% change year-on-year -4.55% - -2.65%
Number of hourly rates quoted 144 62 113
10th Percentile - £22.67 £30.83
25th Percentile £18.87 £31.25 £52.19
Median hourly rate £25.15 £59.75 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year -57.91% -0.42% +14.82%
75th Percentile £52.87 £64.73 £70.00
90th Percentile £90.09 £75.36 £78.00
England median hourly rate £25.15 £58.34 £60.00
% change year-on-year -56.89% -2.77% -

All Academic and Professional Certifications
South East

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 South East.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 1,890 1,472 2,172
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 43.28% 38.93% 43.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,261 982 1,289
10th Percentile £267 £269 £213
25th Percentile £415 £412 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £540 £537
Median % change year-on-year -7.45% +0.70% +0.28%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £638
90th Percentile £688 £702 £688
England median daily rate £525 £530 £550
% change year-on-year -0.94% -3.64% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 191 82 141
10th Percentile £17.87 £20.23 £27.50
25th Percentile £18.87 £27.00 £49.73
Median hourly rate £25.15 £56.75 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year -55.68% -5.43% +33.33%
75th Percentile £62.00 £64.73 £70.00
90th Percentile £90.09 £75.00 £78.00
England median hourly rate £25.15 £47.50 £52.50
% change year-on-year -47.05% -9.52% +16.67%

Security Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

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

Security Cleared job vacancy trend in the South East

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Security Cleared in the South East over the 6 months to 17 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Security Cleared in the South East

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

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

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

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Security Cleared in the South East over the 6 months to 17 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Security Cleared in the South East

Security Cleared
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 Security Cleared within the South East region over the 6 months to 17 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
Hampshire 0 658 £550 -4.35% 178
Thames Valley -1 615 £486 -11.59% 112
Berkshire -1 429 £475 -20.54% 68
Buckinghamshire 0 139 £520 +11.47% 34
Surrey +26 56 £542 -16.62% 40
Oxfordshire +5 47 £275 -56.00% 11
West Sussex +11 33 £515 -22.26% 7
Kent +8 13 £438 +143.06% 21
Middlesex - 6 - - 1
Home Counties - 2 £872 -
East Sussex +3 1 £450 -18.18% 5
Sussex -5 1 £525 +21.39%
Isle of Wight - 1 £81 - 5
Security Cleared
England

Security Cleared
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 33 (2.37%) SharePoint
2 31 (2.22%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (0.72%) Exchange Server 2010
3 10 (0.72%) Exchange Server 2013
3 10 (0.72%) Skype for Business
4 9 (0.65%) Exchange Server 2003
4 9 (0.65%) Exchange Server 2007
4 9 (0.65%) Office Communications Server
4 9 (0.65%) SharePoint Server
5 7 (0.50%) Confluence
6 5 (0.36%) Apache
7 3 (0.22%) CMS
7 3 (0.22%) Documentum
7 3 (0.22%) IIS
8 2 (0.14%) GeoServer
8 2 (0.14%) Smallworld
9 1 (0.072%) Anypoint
9 1 (0.072%) ArcGIS
9 1 (0.072%) NetWeaver
9 1 (0.072%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 49 (3.52%) Microsoft Office
2 40 (2.87%) Microsoft Excel
3 22 (1.58%) Microsoft Project
4 14 (1.00%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.36%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.072%) PTC Creo
Business Applications
1 32 (2.30%) SAP S/4HANA
2 25 (1.79%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 9 (0.65%) SAP HR
3 9 (0.65%) SAP Payroll
4 8 (0.57%) SAP EWM
4 8 (0.57%) SAP HCM
4 8 (0.57%) SAP WM
5 5 (0.36%) Salesforce CRM
6 4 (0.29%) Primavera
7 3 (0.22%) SAP ERP
7 3 (0.22%) SAP PSCD
8 2 (0.14%) Oracle Assets
8 2 (0.14%) Oracle Cash Management
8 2 (0.14%) Oracle General Ledger
8 2 (0.14%) Oracle Payables
8 2 (0.14%) Oracle Receivables
8 2 (0.14%) SAP BRIM
8 2 (0.14%) SAP Hybris
8 2 (0.14%) SAP PS
9 1 (0.072%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 184 (13.20%) Azure
2 159 (11.41%) AWS
3 70 (5.02%) GCP
4 57 (4.09%) Microsoft 365
5 38 (2.73%) OpenShift
6 32 (2.30%) Entra ID
7 27 (1.94%) GitHub
8 20 (1.43%) Power Platform
9 17 (1.22%) Azure DevOps
9 17 (1.22%) OneDrive
10 16 (1.15%) GitHub Actions
11 14 (1.00%) Amazon EKS
11 14 (1.00%) SaaS
12 12 (0.86%) Cloud Computing
12 12 (0.86%) IaaS
13 9 (0.65%) AWS CloudFormation
14 8 (0.57%) Amazon ECR
14 8 (0.57%) Serverless
15 7 (0.50%) Google Ads
16 6 (0.43%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 85 (6.10%) Firewall
2 59 (4.23%) DNS
3 39 (2.80%) DHCP
4 38 (2.73%) VPN
5 37 (2.65%) LAN
6 33 (2.37%) Network Security
6 33 (2.37%) TCP/IP
7 31 (2.22%) SAN
8 28 (2.01%) Cisco IOS
8 28 (2.01%) WAN
9 27 (1.94%) Junos
10 26 (1.87%) BGP
11 25 (1.79%) Cisco Firepower
12 24 (1.72%) Cisco ISE
13 22 (1.58%) OSPF
13 22 (1.58%) VLAN
14 17 (1.22%) Wireless
15 14 (1.00%) MPLS
16 12 (0.86%) IPsec
17 11 (0.79%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (1.43%) SQL Server
2 17 (1.22%) Power BI
3 14 (1.00%) PostgreSQL
4 9 (0.65%) NoSQL
5 8 (0.57%) MongoDB
6 7 (0.50%) SAP HANA
7 6 (0.43%) Metadata
7 6 (0.43%) Oracle Reports
7 6 (0.43%) Redis
7 6 (0.43%) Relational Database
8 5 (0.36%) Azure SQL Database
8 5 (0.36%) Oracle Database
9 4 (0.29%) MySQL
10 3 (0.22%) SAP Data Services
11 2 (0.14%) Amazon RDS
11 2 (0.14%) Big Data
11 2 (0.14%) Data Warehouse
11 2 (0.14%) GIS
11 2 (0.14%) QGIS
11 2 (0.14%) SAP BW
Development Applications
1 50 (3.59%) JIRA
2 45 (3.23%) Jenkins
3 38 (2.73%) GitLab
4 28 (2.01%) Git
5 14 (1.00%) Burp Suite
5 14 (1.00%) Metasploit
6 7 (0.50%) Artifactory
7 5 (0.36%) Android Studio
8 4 (0.29%) Gradle
8 4 (0.29%) Rational DOORS
9 3 (0.22%) Cucumber
9 3 (0.22%) JUnit
9 3 (0.22%) Maven
9 3 (0.22%) MSI
9 3 (0.22%) Postman
9 3 (0.22%) Robot Framework
9 3 (0.22%) Selenium
9 3 (0.22%) SoapUI
9 3 (0.22%) Sonatype Nexus
9 3 (0.22%) Storybook
General
1 413 (29.63%) Social Skills
2 254 (18.22%) Public Sector
3 146 (10.47%) Analytical Skills
4 70 (5.02%) Finance
5 43 (3.08%) Documentation Skills
6 36 (2.58%) Manufacturing
7 34 (2.44%) Telecoms
8 25 (1.79%) Military
9 22 (1.58%) Influencing Skills
10 21 (1.51%) Aerospace
11 19 (1.36%) Legal
12 15 (1.08%) Presentation Skills
13 14 (1.00%) Electronics
13 14 (1.00%) Organisational Skills
14 13 (0.93%) Marketing
15 11 (0.79%) Law
16 7 (0.50%) Pharmaceutical
17 5 (0.36%) Banking
18 4 (0.29%) Billing
18 4 (0.29%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 261 (18.72%) Architect
2 110 (7.89%) Consultant
3 98 (7.03%) Analyst
4 92 (6.60%) Network Engineer
5 81 (5.81%) Senior
6 76 (5.45%) Lead
7 69 (4.95%) Support Engineer
8 49 (3.52%) Developer
9 40 (2.87%) Cloud Engineer
9 40 (2.87%) DevOps Engineer
9 40 (2.87%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
9 40 (2.87%) IT Engineer
9 40 (2.87%) Project Manager
10 38 (2.73%) Infrastructure Architect
10 38 (2.73%) Solutions Architect
11 36 (2.58%) 3rd Line Engineer
11 36 (2.58%) Enterprise Architect
11 36 (2.58%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 36 (2.58%) SAP Consultant
11 36 (2.58%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (1.43%) React
2 16 (1.15%) LDAP
3 15 (1.08%) REST
4 14 (1.00%) Elastic Stack
5 13 (0.93%) .NET
5 13 (0.93%) RESTful
6 12 (0.86%) Kafka
7 10 (0.72%) SOAP
8 9 (0.65%) Web Services
9 8 (0.57%) AngularJS
9 8 (0.57%) Loki
9 8 (0.57%) Middleware
9 8 (0.57%) SAP Fiori
9 8 (0.57%) Spring Boot
9 8 (0.57%) XML
10 7 (0.50%) JSON
10 7 (0.50%) Keycloak
10 7 (0.50%) Oracle Fusion
10 7 (0.50%) Vue
11 6 (0.43%) OAuth
Miscellaneous
1 55 (3.95%) PKI
2 34 (2.44%) Onboarding
3 31 (2.22%) Data Centre
4 30 (2.15%) Management Information System
5 23 (1.65%) Cloud Native
6 22 (1.58%) Security Operations Centre
7 21 (1.51%) Private Cloud
8 20 (1.43%) Analytical Mindset
9 18 (1.29%) Legacy Systems
10 17 (1.22%) Self-Motivation
11 16 (1.15%) Driving Licence
11 16 (1.15%) PMI
12 15 (1.08%) Replication
13 12 (0.86%) Cyber Security Posture
14 11 (0.79%) Security Posture
15 10 (0.72%) Fat Client
15 10 (0.72%) Product Ownership
15 10 (0.72%) Thin Client
16 9 (0.65%) Distributed Systems
16 9 (0.65%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 237 (17.00%) Windows
2 147 (10.55%) Linux
3 56 (4.02%) Windows Server
4 49 (3.52%) Windows 10
5 29 (2.08%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 16 (1.15%) Windows Server 2019
7 12 (0.86%) Windows 7
8 11 (0.79%) Android
9 9 (0.65%) Windows Server 2003
10 8 (0.57%) Windows Server 2012
11 7 (0.50%) Ubuntu
11 7 (0.50%) Unix
12 6 (0.43%) Kali Linux
12 6 (0.43%) Mac OS
13 5 (0.36%) VMS
13 5 (0.36%) Windows Server 2016
14 3 (0.22%) Debian
15 2 (0.14%) Apple iOS
15 2 (0.14%) CentOS
15 2 (0.14%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 226 (16.21%) Agile
2 177 (12.70%) Problem-Solving
3 169 (12.12%) ITIL
4 157 (11.26%) Migration
5 139 (9.97%) CI/CD
6 132 (9.47%) DevOps
7 125 (8.97%) Service Management
8 116 (8.32%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 100 (7.17%) Stakeholder Management
10 97 (6.96%) Cybersecurity
11 84 (6.03%) Roadmaps
12 81 (5.81%) ITSM
13 78 (5.60%) Continuous Improvement
14 76 (5.45%) Workflow
15 65 (4.66%) Project Management
16 64 (4.59%) Project Delivery
17 62 (4.45%) Collaborative Working
18 61 (4.38%) SIEM
19 58 (4.16%) Workflow Management
20 57 (4.09%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 162 (11.62%) Python
2 117 (8.39%) PowerShell
3 63 (4.52%) Java
3 63 (4.52%) SQL
4 46 (3.30%) Bash
5 38 (2.73%) JavaScript
6 29 (2.08%) C#
7 14 (1.00%) ABAP
7 14 (1.00%) C++
8 11 (0.79%) Go
8 11 (0.79%) Kusto Query Language
9 10 (0.72%) Shell Script
10 7 (0.50%) C
10 7 (0.50%) PL/SQL
10 7 (0.50%) TypeScript
11 6 (0.43%) Embedded C++
12 2 (0.14%) Ada
12 2 (0.14%) Assembly Language
12 2 (0.14%) PHP
12 2 (0.14%) VB
Qualifications
1 882 (63.27%) SC Cleared
2 458 (32.86%) DV Cleared
3 72 (5.16%) Degree
4 42 (3.01%) Cisco Certification
4 42 (3.01%) CISSP
5 37 (2.65%) CCNP
6 31 (2.22%) Microsoft Certification
7 23 (1.65%) CEH
8 22 (1.58%) AWS Certification
8 22 (1.58%) Azure Certification
8 22 (1.58%) BPSS Clearance
9 20 (1.43%) CISM
10 19 (1.36%) CCNA
10 19 (1.36%) GIAC
11 18 (1.29%) PMI Certification
12 14 (1.00%) PMP
12 14 (1.00%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 13 (0.93%) Network+ Certification
14 12 (0.86%) MCSE
15 10 (0.72%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 57 (4.09%) GDPR
1 57 (4.09%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 52 (3.73%) NIST
3 38 (2.73%) QA
4 32 (2.30%) ISO/IEC 20000
5 28 (2.01%) SLA
6 24 (1.72%) PMO
7 21 (1.51%) NCSC
8 10 (0.72%) COBIT
8 10 (0.72%) PCI DSS
9 9 (0.65%) JSP 440
9 9 (0.65%) RMADS
10 8 (0.57%) GRC
10 8 (0.57%) NIST 800
11 5 (0.36%) Data Quality
12 4 (0.29%) Actionable Recommendations
12 4 (0.29%) Def Stans
12 4 (0.29%) HIPAA
12 4 (0.29%) ISO 9001
12 4 (0.29%) P3O
System Software
1 130 (9.33%) Active Directory
2 78 (5.60%) VMware Infrastructure
3 41 (2.94%) Docker
4 36 (2.58%) vSphere
5 32 (2.30%) VMware NSX
6 24 (1.72%) VMware ESXi
7 12 (0.86%) Hyper-V
7 12 (0.86%) NFS
8 9 (0.65%) Brightmail
8 9 (0.65%) ISA Server
8 9 (0.65%) Virtual Desktop
8 9 (0.65%) Virtual Machines
9 5 (0.36%) Firmware
10 2 (0.14%) UAG
10 2 (0.14%) vCloud
11 1 (0.072%) KVM
11 1 (0.072%) NetIQ eDirectory
11 1 (0.072%) RHEV
11 1 (0.072%) Sendmail
11 1 (0.072%) Xen
Systems Management
1 91 (6.53%) Kubernetes
2 70 (5.02%) Ansible
3 57 (4.09%) Terraform
4 41 (2.94%) vCenter Server
5 33 (2.37%) Grafana
5 33 (2.37%) Prometheus
6 24 (1.72%) SCCM
7 21 (1.51%) Argo
8 17 (1.22%) Nmap
9 14 (1.00%) WMI
10 13 (0.93%) SCOM
11 12 (0.86%) Kibana
12 10 (0.72%) Microsoft Clustering
12 10 (0.72%) Microsoft Intune
13 9 (0.65%) Active Directory Federation Services
14 8 (0.57%) Kustomize
14 8 (0.57%) Single Sign-On
15 7 (0.50%) Proxmox
15 7 (0.50%) Sysdig
15 7 (0.50%) vRealize
Vendors
1 200 (14.35%) Microsoft
2 144 (10.33%) Cisco
3 143 (10.26%) VMware
4 91 (6.53%) SAP
5 74 (5.31%) Juniper
6 57 (4.09%) ServiceNow
7 55 (3.95%) Red Hat
8 42 (3.01%) Aruba
9 41 (2.94%) Splunk
10 34 (2.44%) Google
10 34 (2.44%) SolarWinds
11 26 (1.87%) Sparx
12 25 (1.79%) NetApp
12 25 (1.79%) Palo Alto
13 23 (1.65%) Oracle
14 22 (1.58%) CyberArk
15 20 (1.43%) CheckPoint
16 15 (1.08%) BeyondTrust
17 14 (1.00%) HP
18 13 (0.93%) Citrix