QA Contracts in the UK excluding London

Quality Assurance (QA)
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London requiring QA skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited QA over the 6 months leading up to 13 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 67 58 93
Rank change year-on-year -9 +35 -17
Contract jobs citing QA 437 616 620
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 3.42% 3.01% 2.64%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 21.14% 20.35% 17.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 306 417 429
10th Percentile £177 £281 £263
25th Percentile £352 £400 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £460 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -8.00% +5.26% +5.56%
75th Percentile £538 £584 £550
90th Percentile £625 £694 £613
UK median daily rate £475 £509 £500
% change year-on-year -6.59% +1.70% -0.99%
Number of hourly rates quoted 15 62 17
10th Percentile £15.12 £10.82 -
25th Percentile £18.52 £12.24 £10.92
Median hourly rate £62.00 £13.76 £13.00
Median % change year-on-year +350.58% +5.85% -73.20%
75th Percentile £75.00 £21.35 £22.41
90th Percentile £79.78 £66.95 £46.18
UK median hourly rate £50.00 £15.38 £22.49
% change year-on-year +225.10% -31.60% -52.66%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK excluding London

QA falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills in the UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 2,067 3,027 3,466
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 16.16% 14.78% 14.75%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,299 1,787 2,318
10th Percentile £222 £250 £220
25th Percentile £363 £363 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £484 £479
Median % change year-on-year -1.76% +0.94% +6.44%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £588
90th Percentile £664 £688 £675
UK median daily rate £500 £513 £525
% change year-on-year -2.44% -2.38% +2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 131 308 188
10th Percentile £17.35 £10.95 £13.11
25th Percentile £24.18 £12.72 £18.07
Median hourly rate £52.50 £18.19 £32.94
Median % change year-on-year +188.62% -44.78% +46.41%
75th Percentile £67.50 £45.00 £60.50
90th Percentile £78.70 £68.75 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £35.00 £21.06 £35.00
% change year-on-year +66.21% -39.84% +12.90%

QA
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Job postings citing QA as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Job vacancy trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Daily rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 13 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Hourly rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 13 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing QA within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 13 May 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
North of England -5 115 £500 - 361
South East +5 102 £434 -10.92% 474
Midlands +13 80 £414 -8.00% 187
North West 0 61 £455 -9.05% 233
Scotland +10 58 £400 -9.71% 84
West Midlands +10 53 £433 -17.62% 110
South West -6 48 £500 -9.09% 159
Yorkshire -12 39 £516 -6.16% 91
East Midlands +13 27 £410 +35.37% 70
East of England +21 20 £513 +36.67% 132
North East +2 15 £460 +12.20% 41
Wales -14 8 £525 -3.67% 58
Northern Ireland -13 7 £479 +47.31% 37
QA
UK

QA
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the UK excluding London by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 27 (6.18%) Confluence
2 12 (2.75%) SharePoint
3 6 (1.37%) Microsoft Exchange
4 5 (1.14%) Apache
4 5 (1.14%) CICS
4 5 (1.14%) WebSphere
5 4 (0.92%) WebLogic
6 3 (0.69%) JBoss
6 3 (0.69%) nginx
6 3 (0.69%) WebLogic Portal
7 1 (0.23%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 1 (0.23%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.23%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.23%) Appian
7 1 (0.23%) CMS
7 1 (0.23%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.23%) SAS
7 1 (0.23%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.23%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.23%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 15 (3.43%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (1.83%) MS Visio
3 5 (1.14%) Microsoft Office
4 4 (0.92%) Chatbot
4 4 (0.92%) Microsoft Project
4 4 (0.92%) Spreadsheet
5 1 (0.23%) Adobe Illustrator
5 1 (0.23%) MadCap Flare
5 1 (0.23%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.23%) Photoshop
5 1 (0.23%) Trello
Business Applications
1 16 (3.66%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (1.37%) SAP PP
3 3 (0.69%) Exstream
3 3 (0.69%) Workday HCM
4 2 (0.46%) SAP IBP
5 1 (0.23%) Dynamics NAV
5 1 (0.23%) Payment Gateway
5 1 (0.23%) Remedy AR System
5 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
5 1 (0.23%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 78 (17.85%) Azure
2 62 (14.19%) AWS
3 27 (6.18%) Azure DevOps
4 22 (5.03%) GCP
5 21 (4.81%) Power Platform
6 20 (4.58%) GitHub
7 12 (2.75%) SaaS
8 10 (2.29%) Microsoft 365
9 8 (1.83%) Serverless
10 7 (1.60%) AWS Lambda
11 6 (1.37%) Azure Data Factory
11 6 (1.37%) PowerApps
12 5 (1.14%) Cloud Computing
12 5 (1.14%) Dynamics 365
12 5 (1.14%) GitHub Actions
12 5 (1.14%) SuccessFactors
13 4 (0.92%) Adobe Analytics
13 4 (0.92%) Azure Machine Learning
13 4 (0.92%) OpenShift
14 3 (0.69%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 6 (1.37%) Firewall
1 6 (1.37%) LAN
1 6 (1.37%) Radio Access Network
1 6 (1.37%) WAN
2 4 (0.92%) Wireless
3 3 (0.69%) 2G
3 3 (0.69%) 4G
3 3 (0.69%) 5G
3 3 (0.69%) DNS
3 3 (0.69%) VPN
3 3 (0.69%) Wireshark
4 2 (0.46%) DHCP
4 2 (0.46%) Internet
4 2 (0.46%) MPLS
4 2 (0.46%) Network Security
4 2 (0.46%) Remote Desktop
4 2 (0.46%) Structured Cabling
5 1 (0.23%) Ethernet
5 1 (0.23%) OSPF
5 1 (0.23%) PPP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (4.12%) Data Warehouse
2 15 (3.43%) Power BI
3 12 (2.75%) PostgreSQL
4 11 (2.52%) SQL Server
5 10 (2.29%) NoSQL
6 8 (1.83%) Tableau
7 7 (1.60%) MySQL
7 7 (1.60%) Relational Database
8 6 (1.37%) Oracle Reports
9 4 (0.92%) Amazon Redshift
9 4 (0.92%) Hadoop
9 4 (0.92%) Metadata
9 4 (0.92%) MongoDB
9 4 (0.92%) Qlik Sense
10 3 (0.69%) BigQuery
10 3 (0.69%) Data Mining
10 3 (0.69%) Elasticsearch
10 3 (0.69%) Geospatial Data
10 3 (0.69%) Oracle Database
10 3 (0.69%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 69 (15.79%) JIRA
2 56 (12.81%) Selenium
3 40 (9.15%) Git
4 26 (5.95%) Postman
5 20 (4.58%) Jenkins
6 19 (4.35%) Cucumber
7 17 (3.89%) Cypress.io
8 15 (3.43%) JUnit
9 13 (2.97%) GitLab
9 13 (2.97%) Maven
10 12 (2.75%) TestRail
11 11 (2.52%) JMeter
12 9 (2.06%) IntelliJ
13 8 (1.83%) WebDriver
14 7 (1.60%) REST Assured
14 7 (1.60%) SoapUI
15 6 (1.37%) Gradle
15 6 (1.37%) Subversion
16 4 (0.92%) HP UFT
16 4 (0.92%) Visual Studio
General
1 209 (47.83%) Social Skills
2 128 (29.29%) Analytical Skills
3 72 (16.48%) Finance
4 35 (8.01%) Public Sector
5 23 (5.26%) Telecoms
6 22 (5.03%) Banking
7 19 (4.35%) Manufacturing
8 11 (2.52%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 11 (2.52%) Legal
9 10 (2.29%) Organisational Skills
10 9 (2.06%) Games
10 9 (2.06%) Influencing Skills
11 8 (1.83%) Aerospace
11 8 (1.83%) Marketing
12 7 (1.60%) Retail
13 6 (1.37%) Documentation Skills
13 6 (1.37%) Electronics
13 6 (1.37%) Presentation Skills
14 4 (0.92%) Military
14 4 (0.92%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 65 (14.87%) Analyst
2 41 (9.38%) Tester
3 37 (8.47%) Senior
4 36 (8.24%) Developer
5 34 (7.78%) Lead
6 31 (7.09%) Architect
7 29 (6.64%) QA Engineer
8 26 (5.95%) Data Analyst
9 25 (5.72%) QA Tester
10 22 (5.03%) Solutions Architect
11 20 (4.58%) Test Manager
12 19 (4.35%) Business Analyst
13 18 (4.12%) Project Manager
14 17 (3.89%) Support Engineer
15 15 (3.43%) Test Leader
16 12 (2.75%) Java Developer
17 11 (2.52%) Consultant
17 11 (2.52%) DevOps Engineer
17 11 (2.52%) Test Analyst
17 11 (2.52%) Windows Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (4.81%) .NET
2 14 (3.20%) RESTful
3 13 (2.97%) JSON
3 13 (2.97%) React
4 11 (2.52%) AngularJS
4 11 (2.52%) HTML
5 10 (2.29%) CSS
6 9 (2.06%) Middleware
6 9 (2.06%) Node.js
6 9 (2.06%) REST
7 8 (1.83%) Spring
8 7 (1.60%) Web Services
9 6 (1.37%) Playwright
9 6 (1.37%) Spring Boot
9 6 (1.37%) XML
10 5 (1.14%) Gherkin
10 5 (1.14%) Oracle Fusion
11 4 (0.92%) Kafka
12 3 (0.69%) pytest
12 3 (0.69%) Unity (Game Engine)
Miscellaneous
1 22 (5.03%) Data Centre
2 19 (4.35%) Product Ownership
3 13 (2.97%) Algorithms
4 10 (2.29%) Virtual Team
5 8 (1.83%) CMDB
5 8 (1.83%) Data Protection Act
5 8 (1.83%) Onboarding
6 7 (1.60%) Cloud Native
6 7 (1.60%) Legacy Systems
6 7 (1.60%) Mainframe
6 7 (1.60%) Public Cloud
7 6 (1.37%) Data Structures
8 5 (1.14%) Analytical Mindset
8 5 (1.14%) Life Science
8 5 (1.14%) Management Information System
9 4 (0.92%) Derivative
9 4 (0.92%) e-Learning
9 4 (0.92%) NHS
9 4 (0.92%) Self-Motivation
9 4 (0.92%) VSAM
Operating Systems
1 31 (7.09%) Windows
2 13 (2.97%) Linux
3 10 (2.29%) Windows 10
4 7 (1.60%) Unix
5 4 (0.92%) Windows Server
5 4 (0.92%) Windows Server 2016
5 4 (0.92%) zOS
6 3 (0.69%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.69%) Windows Server 2019
7 2 (0.46%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 2 (0.46%) Solaris
8 1 (0.23%) Android
8 1 (0.23%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 146 (33.41%) Agile
1 146 (33.41%) Problem-Solving
2 117 (26.77%) Test Automation
3 80 (18.31%) DevOps
4 76 (17.39%) CI/CD
5 70 (16.02%) Stakeholder Management
6 68 (15.56%) Continuous Improvement
7 66 (15.10%) Test Strategy
8 56 (12.81%) Project Management
9 49 (11.21%) Scrum
9 49 (11.21%) Validation
10 48 (10.98%) Migration
11 38 (8.70%) User Acceptance Testing
12 36 (8.24%) Software Engineering
12 36 (8.24%) Time Management
13 34 (7.78%) Test Scripting
13 34 (7.78%) User Experience
14 33 (7.55%) Analytics
15 30 (6.86%) Data Modelling
15 30 (6.86%) SDLC
Programming Languages
1 62 (14.19%) Java
2 60 (13.73%) SQL
3 58 (13.27%) Python
4 26 (5.95%) JavaScript
5 20 (4.58%) C#
6 12 (2.75%) PowerShell
6 12 (2.75%) TypeScript
7 9 (2.06%) Bash
8 7 (1.60%) COBOL
9 6 (1.37%) JCL
10 5 (1.14%) C++
10 5 (1.14%) Shell Script
11 3 (0.69%) Kotlin
11 3 (0.69%) REXX
11 3 (0.69%) Scala
11 3 (0.69%) VBA
11 3 (0.69%) VBScript
12 2 (0.46%) C
12 2 (0.46%) Perl
12 2 (0.46%) VB
Qualifications
1 91 (20.82%) Security Cleared
2 72 (16.48%) SC Cleared
3 62 (14.19%) Degree
4 21 (4.81%) Computer Science Degree
5 20 (4.58%) ISTQB
6 17 (3.89%) AWS Certification
7 13 (2.97%) PMP
8 12 (2.75%) BPSS Clearance
8 12 (2.75%) PMI Certification
9 11 (2.52%) Microsoft Certification
10 10 (2.29%) Azure Certification
10 10 (2.29%) DV Cleared
10 10 (2.29%) Master's Degree
11 9 (2.06%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
12 7 (1.60%) ISEB
12 7 (1.60%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
13 5 (1.14%) CISSP
14 4 (0.92%) CompTIA Security+
14 4 (0.92%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
15 3 (0.69%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (4.58%) Data Quality
2 12 (2.75%) Accessibility
2 12 (2.75%) Software Quality Assurance
3 9 (2.06%) SLA
4 7 (1.60%) PMO
5 5 (1.14%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 4 (0.92%) GDPR
7 3 (0.69%) ISO 9001
8 2 (0.46%) Disclosure Scotland
8 2 (0.46%) MISRA
8 2 (0.46%) MISRA C
9 1 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.23%) GLP
9 1 (0.23%) GxP
9 1 (0.23%) HIPAA
9 1 (0.23%) IEC 61508
9 1 (0.23%) ISO 14001
9 1 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 1 (0.23%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.23%) WCAG
System Software
1 29 (6.64%) Docker
2 3 (0.69%) Active Directory
2 3 (0.69%) LXC
3 2 (0.46%) BitLocker
3 2 (0.46%) VMware ESXi
3 2 (0.46%) VMware Infrastructure
3 2 (0.46%) vSphere
4 1 (0.23%) Microsoft App-V
4 1 (0.23%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 23 (5.26%) Kubernetes
2 12 (2.75%) Ansible
3 9 (2.06%) SCCM
3 9 (2.06%) Terraform
4 6 (1.37%) Microsoft Intune
5 3 (0.69%) Grafana
5 3 (0.69%) Kibana
5 3 (0.69%) Packer
6 2 (0.46%) Amdocs OSS
6 2 (0.46%) Jamf Pro
6 2 (0.46%) Prometheus
6 2 (0.46%) Red Hat Satellite
6 2 (0.46%) SELinux
7 1 (0.23%) Argo
7 1 (0.23%) CA Endevor
7 1 (0.23%) Control-M
7 1 (0.23%) HP ALM
7 1 (0.23%) Nagios
7 1 (0.23%) Oracle Identity Management
7 1 (0.23%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 54 (12.36%) Microsoft
2 25 (5.72%) Oracle
2 25 (5.72%) SAP
3 13 (2.97%) Google
4 10 (2.29%) Databricks
4 10 (2.29%) ServiceNow
5 9 (2.06%) Cisco
5 9 (2.06%) Citrix
5 9 (2.06%) IBM
6 8 (1.83%) HP
7 7 (1.60%) Dell
8 6 (1.37%) Adobe
8 6 (1.37%) Red Hat
8 6 (1.37%) Workday
9 5 (1.14%) Informatica
10 4 (0.92%) Apple
10 4 (0.92%) Nokia
11 3 (0.69%) CheckPoint
11 3 (0.69%) Ericsson
11 3 (0.69%) Salesforce