Validation Contracts in the UK excluding London

Validation
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London requiring Validation skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Validation over the 6 months leading up to 31 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 68 91 137
Rank change year-on-year +23 +46 +22
Contract jobs citing Validation 453 466 413
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 3.48% 2.25% 1.81%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.84% 2.70% 2.03%
Number of daily rates quoted 280 194 193
10th Percentile £325 £300 £335
25th Percentile £406 £391 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% - +5.26%
75th Percentile £605 £588 £575
90th Percentile £666 £672 £627
UK median daily rate £525 £525 £550
% change year-on-year - -4.55% +7.32%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 161 137
10th Percentile £30.88 £26.88 £42.50
25th Percentile £48.13 £52.50 £51.75
Median hourly rate £61.25 £62.50 £62.50
Median % change year-on-year -2.00% - +25.00%
75th Percentile £73.44 £72.50 £65.75
90th Percentile £77.50 £76.86 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £56.77 £60.00 £63.12
% change year-on-year -5.38% -4.94% +24.12%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK excluding London

Validation 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 UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 11,812 17,287 20,329
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 90.62% 83.43% 89.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,347 10,277 13,944
10th Percentile £235 £250 £260
25th Percentile £375 £375 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - +2.56%
75th Percentile £575 £600 £600
90th Percentile £650 £688 £694
UK median daily rate £513 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -2.38% -4.55% +2.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 855 2,126 1,244
10th Percentile £13.85 £12.41 £10.63
25th Percentile £16.95 £15.39 £15.21
Median hourly rate £25.15 £38.12 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -34.02% +8.91% +75.00%
75th Percentile £60.06 £61.30 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £72.50 £74.43
UK median hourly rate £27.85 £36.50 £36.77
% change year-on-year -23.70% -0.73% +43.19%

Validation
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

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

Job vacancy trend for Validation in the UK excluding London

Validation
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

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

Daily rate trend for Validation in the UK excluding London

Validation
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Validation in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 31 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Validation in the UK excluding London

Validation
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

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

Hourly rate trend for Validation in the UK excluding London

Validation
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Validation in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 31 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Validation in the UK excluding London

Validation
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 Validation within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 31 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
South East +53 145 £500 -4.76% 276
South West +6 82 £575 +9.52% 162
North of England +12 81 £450 -2.70% 197
Midlands +11 62 £450 -21.05% 159
North West +23 59 £438 -12.50% 124
East of England +4 57 £450 -7.69% 138
West Midlands 0 43 £403 -29.86% 111
Scotland +26 27 £475 -1.30% 73
East Midlands +16 18 £455 -0.66% 46
Yorkshire -1 18 £435 +0.69% 54
North East -1 5 £588 +17.50% 20
Northern Ireland -19 4 £590 -1.67% 18
Wales +5 3 £155 - 20
Validation
UK

Validation
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 57 (12.58%) Confluence
2 19 (4.19%) SharePoint
3 5 (1.10%) SAS
3 5 (1.10%) WebLogic
4 4 (0.88%) Oracle SOA Suite
5 3 (0.66%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.66%) Smallworld
6 2 (0.44%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.44%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.44%) Microsoft Exchange
6 2 (0.44%) Oracle Spatial
6 2 (0.44%) Oracle Workflow
6 2 (0.44%) TPMS
7 1 (0.22%) Apache
7 1 (0.22%) CICS
7 1 (0.22%) MS Project Server
7 1 (0.22%) WebSphere
Applications
1 28 (6.18%) Microsoft Excel
2 27 (5.96%) Microsoft Office
3 7 (1.55%) Simulink
4 5 (1.10%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.66%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.44%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.44%) Stateflow
7 1 (0.22%) Adobe Captivate
7 1 (0.22%) CANalyzer
7 1 (0.22%) Fusion 360
7 1 (0.22%) Siemens NX
Business Applications
1 20 (4.42%) Oracle EBS
2 10 (2.21%) Teamcenter
3 8 (1.77%) SAP S/4HANA
4 5 (1.10%) Payment Gateway
5 4 (0.88%) Oracle EBS R12
6 3 (0.66%) Oracle ERP
6 3 (0.66%) Oracle Payroll
6 3 (0.66%) Remedy ITSM
6 3 (0.66%) SAP PM
7 2 (0.44%) Maximo
7 2 (0.44%) Primavera
7 2 (0.44%) SAP ERP
7 2 (0.44%) Workday HCM
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle SCM
8 1 (0.22%) SAP CAR
8 1 (0.22%) SAP CO
8 1 (0.22%) SAP FI/CO
8 1 (0.22%) SAP MDG
8 1 (0.22%) SAP POS DM
Cloud Services
1 44 (9.71%) Azure
2 32 (7.06%) AWS
3 24 (5.30%) Power Platform
4 20 (4.42%) SaaS
5 16 (3.53%) PaaS
6 13 (2.87%) Azure DevOps
7 10 (2.21%) OCI
8 7 (1.55%) Cloud Computing
8 7 (1.55%) GCP
8 7 (1.55%) GitHub
8 7 (1.55%) Serverless
9 6 (1.32%) Amazon EMR
9 6 (1.32%) Amazon S3
9 6 (1.32%) AWS Lambda
9 6 (1.32%) PowerApps
10 5 (1.10%) Amazon Kinesis
10 5 (1.10%) Azure Data Factory
11 4 (0.88%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 4 (0.88%) Entra ID
11 4 (0.88%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 29 (6.40%) Firewall
2 15 (3.31%) VPN
3 14 (3.09%) BGP
4 10 (2.21%) 5G
4 10 (2.21%) Network Security
5 9 (1.99%) DNS
5 9 (1.99%) MPLS
5 9 (1.99%) PBX
5 9 (1.99%) VoIP
6 8 (1.77%) IPsec
6 8 (1.77%) Unified Communications
7 7 (1.55%) SNMP
7 7 (1.55%) Software-Defined Radio
8 6 (1.32%) Cisco IOS
8 6 (1.32%) Ethernet
8 6 (1.32%) HTTP
8 6 (1.32%) OSPF
8 6 (1.32%) TCP/IP
9 5 (1.10%) 4G
9 5 (1.10%) DMVPN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (4.42%) Power BI
2 17 (3.75%) Data Warehouse
3 16 (3.53%) NoSQL
4 13 (2.87%) Oracle Reports
5 10 (2.21%) Amazon Redshift
5 10 (2.21%) Oracle Database
5 10 (2.21%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.99%) SQL Server
7 8 (1.77%) Metadata
8 7 (1.55%) GIS
9 6 (1.32%) MySQL
10 5 (1.10%) Big Data
10 5 (1.10%) Data Lake
10 5 (1.10%) Delta Lake
11 4 (0.88%) Azure SQL Database
11 4 (0.88%) BusinessObjects
11 4 (0.88%) Relational Database
11 4 (0.88%) Tableau
12 3 (0.66%) Oracle BI Publisher
12 3 (0.66%) Qlik Sense
Development Applications
1 81 (17.88%) JIRA
2 36 (7.95%) Jenkins
3 32 (7.06%) Git
4 18 (3.97%) Postman
5 16 (3.53%) Bitbucket
6 15 (3.31%) Selenium
7 11 (2.43%) Cypress.io
7 11 (2.43%) JMeter
8 10 (2.21%) Cucumber
9 9 (1.99%) Eclipse
9 9 (1.99%) GitLab
10 8 (1.77%) Rational DOORS
11 7 (1.55%) GoogleTest
11 7 (1.55%) LoadRunner
11 7 (1.55%) Robot Framework
12 5 (1.10%) Toad
12 5 (1.10%) Visual Studio
13 4 (0.88%) SoapUI
13 4 (0.88%) WebDriver
14 3 (0.66%) TeamCity
General
1 204 (45.03%) Social Skills
2 114 (25.17%) Analytical Skills
3 44 (9.71%) Finance
4 32 (7.06%) Public Sector
5 28 (6.18%) Presentation Skills
6 18 (3.97%) Telecoms
7 15 (3.31%) Banking
7 15 (3.31%) Documentation Skills
8 12 (2.65%) Electronics
9 9 (1.99%) Aerospace
10 8 (1.77%) Legal
10 8 (1.77%) Military
10 8 (1.77%) Organisational Skills
10 8 (1.77%) Retail
11 7 (1.55%) Manufacturing
11 7 (1.55%) Pharmaceutical
12 6 (1.32%) Automotive
13 4 (0.88%) Front Office
13 4 (0.88%) Local Government
14 3 (0.66%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 65 (14.35%) Analyst
2 35 (7.73%) Senior
3 29 (6.40%) Lead
4 28 (6.18%) Consultant
5 25 (5.52%) Data Analyst
6 23 (5.08%) Business Analyst
7 22 (4.86%) Network Engineer
7 22 (4.86%) Systems Engineer
8 21 (4.64%) Data Engineer
9 19 (4.19%) Architect
10 17 (3.75%) Test Engineer
11 15 (3.31%) Virtualisation Engineer
12 14 (3.09%) FPGA Engineer
13 13 (2.87%) Test Analyst
13 13 (2.87%) Tester
14 12 (2.65%) DevOps Engineer
14 12 (2.65%) Migration Engineer
14 12 (2.65%) Software Engineer
15 11 (2.43%) Developer
15 11 (2.43%) Senior Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (4.42%) REST
2 17 (3.75%) Web Services
3 14 (3.09%) CSS
3 14 (3.09%) Flash
3 14 (3.09%) HTML
3 14 (3.09%) SOAP
4 9 (1.99%) Node.js
5 8 (1.77%) Kafka
6 7 (1.55%) NETCONF
6 7 (1.55%) RESTCONF
6 7 (1.55%) SAP Fiori
7 6 (1.32%) Middleware
7 6 (1.32%) RESTful
8 5 (1.10%) CSS3
8 5 (1.10%) HTML5
8 5 (1.10%) jQuery
8 5 (1.10%) SAPUI5
8 5 (1.10%) Spine.js
8 5 (1.10%) XML
9 4 (0.88%) Playwright
Miscellaneous
1 24 (5.30%) Legacy Systems
1 24 (5.30%) Product Ownership
2 17 (3.75%) FPGA
3 14 (3.09%) Clustering
3 14 (3.09%) Onboarding
3 14 (3.09%) Verilog
4 12 (2.65%) Operational Technology
5 11 (2.43%) SCADA
6 10 (2.21%) Data Structures
6 10 (2.21%) Management Information System
6 10 (2.21%) Replication
6 10 (2.21%) Self-Motivation
7 9 (1.99%) Blackberry
7 9 (1.99%) PKI
7 9 (1.99%) Video Conferencing
8 8 (1.77%) Data Protection Act
8 8 (1.77%) IoT
9 7 (1.55%) Algorithms
9 7 (1.55%) Cloud Native
9 7 (1.55%) Credit Risk
Operating Systems
1 55 (12.14%) Linux
2 43 (9.49%) Windows
3 22 (4.86%) Unix
4 15 (3.31%) Windows Server
5 11 (2.43%) Apple iOS
6 4 (0.88%) Android
7 3 (0.66%) Windows Server 2012
8 2 (0.44%) VMS
9 1 (0.22%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.22%) Solaris
9 1 (0.22%) Windows 10
9 1 (0.22%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 139 (30.68%) Problem-Solving
2 108 (23.84%) Agile
3 102 (22.52%) Migration
4 64 (14.13%) Test Automation
5 57 (12.58%) Data Migration
6 54 (11.92%) DevOps
7 53 (11.70%) Data Validation
8 52 (11.48%) CI/CD
8 52 (11.48%) Verification and Validation
9 49 (10.82%) ETL
10 47 (10.38%) Data Modelling
10 47 (10.38%) System Testing
11 45 (9.93%) Service Management
12 41 (9.05%) Stakeholder Management
13 38 (8.39%) Software Engineering
14 36 (7.95%) Analytics
15 35 (7.73%) NsoIT
15 35 (7.73%) User Acceptance Testing
16 32 (7.06%) Data Analysis
16 32 (7.06%) Data Mapping
Programming Languages
1 100 (22.08%) SQL
2 75 (16.56%) Python
3 27 (5.96%) Java
4 24 (5.30%) JavaScript
5 21 (4.64%) PowerShell
6 20 (4.42%) PL/SQL
7 19 (4.19%) Bash
8 18 (3.97%) Shell Script
9 15 (3.31%) Tcl
10 14 (3.09%) C++
10 14 (3.09%) SystemVerilog
11 12 (2.65%) C#
12 8 (1.77%) Scala
13 7 (1.55%) MATLAB
14 6 (1.32%) Perl
15 5 (1.10%) ABAP
15 5 (1.10%) COBOL
15 5 (1.10%) TypeScript
16 4 (0.88%) VBA
17 3 (0.66%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 108 (23.84%) Security Cleared
2 87 (19.21%) SC Cleared
3 66 (14.57%) Degree
4 54 (11.92%) Cisco Certification
5 44 (9.71%) CCNP
6 39 (8.61%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
7 22 (4.86%) DV Cleared
8 21 (4.64%) CCNA
9 18 (3.97%) BPSS Clearance
10 17 (3.75%) Master's Degree
11 13 (2.87%) Computer Science Degree
12 11 (2.43%) ISTQB
12 11 (2.43%) Oracle Certification
13 10 (2.21%) AWS Certification
13 10 (2.21%) CISSP
13 10 (2.21%) OCA
13 10 (2.21%) RHCA
13 10 (2.21%) RHCE
14 8 (1.77%) CISM
14 8 (1.77%) ISEB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (10.38%) QA
2 38 (8.39%) Data Quality
3 18 (3.97%) GDPR
4 10 (2.21%) GxP
5 7 (1.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 7 (1.55%) NIST
5 7 (1.55%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 5 (1.10%) IFRS
6 5 (1.10%) IFRS 9
7 4 (0.88%) MiFID
8 3 (0.66%) COBIT
8 3 (0.66%) PMO
9 2 (0.44%) Disclosure Scotland
9 2 (0.44%) HIPAA
9 2 (0.44%) PCI DSS
9 2 (0.44%) SLA
10 1 (0.22%) COSO
10 1 (0.22%) HAZOP
10 1 (0.22%) IEC 61508
10 1 (0.22%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 46 (10.15%) VMware Infrastructure
2 28 (6.18%) VMware ESXi
3 14 (3.09%) Active Directory
3 14 (3.09%) VMware NSX
4 8 (1.77%) Docker
4 8 (1.77%) Virtual Machines
5 7 (1.55%) vSphere
6 5 (1.10%) Firmware
7 2 (0.44%) Oracle RAC
7 2 (0.44%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.22%) Embedded Firmware
8 1 (0.22%) KVM
8 1 (0.22%) QEMU
8 1 (0.22%) Time Sharing Option
8 1 (0.22%) Xen
Systems Management
1 29 (6.40%) vCenter Server
2 27 (5.96%) Ansible
3 13 (2.87%) Progress Chef
3 13 (2.87%) Puppet
4 9 (1.99%) Kubernetes
5 4 (0.88%) Terraform
6 3 (0.66%) Grafana
7 2 (0.44%) Oracle RMAN
7 2 (0.44%) SCOM
7 2 (0.44%) vRealize
8 1 (0.22%) CA Endevor
8 1 (0.22%) Data Guard
8 1 (0.22%) Docker Swarm
8 1 (0.22%) Enterprise Manager Cloud Control
8 1 (0.22%) Functional Safety
8 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Intune
8 1 (0.22%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 1 (0.22%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.22%) SCCM
Vendors
1 65 (14.35%) Oracle
2 55 (12.14%) VMware
3 53 (11.70%) Microsoft
4 51 (11.26%) Cisco
5 33 (7.28%) Atlassian
5 33 (7.28%) SAP
6 26 (5.74%) ServiceNow
7 14 (3.09%) Xilinx
8 12 (2.65%) Google
9 10 (2.21%) Databricks
10 9 (1.99%) Avaya
10 9 (1.99%) Ericsson
10 9 (1.99%) F5
10 9 (1.99%) Juniper
10 9 (1.99%) Nokia
10 9 (1.99%) Palo Alto
10 9 (1.99%) Ribbon
11 8 (1.77%) Informatica
12 7 (1.55%) IBM
13 6 (1.32%) EMC