Continuous Improvement Contract Job Trends in the South West

Continual Improvement
England > South West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South West requiring Continuous Improvement skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 7 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 29 38
Rank change year-on-year +16 +9 +19
Contract jobs citing Continuous Improvement 316 102 132
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 8.80% 5.38% 4.68%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.01% 6.00% 5.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 191 62 101
10th Percentile £312 £361 £175
25th Percentile £425 £425 £456
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £483
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% +3.52% -19.50%
75th Percentile £645 £609 £638
90th Percentile £730 £706 £738
England median daily rate £513 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 14 1
10th Percentile £12.71 - -
25th Percentile £19.82 - -
Median hourly rate £30.50 £6.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +408.33% -82.86% -30.00%
75th Percentile £57.50 £53.48 -
90th Percentile £83.60 £67.50 -
England median hourly rate £47.50 £28.75 £51.25
% change year-on-year +65.22% -43.90% -10.87%

All Process & Methodology Skills
South West

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 West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 2,871 1,699 2,365
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 79.97% 89.61% 83.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,599 1,008 1,509
10th Percentile £325 £220 £263
25th Percentile £425 £367 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £503 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.48% -4.29% -2.33%
75th Percentile £613 £619 £630
90th Percentile £713 £693 £700
England median daily rate £525 £513 £525
% change year-on-year +2.44% -2.38% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 431 200 288
10th Percentile £14.85 £15.14 £15.50
25th Percentile £30.25 £18.51 £40.00
Median hourly rate £57.50 £25.15 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year +128.63% -61.31% -
75th Percentile £68.00 £65.00 £72.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.00 £77.50
England median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £42.50
% change year-on-year +74.79% -40.82% -

Continuous Improvement
Job Vacancy Trend in the South West

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

Continuous Improvement job vacancy trend in the South West

Continuous Improvement
Daily Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

Continuous Improvement
Daily Rate Histogram in the South West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Continuous Improvement in the South West over the 6 months to 7 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Continuous Improvement in the South West

Continuous Improvement
Hourly Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

Continuous Improvement
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Continuous Improvement in the South West over the 6 months to 7 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Continuous Improvement in the South West

Continuous Improvement
Contract Job Locations in the South West

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 West region over the 6 months to 7 August 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
Bristol +8 101 £500 +15.34% 123
Wiltshire +21 66 £525 -12.50% 34
Somerset +9 47 £655 +11.49% 33
Devon 0 34 £505 -12.17% 43
Gloucestershire +5 32 £525 +5.00% 69
Dorset +4 14 £409 -13.89% 35
Cornwall - 1 - - 11
Continuous Improvement
England

Continuous Improvement
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South 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 16 (5.06%) SharePoint
2 7 (2.22%) Confluence
3 3 (0.95%) Apache Spark
3 3 (0.95%) Microsoft Exchange
4 2 (0.63%) CMS
4 2 (0.63%) Sitecore CMS
5 1 (0.32%) Apache
5 1 (0.32%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.32%) ColdFusion
5 1 (0.32%) Mattermost
Applications
1 23 (7.28%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (4.11%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (2.22%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 7 (2.22%) Microsoft Project
4 5 (1.58%) MS Visio
4 5 (1.58%) Trello
5 1 (0.32%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 5 (1.58%) Payment Gateway
2 4 (1.27%) Workday HCM
3 2 (0.63%) Magento
3 2 (0.63%) Primavera
3 2 (0.63%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.63%) SAP CRM
4 1 (0.32%) DELMIA
4 1 (0.32%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.32%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.32%) Oracle Utilities
4 1 (0.32%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.32%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 53 (16.77%) Azure
2 45 (14.24%) AWS
3 22 (6.96%) Microsoft 365
4 20 (6.33%) Power Platform
5 17 (5.38%) Azure DevOps
5 17 (5.38%) GCP
6 8 (2.53%) Entra ID
7 7 (2.22%) GitHub
8 6 (1.90%) OpenShift
8 6 (1.90%) SaaS
9 5 (1.58%) Figma
9 5 (1.58%) Power Automate
9 5 (1.58%) PowerApps
10 3 (0.95%) Asana
10 3 (0.95%) GitHub Actions
10 3 (0.95%) Google Drive
10 3 (0.95%) Google Workspace
10 3 (0.95%) OCI
10 3 (0.95%) Pulumi
11 2 (0.63%) Amazon S3
Communications & Networking
1 14 (4.43%) DNS
2 13 (4.11%) VLAN
3 11 (3.48%) BGP
3 11 (3.48%) DHCP
3 11 (3.48%) Firewall
3 11 (3.48%) OSPF
4 10 (3.16%) Cisco Nexus
4 10 (3.16%) VXLAN
5 7 (2.22%) LAN
5 7 (2.22%) NX-OS
5 7 (2.22%) TCP/IP
6 6 (1.90%) VSAN
7 5 (1.58%) Skype
7 5 (1.58%) WAN
8 4 (1.27%) Network Security
8 4 (1.27%) VPN
9 3 (0.95%) DKIM
9 3 (0.95%) DMARC
10 2 (0.63%) Software-Defined Networking
10 2 (0.63%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (6.33%) Power BI
2 6 (1.90%) MySQL
3 4 (1.27%) Relational Database
4 3 (0.95%) PostgreSQL
4 3 (0.95%) Power Query
4 3 (0.95%) SQL Server
5 2 (0.63%) Big Data
5 2 (0.63%) Data Warehouse
6 1 (0.32%) Amazon RDS
6 1 (0.32%) Amazon Redshift
6 1 (0.32%) Apache Cassandra
6 1 (0.32%) BusinessObjects
6 1 (0.32%) Elasticsearch
6 1 (0.32%) HBase
6 1 (0.32%) MongoDB
6 1 (0.32%) NoSQL
6 1 (0.32%) Oracle BI Publisher
6 1 (0.32%) RDBMS
6 1 (0.32%) SQLite
6 1 (0.32%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 25 (7.91%) JIRA
2 11 (3.48%) Git
3 7 (2.22%) GitLab
4 6 (1.90%) Cucumber
4 6 (1.90%) Postman
4 6 (1.90%) REST Assured
5 5 (1.58%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.95%) Selenium
7 2 (0.63%) AdminStudio
7 2 (0.63%) Cypress.io
7 2 (0.63%) InstallShield
7 2 (0.63%) IntelliJ
7 2 (0.63%) JUnit
7 2 (0.63%) Team Foundation Server
8 1 (0.32%) eggPlant
8 1 (0.32%) MLflow
8 1 (0.32%) NUnit
8 1 (0.32%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.32%) Snyk
8 1 (0.32%) Visual Studio
General
1 151 (47.78%) Social Skills
2 58 (18.35%) Public Sector
3 48 (15.19%) Analytical Skills
4 41 (12.97%) Finance
5 11 (3.48%) Banking
6 10 (3.16%) Organisational Skills
7 9 (2.85%) Legal
8 8 (2.53%) Aerospace
8 8 (2.53%) Military
8 8 (2.53%) Retail
9 6 (1.90%) Documentation Skills
9 6 (1.90%) Manufacturing
10 5 (1.58%) Local Government
10 5 (1.58%) Presentation Skills
11 4 (1.27%) Aviation
11 4 (1.27%) Publishing
12 2 (0.63%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.63%) Marketing
13 1 (0.32%) Avionics
13 1 (0.32%) Billing
Job Titles
1 36 (11.39%) Analyst
2 34 (10.76%) Senior
3 30 (9.49%) Developer
4 28 (8.86%) Lead
5 14 (4.43%) Consultant
6 13 (4.11%) Architect
7 12 (3.80%) Support Engineer
8 11 (3.48%) Product Manager
8 11 (3.48%) Project Manager
8 11 (3.48%) Service Analyst
9 10 (3.16%) DevOps Engineer
9 10 (3.16%) IT Support
10 9 (2.85%) Technical Engineer
11 8 (2.53%) Junior
11 8 (2.53%) Technical Leader
11 8 (2.53%) Test Engineer
12 7 (2.22%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 7 (2.22%) Java Developer
12 7 (2.22%) Technical Support
12 7 (2.22%) Technical Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (5.70%) React
2 14 (4.43%) Playwright
3 10 (3.16%) REST
4 8 (2.53%) .NET
4 8 (2.53%) Spring
4 8 (2.53%) Spring Boot
5 7 (2.22%) CSS
5 7 (2.22%) HTML
5 7 (2.22%) JDO
5 7 (2.22%) Jest
6 6 (1.90%) CSS3
6 6 (1.90%) HTML5
6 6 (1.90%) Node.js
6 6 (1.90%) Redux
6 6 (1.90%) Spring MVC
7 4 (1.27%) Express.js
8 3 (0.95%) JSON
8 3 (0.95%) Kafka
8 3 (0.95%) OAuth
8 3 (0.95%) Oracle Fusion
Miscellaneous
1 35 (11.08%) Product Ownership
2 17 (5.38%) Onboarding
3 13 (4.11%) Data Centre
3 13 (4.11%) Enterprise Software
3 13 (4.11%) Management Information System
4 12 (3.80%) Legacy Systems
5 11 (3.48%) Cloud Native
6 10 (3.16%) Security Operations Centre
7 7 (2.22%) CSOC
7 7 (2.22%) Cyber Threat
7 7 (2.22%) PMI
8 5 (1.58%) EPoS
8 5 (1.58%) PKI
8 5 (1.58%) Self-Motivation
8 5 (1.58%) Virtual Team
9 4 (1.27%) Analytical Mindset
9 4 (1.27%) Animation
9 4 (1.27%) Operational Technology
9 4 (1.27%) Photography
9 4 (1.27%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 46 (14.56%) Windows
2 23 (7.28%) Linux
3 21 (6.65%) Windows 10
4 12 (3.80%) Android
5 7 (2.22%) Windows Server
6 6 (1.90%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.63%) Apple iOS
7 2 (0.63%) Mac OS
7 2 (0.63%) Unix
8 1 (0.32%) AIX
8 1 (0.32%) CentOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 91 (28.80%) Agile
2 70 (22.15%) Problem-Solving
3 66 (20.89%) DevOps
4 63 (19.94%) Stakeholder Management
5 54 (17.09%) Decision-Making
6 47 (14.87%) CI/CD
6 47 (14.87%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 44 (13.92%) ITIL
8 42 (13.29%) Project Delivery
9 40 (12.66%) Mentoring
10 35 (11.08%) Roadmaps
11 33 (10.44%) Project Management
11 33 (10.44%) Technical Leadership
12 31 (9.81%) Service Management
13 30 (9.49%) Cybersecurity
14 28 (8.86%) Test Automation
15 27 (8.54%) Analytics
16 24 (7.59%) Change Management
16 24 (7.59%) Infrastructure as Code
17 23 (7.28%) AI
Programming Languages
1 35 (11.08%) Python
2 27 (8.54%) SQL
3 20 (6.33%) JavaScript
4 18 (5.70%) Java
5 16 (5.06%) Bash
6 14 (4.43%) PowerShell
7 6 (1.90%) TypeScript
8 5 (1.58%) Apex Code
9 4 (1.27%) C#
10 3 (0.95%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 2 (0.63%) Go
11 2 (0.63%) Perl
12 1 (0.32%) Ada
12 1 (0.32%) Ada 95
12 1 (0.32%) C
12 1 (0.32%) C++
12 1 (0.32%) Kotlin
12 1 (0.32%) PHP
12 1 (0.32%) PL/SQL
12 1 (0.32%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 134 (42.41%) Security Cleared
2 89 (28.16%) SC Cleared
3 40 (12.66%) DV Cleared
4 27 (8.54%) Degree
5 7 (2.22%) PMI Certification
6 6 (1.90%) Microsoft Certification
7 5 (1.58%) Cisco Certification
7 5 (1.58%) CISSP
7 5 (1.58%) ISTQB
7 5 (1.58%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 4 (1.27%) BPSS Clearance
8 4 (1.27%) CEH
9 3 (0.95%) CISM
9 3 (0.95%) CompTIA Security+
9 3 (0.95%) ITIL Certification
9 3 (0.95%) Master's Degree
9 3 (0.95%) VCAP
10 2 (0.63%) Computer Science Degree
10 2 (0.63%) DBS Check
10 2 (0.63%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (7.28%) QA
2 16 (5.06%) Data Quality
3 15 (4.75%) SLA
4 12 (3.80%) Accessibility
5 11 (3.48%) PMO
6 10 (3.16%) NCSC
7 9 (2.85%) GDPR
8 6 (1.90%) GRC
8 6 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 5 (1.58%) JSP 440
10 4 (1.27%) NIST
11 2 (0.63%) Disclosure Scotland
11 2 (0.63%) ISO 9000
12 1 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials
12 1 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.32%) Def Stans
12 1 (0.32%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 1 (0.32%) MIL-STD-1553
12 1 (0.32%) WCAG
System Software
1 26 (8.23%) Active Directory
2 17 (5.38%) Docker
3 12 (3.80%) VMware Infrastructure
4 9 (2.85%) Hyper-V
5 7 (2.22%) vSphere
6 6 (1.90%) VMware NSX
7 4 (1.27%) Virtual Machines
8 3 (0.95%) VMware Workstation
9 2 (0.63%) Virtual Desktop
10 1 (0.32%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 22 (6.96%) Terraform
2 20 (6.33%) Ansible
3 19 (6.01%) Kubernetes
4 11 (3.48%) SCCM
5 7 (2.22%) Grafana
5 7 (2.22%) Microsoft Intune
5 7 (2.22%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.58%) Argo
7 4 (1.27%) VxRail
8 2 (0.63%) Prometheus
8 2 (0.63%) QRadar
9 1 (0.32%) FreeIPA
9 1 (0.32%) Istio
9 1 (0.32%) Kubeflow
9 1 (0.32%) Nessus
9 1 (0.32%) Podman
9 1 (0.32%) PTC Integrity
9 1 (0.32%) Puppet
9 1 (0.32%) SELinux
9 1 (0.32%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 67 (21.20%) Microsoft
2 13 (4.11%) Cisco
3 12 (3.80%) Apple
3 12 (3.80%) VMware
4 10 (3.16%) HP
5 9 (2.85%) F5
5 9 (2.85%) Oracle
6 8 (2.53%) Red Hat
6 8 (2.53%) Salesforce
7 7 (2.22%) SAP
8 5 (1.58%) Conga
8 5 (1.58%) GoCardless
8 5 (1.58%) Google
8 5 (1.58%) ServiceNow
8 5 (1.58%) Workday
9 4 (1.27%) Atlassian
9 4 (1.27%) Databricks
9 4 (1.27%) Splunk
10 3 (0.95%) CyberArk
10 3 (0.95%) SolarWinds