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 22 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
22 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 11 23 21
Rank change year-on-year +12 -2 -11
Contract jobs citing DevOps 278 123 205
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 9.40% 7.22% 6.41%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.77% 8.03% 7.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 194 93 152
10th Percentile £382 £400 £400
25th Percentile £442 £500 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £600 £550
Median % change year-on-year -12.50% +9.09% -8.33%
75th Percentile £600 £650 £688
90th Percentile £718 £700 £719
England median daily rate £525 £550 £550
% change year-on-year -4.55% -0.05% -8.29%
Number of hourly rates quoted 7 3 4
10th Percentile £84.95 - £60.95
25th Percentile £87.00 £66.25 £68.38
Median hourly rate £92.50 £67.50 £74.72
Median % change year-on-year +37.04% -9.66% +14.08%
75th Percentile £100.63 £75.86 £78.44
90th Percentile £102.80 £80.12 £80.13
England median hourly rate £63.73 £68.75 £65.00
% change year-on-year -7.30% +5.77% -0.76%

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 2,362 1,532 2,674
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 79.82% 89.96% 83.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,279 1,010 1,734
10th Percentile £310 £243 £255
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -1.90% - -4.37%
75th Percentile £606 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £700 £713
England median daily rate £505 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -3.81% - -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 420 109 335
10th Percentile £16.62 £18.51 £13.91
25th Percentile £23.50 £50.75 £25.00
Median hourly rate £57.50 £65.00 £47.83
Median % change year-on-year -11.54% +35.90% -22.23%
75th Percentile £65.00 £68.00 £67.38
90th Percentile £68.00 £70.00 £77.50
England median hourly rate £32.50 £34.00 £32.50
% change year-on-year -4.41% +4.62% -13.33%

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 22 March 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
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing DevOps in the South West over the 6 months to 22 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for DevOps in the South West

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 22 March 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 +18 93 £475 -22.45% 42
Wiltshire +12 68 £525 -12.50% 10
Bristol -3 66 £550 - 69
Somerset +3 25 £456 -27.00% 16
Dorset +18 19 £444 +18.33% 6
Devon -12 5 £775 +16.98% 7
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 26 (9.35%) Confluence
2 10 (3.60%) Apache
3 9 (3.24%) Apache Spark
4 8 (2.88%) IIS
5 6 (2.16%) SharePoint
6 5 (1.80%) Mattermost
7 2 (0.72%) Apache Airflow
8 1 (0.36%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 2 (0.72%) Microsoft Excel
1 2 (0.72%) Microsoft Project
2 1 (0.36%) InDesign
2 1 (0.36%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.36%) MS Visio
2 1 (0.36%) Spreadsheet
2 1 (0.36%) Trello
Business Applications
1 7 (2.52%) Maximo
2 6 (2.16%) NEC Housing
3 5 (1.80%) Remedy ITSM
4 2 (0.72%) Primavera
5 1 (0.36%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 145 (52.16%) Azure
2 87 (31.29%) Azure DevOps
3 70 (25.18%) AWS
4 48 (17.27%) GitHub
5 28 (10.07%) GCP
6 20 (7.19%) Serverless
7 17 (6.12%) Entra ID
7 17 (6.12%) GitHub Actions
8 15 (5.40%) Azure Monitor
9 14 (5.04%) Azure Data Factory
10 12 (4.32%) Azure Key Vault
11 11 (3.96%) Amazon EKS
11 11 (3.96%) OpenShift
12 10 (3.60%) AWS CloudFormation
13 8 (2.88%) Amazon ECS
13 8 (2.88%) Azure AKS
13 8 (2.88%) Dynamics 365
13 8 (2.88%) IaaS
14 7 (2.52%) Amazon S3
14 7 (2.52%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 7 (2.52%) VPN
2 6 (2.16%) DNS
3 5 (1.80%) Firewall
4 3 (1.08%) 3GPP
4 3 (1.08%) DHCP
4 3 (1.08%) HTTP
4 3 (1.08%) Network Security
4 3 (1.08%) TETRA
4 3 (1.08%) WAN
5 2 (0.72%) LAN
5 2 (0.72%) NAS
5 2 (0.72%) SAN
6 1 (0.36%) NGFW
6 1 (0.36%) SD-WAN
6 1 (0.36%) SMTP
6 1 (0.36%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.36%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (8.27%) PostgreSQL
2 14 (5.04%) Elasticsearch
3 9 (3.24%) SQL Server
4 8 (2.88%) NoSQL
4 8 (2.88%) Redis
5 7 (2.52%) Relational Database
6 6 (2.16%) Flink
7 5 (1.80%) Power BI
8 4 (1.44%) Metadata
9 3 (1.08%) Amazon RDS
9 3 (1.08%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (1.08%) Data Warehouse
9 3 (1.08%) Power Query
10 2 (0.72%) Amazon Redshift
10 2 (0.72%) Big Data
10 2 (0.72%) Hadoop
10 2 (0.72%) Oracle Database
11 1 (0.36%) Apache Hive
11 1 (0.36%) MongoDB
11 1 (0.36%) Oracle Exadata
Development Applications
1 39 (14.03%) JIRA
2 30 (10.79%) GitLab
3 28 (10.07%) Oracle APEX
4 27 (9.71%) Git
5 26 (9.35%) Jenkins
6 9 (3.24%) Artifactory
7 8 (2.88%) SonarQube
8 6 (2.16%) Gatling
8 6 (2.16%) JMeter
8 6 (2.16%) LoadRunner
9 3 (1.08%) IntelliJ
10 2 (0.72%) AdminStudio
10 2 (0.72%) Bitbucket
10 2 (0.72%) InstallShield
10 2 (0.72%) Sonatype Nexus
11 1 (0.36%) Cucumber
11 1 (0.36%) eggPlant
11 1 (0.36%) Mocha
11 1 (0.36%) SoapUI
11 1 (0.36%) TestNG
General
1 78 (28.06%) Social Skills
2 25 (8.99%) Public Sector
3 20 (7.19%) Analytical Skills
4 15 (5.40%) Finance
5 5 (1.80%) Legal
5 5 (1.80%) Military
6 4 (1.44%) Back Office
7 3 (1.08%) Aerospace
7 3 (1.08%) Documentation Skills
7 3 (1.08%) Telecoms
8 2 (0.72%) Banking
8 2 (0.72%) Local Government
9 1 (0.36%) Marketing
9 1 (0.36%) Organisational Skills
9 1 (0.36%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 66 (23.74%) DevOps Engineer
1 66 (23.74%) Senior
2 63 (22.66%) Developer
3 32 (11.51%) Senior Developer
4 16 (5.76%) Data Engineer
5 15 (5.40%) Analyst
6 14 (5.04%) Architect
6 14 (5.04%) Azure Engineer
6 14 (5.04%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 13 (4.68%) Backend Developer
7 13 (4.68%) GCP Engineer
8 12 (4.32%) Cloud Engineer
8 12 (4.32%) Java Developer
8 12 (4.32%) Senior Data Engineer
9 10 (3.60%) Lead
10 9 (3.24%) Platform Engineer
11 8 (2.88%) Azure DevOps Engineer
11 8 (2.88%) Python Developer
11 8 (2.88%) Site Reliability Engineer
12 7 (2.52%) Senior DevOps
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (12.59%) REST
2 22 (7.91%) Kafka
3 13 (4.68%) Keycloak
3 13 (4.68%) Spring
4 12 (4.32%) .NET
5 11 (3.96%) ARM Templates
5 11 (3.96%) Node.js
5 11 (3.96%) Spring Boot
6 10 (3.60%) Apache NiFi
6 10 (3.60%) React
6 10 (3.60%) RESTful
7 8 (2.88%) FastAPI
7 8 (2.88%) Flask
7 8 (2.88%) GraphQL
7 8 (2.88%) gRPC
7 8 (2.88%) WebSockets
7 8 (2.88%) YAML
8 6 (2.16%) .NET Framework
8 6 (2.16%) CSS
8 6 (2.16%) HTML
Miscellaneous
1 32 (11.51%) Cloud Native
2 19 (6.83%) Hybrid Cloud
3 15 (5.40%) Product Ownership
4 13 (4.68%) Legacy Systems
5 10 (3.60%) Public Cloud
6 8 (2.88%) Enterprise Software
7 5 (1.80%) Legacy Code
7 5 (1.80%) Mobile App
8 3 (1.08%) CMDB
8 3 (1.08%) Distributed Systems
8 3 (1.08%) Management Information System
8 3 (1.08%) Onboarding
9 2 (0.72%) Distributed Computing
9 2 (0.72%) Legacy Applications
9 2 (0.72%) Private Cloud
9 2 (0.72%) Security Posture
9 2 (0.72%) Wiki
10 1 (0.36%) Data Fabric
10 1 (0.36%) Operational Technology
10 1 (0.36%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 36 (12.95%) Windows
2 28 (10.07%) Linux
3 10 (3.60%) Windows Server
4 4 (1.44%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 4 (1.44%) Ubuntu
5 3 (1.08%) Unix
6 2 (0.72%) Windows 10
6 2 (0.72%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 116 (41.73%) Agile
2 108 (38.85%) CI/CD
3 66 (23.74%) Containerisation
4 54 (19.42%) Infrastructure as Code
5 46 (16.55%) Problem-Solving
6 43 (15.47%) Scrum
7 39 (14.03%) ITIL
8 36 (12.95%) Microservices
9 35 (12.59%) Collaborative Working
10 34 (12.23%) Continuous Improvement
10 34 (12.23%) Validation
11 30 (10.79%) Service Management
12 28 (10.07%) Requirements Analysis
12 28 (10.07%) Software Delivery
13 27 (9.71%) Web Application Development
14 24 (8.63%) Analytics
14 24 (8.63%) Data Engineering
14 24 (8.63%) Infrastructure Engineering
15 23 (8.27%) Change Management
15 23 (8.27%) Data Pipeline
Programming Languages
1 90 (32.37%) Python
2 72 (25.90%) SQL
3 49 (17.63%) PowerShell
4 46 (16.55%) JavaScript
5 35 (12.59%) PL/SQL
6 27 (9.71%) Java
7 25 (8.99%) Go
8 17 (6.12%) Bash
9 13 (4.68%) Bicep
10 11 (3.96%) TypeScript
11 7 (2.52%) C#
12 4 (1.44%) T-SQL
13 3 (1.08%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 3 (1.08%) Ruby
14 1 (0.36%) Apex Code
14 1 (0.36%) C
14 1 (0.36%) C++
14 1 (0.36%) PHP
14 1 (0.36%) Scala
14 1 (0.36%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 181 (65.11%) Security Cleared
2 150 (53.96%) SC Cleared
3 51 (18.35%) DV Cleared
4 25 (8.99%) Azure Certification
5 16 (5.76%) Degree
6 10 (3.60%) Computer Science Degree
7 9 (3.24%) Microsoft Certification
8 8 (2.88%) AWS Certification
9 5 (1.80%) CISM
9 5 (1.80%) CISSP
9 5 (1.80%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
10 4 (1.44%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
11 3 (1.08%) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
11 3 (1.08%) AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
11 3 (1.08%) BPSS Clearance
11 3 (1.08%) Master's Degree
11 3 (1.08%) TOGAF Certification
12 2 (0.72%) ISTQB
12 2 (0.72%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
13 1 (0.36%) JNCIA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (8.63%) QA
2 15 (5.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 11 (3.96%) NCSC
3 11 (3.96%) NIST
4 5 (1.80%) NIST 800
5 4 (1.44%) GDPR
5 4 (1.44%) PCI DSS
6 3 (1.08%) Data Quality
7 2 (0.72%) Accessibility
7 2 (0.72%) Government Security Classifications
8 1 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
8 1 (0.36%) JSP 440
8 1 (0.36%) PMO
8 1 (0.36%) SLA
8 1 (0.36%) WCAG
System Software
1 69 (24.82%) Docker
2 20 (7.19%) Active Directory
3 7 (2.52%) VMware Infrastructure
4 3 (1.08%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.72%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.72%) Virtual Desktop
6 1 (0.36%) VMware ESXi
6 1 (0.36%) VMware NSX
6 1 (0.36%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 98 (35.25%) Kubernetes
2 75 (26.98%) Terraform
3 41 (14.75%) Ansible
4 24 (8.63%) Prometheus
5 20 (7.19%) Grafana
6 8 (2.88%) Argo
6 8 (2.88%) Packer
7 6 (2.16%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (1.44%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 4 (1.44%) Nessus
9 3 (1.08%) Istio
9 3 (1.08%) Nagios
9 3 (1.08%) Podman
9 3 (1.08%) Proxmox
10 2 (0.72%) CA Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.72%) Microsoft Intune
10 2 (0.72%) SCCM
11 1 (0.36%) FortiGate
11 1 (0.36%) Progress Chef
11 1 (0.36%) Puppet
Vendors
1 38 (13.67%) Microsoft
2 37 (13.31%) Oracle
3 22 (7.91%) Google
4 21 (7.55%) Red Hat
5 18 (6.47%) Atlassian
6 14 (5.04%) VMware
7 11 (3.96%) Databricks
8 7 (2.52%) Dynatrace
8 7 (2.52%) IBM
8 7 (2.52%) Splunk
9 6 (2.16%) AppDynamics
9 6 (2.16%) NEC
9 6 (2.16%) New Relic
10 5 (1.80%) Remedy
11 4 (1.44%) Cisco
12 3 (1.08%) Salesforce
12 3 (1.08%) ServiceNow
13 2 (0.72%) NetApp
14 1 (0.36%) Informatica
14 1 (0.36%) InterSystems