Degree Contract Job Trends in the South West

Academic Degree
England > South West

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South West with a requirement for Degree qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 20 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 23 26 20
Rank change year-on-year +3 -6 +8
Contract jobs citing Degree 165 141 203
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 7.07% 6.68% 6.88%
As % of the Qualifications category 12.63% 12.54% 12.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 100 75 100
10th Percentile £374 £193 £353
25th Percentile £507 £388 £467
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £637 £550 £550
Median % change year-on-year +15.73% - +4.76%
75th Percentile £738 £709 £653
90th Percentile - £756 £716
England median daily rate £513 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -2.38% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 18 50
10th Percentile - £53.88 £43.80
25th Percentile - £58.69 £55.11
Median hourly rate £33.50 £69.00 £57.31
Median % change year-on-year -51.45% +20.40% -11.83%
75th Percentile £83.00 £75.00 £83.40
90th Percentile £119.00 - -
England median hourly rate £37.50 £43.00 £50.00
% change year-on-year -12.79% -14.00% +11.11%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
South West

Degree 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 West.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 1,306 1,124 1,644
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 55.98% 53.27% 55.71%
Number of daily rates quoted 826 704 1,024
10th Percentile £275 £338 £371
25th Percentile £450 £460 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £575
Median % change year-on-year - -4.35% +1.77%
75th Percentile £688 £663 £675
90th Percentile £738 £750 £729
England median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 175 84 170
10th Percentile £17.69 £35.00 £35.70
25th Percentile £20.82 £58.94 £50.00
Median hourly rate £25.15 £65.50 £61.95
Median % change year-on-year -61.60% +5.74% -4.70%
75th Percentile £63.75 £70.50 £77.75
90th Percentile £73.75 £75.00 £83.40
England median hourly rate £25.15 £46.18 £52.50
% change year-on-year -45.54% -12.04% +16.67%

Degree
Job Vacancy Trend in the South West

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

Degree job vacancy trend in the South West

Degree
Daily Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

Degree
Daily Rate Histogram in the South West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Degree in the South West over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Degree in the South West

Degree
Hourly Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

Degree
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Degree in the South West over the 6 months to 20 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Degree in the South West

Degree
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 Degree within the South West region over the 6 months to 20 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
Wiltshire +10 72 £725 +8.41% 21
Bristol -1 57 £550 +20.55% 91
Gloucestershire -12 12 £450 -22.55% 31
Devon +1 8 £220 -18.52% 22
Somerset -6 8 £428 -32.41% 33
Dorset +15 6 £400 - 15
Cornwall -6 1 £500 - 8
Degree
England

Degree
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 49 (29.70%) Confluence
2 10 (6.06%) SharePoint
3 8 (4.85%) Microsoft Exchange
4 5 (3.03%) Skype for Business
5 4 (2.42%) Apache
Applications
1 78 (47.27%) Microsoft Office
2 44 (26.67%) Microsoft Project
3 12 (7.27%) MS Visio
4 10 (6.06%) Microsoft Excel
5 7 (4.24%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.61%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 1 (0.61%) Camtasia
6 1 (0.61%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.61%) InVision
6 1 (0.61%) PTC Creo
6 1 (0.61%) Simulink
6 1 (0.61%) Sketch
6 1 (0.61%) Stateflow
Business Applications
1 6 (3.64%) Remedy ITSM
1 6 (3.64%) SAP EWM
1 6 (3.64%) SAP WM
2 3 (1.82%) Primavera
3 2 (1.21%) NEC Housing
3 2 (1.21%) SAP Oil and Gas
4 1 (0.61%) Cerner Millennium
4 1 (0.61%) SystmOne
4 1 (0.61%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 11 (6.67%) AWS
1 11 (6.67%) Azure
1 11 (6.67%) Power Platform
2 10 (6.06%) Lucidchart
2 10 (6.06%) OCI
3 4 (2.42%) Azure DevOps
4 3 (1.82%) Dynamics 365
4 3 (1.82%) GCP
4 3 (1.82%) GitHub
4 3 (1.82%) OpenShift
4 3 (1.82%) Power Automate
4 3 (1.82%) PowerApps
5 2 (1.21%) Entra ID
6 1 (0.61%) Asana
6 1 (0.61%) AWS CloudFormation
6 1 (0.61%) Cloud Computing
6 1 (0.61%) Figma
6 1 (0.61%) IaaS
6 1 (0.61%) Microsoft 365
6 1 (0.61%) Vyond
Communications & Networking
1 9 (5.45%) Skype
2 7 (4.24%) Unified Communications
3 5 (3.03%) DHCP
3 5 (3.03%) DNS
4 2 (1.21%) BGP
4 2 (1.21%) Firewall
4 2 (1.21%) OSPF
5 1 (0.61%) 4G
5 1 (0.61%) Cisco IOS
5 1 (0.61%) Cisco Nexus
5 1 (0.61%) DMVPN
5 1 (0.61%) LTE
5 1 (0.61%) MIMO
5 1 (0.61%) Network Security
5 1 (0.61%) Radio Access Network
5 1 (0.61%) Software-Defined Networking
5 1 (0.61%) Telepresence
5 1 (0.61%) VLAN
5 1 (0.61%) WAAS
5 1 (0.61%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (6.67%) Power BI
2 5 (3.03%) PostgreSQL
3 3 (1.82%) Data Warehouse
4 2 (1.21%) Electronic Patient Records
4 2 (1.21%) SQL Server
5 1 (0.61%) Amazon Aurora
5 1 (0.61%) Amazon RDS
5 1 (0.61%) DynamoDB
5 1 (0.61%) Looker
5 1 (0.61%) MongoDB
5 1 (0.61%) MySQL
5 1 (0.61%) Oracle Database
5 1 (0.61%) Oracle Reports
5 1 (0.61%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 1 (0.61%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 1 (0.61%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 1 (0.61%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 49 (29.70%) JIRA
2 5 (3.03%) Git
2 5 (3.03%) GitLab
3 4 (2.42%) Artifactory
4 3 (1.82%) Bitbucket
4 3 (1.82%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.61%) Rational DOORS
5 1 (0.61%) Rational Team Concert
General
1 109 (66.06%) Social Skills
2 73 (44.24%) Analytical Skills
3 41 (24.85%) Military
4 23 (13.94%) Public Sector
5 21 (12.73%) Finance
6 15 (9.09%) Organisational Skills
7 11 (6.67%) Manufacturing
8 10 (6.06%) Aerospace
9 6 (3.64%) Presentation Skills
10 5 (3.03%) Influencing Skills
11 4 (2.42%) Legal
12 3 (1.82%) Automotive
12 3 (1.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 3 (1.82%) Telecoms
13 2 (1.21%) Back Office
13 2 (1.21%) Documentation Skills
14 1 (0.61%) Aviation
14 1 (0.61%) Law
14 1 (0.61%) Multimedia
14 1 (0.61%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 34 (20.61%) Architect
2 30 (18.18%) Service Architect
3 13 (7.88%) Analyst
4 11 (6.67%) Lead
5 10 (6.06%) Information Security Advisor
5 10 (6.06%) Security Advisor
5 10 (6.06%) Technical Manager
5 10 (6.06%) Technical Writer
6 9 (5.45%) Developer
7 8 (4.85%) Wintel Engineer
8 7 (4.24%) Consultant
8 7 (4.24%) Delivery Manager
8 7 (4.24%) Senior
9 6 (3.64%) DevOps Engineer
9 6 (3.64%) Junior
9 6 (3.64%) Management Consultant
9 6 (3.64%) SAP Consultant
9 6 (3.64%) SAP WM Consultant
9 6 (3.64%) Security Analyst
9 6 (3.64%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (3.64%) CSS
1 6 (3.64%) HTML
1 6 (3.64%) REST
2 4 (2.42%) Apache NiFi
2 4 (2.42%) JDO
3 3 (1.82%) AngularJS
3 3 (1.82%) Node.js
3 3 (1.82%) React
3 3 (1.82%) Ruby on Rails
3 3 (1.82%) Spring
3 3 (1.82%) Vue
4 2 (1.21%) Oracle Fusion
4 2 (1.21%) SOAP
4 2 (1.21%) Web Services
5 1 (0.61%) Django
5 1 (0.61%) JFC
5 1 (0.61%) OpenMP
5 1 (0.61%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 32 (19.39%) Product Ownership
2 30 (18.18%) Management Information System
3 10 (6.06%) Security Posture
4 8 (4.85%) PKI
5 6 (3.64%) Cyber Defence
5 6 (3.64%) Legacy Systems
6 5 (3.03%) Cloud Native
7 3 (1.82%) Low-Code
7 3 (1.82%) Onboarding
7 3 (1.82%) Self-Motivation
8 2 (1.21%) NHS
9 1 (0.61%) Clustering
9 1 (0.61%) Cyber Threat
9 1 (0.61%) Data Protection Act
9 1 (0.61%) e-Learning
9 1 (0.61%) Learning Management System
9 1 (0.61%) Operational Technology
9 1 (0.61%) Private Cloud
9 1 (0.61%) Replication
9 1 (0.61%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 15 (9.09%) Windows
2 8 (4.85%) Windows Server
3 7 (4.24%) Linux
4 5 (3.03%) Windows 10
5 3 (1.82%) CentOS
5 3 (1.82%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 3 (1.82%) Ubuntu
5 3 (1.82%) Windows Server 2012
6 1 (0.61%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 72 (43.64%) Agile
2 53 (32.12%) Critical Thinking
3 48 (29.09%) Computer Science
3 48 (29.09%) Problem-Solving
4 47 (28.48%) Service Management
5 46 (27.88%) ITIL
6 35 (21.21%) Analytical Thinking
7 33 (20.00%) Knowledge Transfer
7 33 (20.00%) TOGAF
8 31 (18.79%) Acceptance Criteria
8 31 (18.79%) Business Continuity
9 30 (18.18%) Security Patching
9 30 (18.18%) Service Design
10 25 (15.15%) ERP
11 20 (12.12%) Project Management
12 18 (10.91%) DevOps
13 17 (10.30%) Waterfall
14 16 (9.70%) Stakeholder Management
15 15 (9.09%) Software Engineering
16 14 (8.48%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 16 (9.70%) SQL
2 15 (9.09%) PowerShell
3 13 (7.88%) Python
4 9 (5.45%) JavaScript
5 4 (2.42%) Ada
6 3 (1.82%) Java
6 3 (1.82%) Ruby
6 3 (1.82%) TypeScript
7 2 (1.21%) C
7 2 (1.21%) Fortran
7 2 (1.21%) PHP
7 2 (1.21%) PL/SQL
8 1 (0.61%) C#
8 1 (0.61%) C++
8 1 (0.61%) MATLAB
8 1 (0.61%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 107 (64.85%) Security Cleared
2 97 (58.79%) SC Cleared
3 32 (19.39%) TOGAF Certification
4 28 (16.97%) Computer Science Degree
5 20 (12.12%) Master's Degree
6 18 (10.91%) DV Cleared
7 12 (7.27%) APMP
7 12 (7.27%) BPSS Clearance
8 10 (6.06%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
8 10 (6.06%) Microsoft Certification
9 9 (5.45%) MCSE
10 7 (4.24%) CCNP
10 7 (4.24%) Cisco Certification
10 7 (4.24%) CISSP
11 6 (3.64%) CompTIA CySA+
11 6 (3.64%) Network+ Certification
11 6 (3.64%) SANS
11 6 (3.64%) SAP Certification
12 5 (3.03%) CCNA
12 5 (3.03%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 10 (6.06%) Def Stans
1 10 (6.06%) GRC
1 10 (6.06%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 10 (6.06%) Sarbanes-Oxley
2 8 (4.85%) QA
3 4 (2.42%) Data Quality
4 3 (1.82%) PMO
5 2 (1.21%) NIST
6 1 (0.61%) GDPR
6 1 (0.61%) ISO 22301
6 1 (0.61%) NCSC
6 1 (0.61%) P3O
6 1 (0.61%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 9 (5.45%) Active Directory
2 8 (4.85%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (3.03%) Microsoft Virtual Server
3 5 (3.03%) Virtual Servers
4 4 (2.42%) Docker
5 1 (0.61%) Hyper-V
Systems Management
1 30 (18.18%) OPNET
2 10 (6.06%) Kubernetes
3 9 (5.45%) Ansible
3 9 (5.45%) Terraform
4 8 (4.85%) WSUS
5 6 (3.64%) SCCM
6 3 (1.82%) Argo
6 3 (1.82%) SCOM
7 1 (0.61%) Dell DRAC
7 1 (0.61%) Packer
7 1 (0.61%) PowerCLI
7 1 (0.61%) Puppet
Vendors
1 39 (23.64%) Atlassian
2 36 (21.82%) Remedy
3 31 (18.79%) ServiceNow
4 25 (15.15%) Microsoft
5 18 (10.91%) Oracle
6 10 (6.06%) Red Hat
7 9 (5.45%) VMware
8 8 (4.85%) Cisco
8 8 (4.85%) SAP
9 6 (3.64%) SolarWinds
9 6 (3.64%) Veeam
10 5 (3.03%) Splunk
11 3 (1.82%) Blue Prism
11 3 (1.82%) Google
12 2 (1.21%) Adobe
12 2 (1.21%) Cerner
12 2 (1.21%) NEC
12 2 (1.21%) Salesforce
13 1 (0.61%) Dell
13 1 (0.61%) HP