DevOps Contract Job Trends in the South West

DevOps
England > South West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South West requiring DevOps skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 21 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 12 22 21
Rank change year-on-year +10 -1 -10
Contract jobs citing DevOps 239 157 202
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 9.45% 8.13% 6.73%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.55% 9.19% 7.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 178 112 150
10th Percentile £400 £450 £406
25th Percentile £450 £500 £500
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £600 £600
Median % change year-on-year -12.50% - +4.35%
75th Percentile £642 £685 £700
90th Percentile £700 £722 £753
England median daily rate £525 £575 £575
% change year-on-year -8.70% - -4.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 6 4 9
10th Percentile £84.00 - -
25th Percentile £85.00 £66.25 £35.00
Median hourly rate £90.00 £70.75 £77.50
Median % change year-on-year +27.21% -8.71% +18.13%
75th Percentile £94.69 £74.11 £78.00
90th Percentile £95.00 £74.31 £81.25
England median hourly rate £47.50 £67.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year -29.63% +3.85% -0.92%

All Process & Methodology Skills
South West

DevOps 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 2,069 1,708 2,528
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 81.81% 88.50% 84.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,200 1,039 1,660
10th Percentile £263 £246 £275
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% +3.77%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £738 £706 £725
England median daily rate £500 £525 £535
% change year-on-year -4.76% -1.87% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 336 107 291
10th Percentile £15.74 £18.51 £15.17
25th Percentile £21.87 £41.25 £35.00
Median hourly rate £44.00 £65.00 £56.49
Median % change year-on-year -32.31% +15.06% -8.15%
75th Percentile £65.00 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile - £72.35 £80.00
England median hourly rate £25.15 £35.00 £38.16
% change year-on-year -28.14% -8.27% +9.67%

DevOps
Job Vacancy Trend in the South West

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

DevOps job vacancy trend in the South West

DevOps
Daily Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

DevOps
Daily Rate Histogram in the South West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing DevOps in the South West over the 6 months to 21 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for DevOps in the South West

DevOps
Hourly Rate Trend in the South West

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

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

DevOps
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 DevOps within the South West region over the 6 months to 21 January 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
Gloucestershire +11 94 £500 -18.70% 48
Bristol -1 57 £538 -2.27% 55
Wiltshire -1 52 £550 -8.33% 30
Dorset - 15 £513 - 21
Somerset +1 13 £550 -9.84% 29
Devon -13 5 £550 -19.71% 19
DevOps
England

DevOps
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 21 (8.79%) Confluence
2 11 (4.60%) Apache
3 7 (2.93%) SharePoint
4 3 (1.26%) Microsoft Exchange
5 2 (0.84%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.84%) Apache Spark
Applications
1 2 (0.84%) Microsoft Project
2 1 (0.42%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.42%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 6 (2.51%) NEC Housing
2 5 (2.09%) Maximo
3 2 (0.84%) Primavera
4 1 (0.42%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 139 (58.16%) Azure
2 82 (34.31%) Azure DevOps
3 53 (22.18%) AWS
4 49 (20.50%) GitHub
5 18 (7.53%) GCP
6 15 (6.28%) Entra ID
6 15 (6.28%) Serverless
7 14 (5.86%) Azure Data Factory
7 14 (5.86%) GitHub Actions
8 11 (4.60%) Azure Key Vault
8 11 (4.60%) OpenShift
9 10 (4.18%) Azure AKS
10 9 (3.77%) AWS CloudFormation
10 9 (3.77%) Azure Monitor
11 7 (2.93%) Amazon EC2
11 7 (2.93%) Azure Sentinel
11 7 (2.93%) Dynamics 365
11 7 (2.93%) IaaS
12 6 (2.51%) Amazon S3
12 6 (2.51%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 9 (3.77%) VPN
2 6 (2.51%) Firewall
2 6 (2.51%) Network Security
3 4 (1.67%) TCP/IP
4 3 (1.26%) DNS
4 3 (1.26%) SSL
4 3 (1.26%) WAN
5 2 (0.84%) HTTP
5 2 (0.84%) LAN
5 2 (0.84%) NAS
5 2 (0.84%) SAN
5 2 (0.84%) WAAS
6 1 (0.42%) DHCP
6 1 (0.42%) NGFW
6 1 (0.42%) SD-WAN
6 1 (0.42%) Software-Defined Networking
6 1 (0.42%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (10.04%) PostgreSQL
2 14 (5.86%) Elasticsearch
3 8 (3.35%) Redis
4 4 (1.67%) Amazon RDS
4 4 (1.67%) Metadata
5 3 (1.26%) Data Warehouse
5 3 (1.26%) NoSQL
5 3 (1.26%) Oracle Database
5 3 (1.26%) Power BI
5 3 (1.26%) SQL Server
6 2 (0.84%) Azure SQL Database
6 2 (0.84%) Big Data
6 2 (0.84%) DynamoDB
6 2 (0.84%) Hadoop
6 2 (0.84%) MongoDB
6 2 (0.84%) Power Query
7 1 (0.42%) Amazon Aurora
7 1 (0.42%) Amazon Redshift
7 1 (0.42%) Apache Hive
7 1 (0.42%) CockroachDB
Development Applications
1 33 (13.81%) JIRA
2 32 (13.39%) GitLab
3 30 (12.55%) Oracle APEX
4 25 (10.46%) Git
5 22 (9.21%) Jenkins
6 14 (5.86%) SonarQube
7 11 (4.60%) Artifactory
8 5 (2.09%) MSI
9 3 (1.26%) Bitbucket
9 3 (1.26%) Sonatype Nexus
10 2 (0.84%) AdminStudio
10 2 (0.84%) InstallShield
10 2 (0.84%) Maven
11 1 (0.42%) Cucumber
11 1 (0.42%) JUnit
11 1 (0.42%) Mocha
11 1 (0.42%) Oracle Forms
11 1 (0.42%) REST Assured
11 1 (0.42%) SoapUI
11 1 (0.42%) TestNG
General
1 71 (29.71%) Social Skills
2 25 (10.46%) Public Sector
3 16 (6.69%) Finance
4 12 (5.02%) Analytical Skills
5 6 (2.51%) Telecoms
6 5 (2.09%) Aerospace
6 5 (2.09%) Documentation Skills
6 5 (2.09%) Military
7 4 (1.67%) Back Office
8 2 (0.84%) Law
8 2 (0.84%) Local Government
9 1 (0.42%) Banking
9 1 (0.42%) Electronics
9 1 (0.42%) Manufacturing
9 1 (0.42%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 63 (26.36%) Senior
2 61 (25.52%) Developer
3 44 (18.41%) DevOps Engineer
4 37 (15.48%) Senior Developer
5 16 (6.69%) Data Engineer
6 13 (5.44%) Architect
7 12 (5.02%) Senior Data Engineer
8 11 (4.60%) DevSecOps Engineer
8 11 (4.60%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 10 (4.18%) Python Developer
10 9 (3.77%) Consultant
11 8 (3.35%) Analyst
11 8 (3.35%) Azure Engineer
11 8 (3.35%) Backend Developer
11 8 (3.35%) GCP Engineer
11 8 (3.35%) Lead
11 8 (3.35%) Platform Engineer
12 7 (2.93%) Cloud Engineer
13 6 (2.51%) Azure DevOps Engineer
13 6 (2.51%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 38 (15.90%) REST
2 15 (6.28%) Kafka
3 14 (5.86%) ARM Templates
3 14 (5.86%) YAML
4 13 (5.44%) Keycloak
4 13 (5.44%) Node.js
4 13 (5.44%) React
5 11 (4.60%) Apache NiFi
6 9 (3.77%) GraphQL
7 8 (3.35%) FastAPI
7 8 (3.35%) Flask
7 8 (3.35%) gRPC
7 8 (3.35%) WebSockets
8 7 (2.93%) HTML
8 7 (2.93%) Spring
9 6 (2.51%) .NET
9 6 (2.51%) AngularJS
9 6 (2.51%) CSS
9 6 (2.51%) Elastic Stack
9 6 (2.51%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 28 (11.72%) Cloud Native
2 19 (7.95%) Hybrid Cloud
3 14 (5.86%) Product Ownership
4 7 (2.93%) Legacy Systems
5 6 (2.51%) Enterprise Software
6 4 (1.67%) Onboarding
6 4 (1.67%) Public Cloud
7 3 (1.26%) CMDB
7 3 (1.26%) Mobile App
7 3 (1.26%) Operational Technology
8 2 (0.84%) FPGA
8 2 (0.84%) Legacy Applications
8 2 (0.84%) Private Cloud
8 2 (0.84%) Security Posture
8 2 (0.84%) Self-Motivation
8 2 (0.84%) Verilog
8 2 (0.84%) VHDL
8 2 (0.84%) Wiki
9 1 (0.42%) Analytical Mindset
9 1 (0.42%) Data Fabric
Operating Systems
1 36 (15.06%) Windows
2 18 (7.53%) Linux
3 7 (2.93%) Windows 10
4 4 (1.67%) Ubuntu
4 4 (1.67%) Windows Server
5 2 (0.84%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 2 (0.84%) Windows Server 2016
6 1 (0.42%) Android
6 1 (0.42%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.42%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.42%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 111 (46.44%) Agile
2 101 (42.26%) CI/CD
3 56 (23.43%) Containerisation
4 52 (21.76%) Infrastructure as Code
5 49 (20.50%) Scrum
6 42 (17.57%) Problem-Solving
7 36 (15.06%) Validation
8 35 (14.64%) Collaborative Working
9 31 (12.97%) ITIL
10 30 (12.55%) Software Delivery
11 29 (12.13%) Microservices
12 28 (11.72%) Requirements Analysis
13 27 (11.30%) Web Application Development
14 23 (9.62%) Continuous Improvement
15 22 (9.21%) DevSecOps
16 21 (8.79%) User Experience
17 20 (8.37%) Platform Engineering
17 20 (8.37%) Workflow
18 19 (7.95%) Infrastructure Engineering
18 19 (7.95%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 80 (33.47%) Python
2 55 (23.01%) SQL
3 48 (20.08%) PowerShell
4 47 (19.67%) JavaScript
5 36 (15.06%) PL/SQL
6 23 (9.62%) Go
7 19 (7.95%) Java
8 16 (6.69%) TypeScript
9 15 (6.28%) Bash
10 14 (5.86%) Bicep
11 9 (3.77%) C#
12 4 (1.67%) VBScript
13 3 (1.26%) C
13 3 (1.26%) Ruby
13 3 (1.26%) T-SQL
14 2 (0.84%) Apex Code
14 2 (0.84%) C++
14 2 (0.84%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 1 (0.42%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 180 (75.31%) Security Cleared
2 157 (65.69%) SC Cleared
3 49 (20.50%) DV Cleared
4 25 (10.46%) Azure Certification
5 18 (7.53%) Degree
6 14 (5.86%) Microsoft Certification
7 11 (4.60%) Computer Science Degree
8 6 (2.51%) AWS Certification
9 5 (2.09%) CISM
9 5 (2.09%) CISSP
9 5 (2.09%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
9 5 (2.09%) MCSA
10 3 (1.26%) AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
10 3 (1.26%) Master's Degree
11 2 (0.84%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
11 2 (0.84%) BPSS Clearance
12 1 (0.42%) Cisco Certification
12 1 (0.42%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 1 (0.42%) MCP
12 1 (0.42%) Microsoft Certified Master
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (7.95%) QA
2 16 (6.69%) NCSC
3 12 (5.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 12 (5.02%) NIST
4 5 (2.09%) NIST 800
5 2 (0.84%) Accessibility
5 2 (0.84%) Data Quality
5 2 (0.84%) GDPR
5 2 (0.84%) Government Security Classifications
6 1 (0.42%) Cyber Essentials
6 1 (0.42%) JSP 440
6 1 (0.42%) PCI DSS
6 1 (0.42%) WCAG
System Software
1 63 (26.36%) Docker
2 19 (7.95%) Active Directory
3 11 (4.60%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (2.09%) Virtual Desktop
4 5 (2.09%) Virtual Machines
5 4 (1.67%) Microsoft App-V
6 3 (1.26%) Hyper-V
7 2 (0.84%) vSphere
8 1 (0.42%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.42%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 83 (34.73%) Kubernetes
2 74 (30.96%) Terraform
3 40 (16.74%) Ansible
4 18 (7.53%) Grafana
5 16 (6.69%) Prometheus
6 8 (3.35%) Packer
7 7 (2.93%) SCCM
7 7 (2.93%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (1.67%) Argo
8 4 (1.67%) Nessus
9 3 (1.26%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 3 (1.26%) Kibana
9 3 (1.26%) Podman
9 3 (1.26%) Proxmox
9 3 (1.26%) Puppet
10 2 (0.84%) Istio
10 2 (0.84%) Microsoft Intune
10 2 (0.84%) Rancher
11 1 (0.42%) logstash
11 1 (0.42%) PowerCLI
Vendors
1 43 (17.99%) Microsoft
2 39 (16.32%) Oracle
3 19 (7.95%) Red Hat
4 18 (7.53%) VMware
5 14 (5.86%) Atlassian
6 11 (4.60%) Google
7 6 (2.51%) Cisco
7 6 (2.51%) NEC
8 5 (2.09%) IBM
8 5 (2.09%) NetApp
8 5 (2.09%) ServiceNow
9 4 (1.67%) Salesforce
10 3 (1.26%) HP
11 2 (0.84%) CheckPoint
11 2 (0.84%) Databricks
11 2 (0.84%) Dell
11 2 (0.84%) F5
11 2 (0.84%) Palo Alto
12 1 (0.42%) BeyondTrust
12 1 (0.42%) Thales