Acceptance Criteria Contracts

Acceptance Criteria
UK

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for Acceptance Criteria skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited Acceptance Criteria over the 6 months to 8 May 2024 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
8 May 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 246 226 220
Rank change year-on-year -20 -6 +51
Contract jobs citing Acceptance Criteria 409 680 1,162
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 0.95% 1.17% 1.32%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.10% 1.30% 1.46%
Number of daily rates quoted 292 473 745
10th Percentile £363 £400 £381
25th Percentile £418 £463 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £550 £500
Median % change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% +5.26%
75th Percentile £575 £605 £588
90th Percentile £625 £650 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £489 £549 £475
% change year-on-year -10.97% +15.58% +8.57%
Number of hourly rates quoted 6 8 14
10th Percentile £27.23 £50.50 £38.85
25th Percentile £31.71 £55.19 £42.00
Median hourly rate £32.36 £58.75 £53.89
Median % change year-on-year -44.93% +9.02% +85.83%
75th Percentile £57.00 £65.50 £60.00
90th Percentile £65.50 £73.00 £62.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £44.25 £55.25 £53.00
% change year-on-year -19.91% +4.25% +96.44%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

Acceptance Criteria is in the Processes and Methodologies category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 37,201 52,182 79,685
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 86.27% 89.83% 90.59%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,946 36,175 55,967
10th Percentile £300 £325 £341
25th Percentile £413 £438 £426
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £550 £530
Median % change year-on-year -4.55% +3.77% +8.72%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £638
90th Percentile £750 £750 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £475
% change year-on-year - +5.26% +8.57%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,437 1,727 1,890
10th Percentile £12.75 £11.00 £12.50
25th Percentile £16.00 £16.25 £15.50
Median hourly rate £36.50 £36.00 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +1.39% +44.00% +2.04%
75th Percentile £60.00 £65.00 £49.25
90th Percentile £72.50 £75.00 £65.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £38.00 £35.00 £20.00
% change year-on-year +8.57% +75.00% -6.98%

Acceptance Criteria
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Acceptance Criteria as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Acceptance Criteria in the UK

Acceptance Criteria
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Acceptance Criteria.

Daily rate trend for Acceptance Criteria in the UK

Acceptance Criteria
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Acceptance Criteria over the 6 months to 8 May 2024.

Daily rate histogram for Acceptance Criteria in the UK

Acceptance Criteria
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Acceptance Criteria.

Hourly rate trend for Acceptance Criteria in the UK

Acceptance Criteria
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Acceptance Criteria over the 6 months to 8 May 2024.

Hourly rate histogram for Acceptance Criteria in the UK

Acceptance Criteria
Top 15 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Acceptance Criteria within the UK over the 6 months to 8 May 2024. 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
England -32 359 £509 -7.55% 170
London +33 213 £525 -6.67% 74
Work from Home +11 158 £500 -8.93% 86
UK excluding London -36 153 £489 -10.97% 103
South East -26 45 £488 -7.14% 30
North of England 0 36 £481 -7.50% 20
South West -3 32 £550 -2.65% 13
Yorkshire +33 27 £485 -11.82% 8
Scotland +39 19 £463 -11.90% 10
East of England -1 13 £375 -25.00% 12
Midlands -4 9 £463 -11.90% 18
North West -10 7 £481 -2.73% 10
West Midlands -6 5 £450 -21.74% 13
East Midlands +16 4 £500 +35.14% 5
North East +13 2 £477 +0.42% 2

Acceptance Criteria
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities 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 29 (7.09%) Confluence
2 6 (1.47%) SharePoint
3 5 (1.22%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 3 (0.73%) ArcGIS
4 3 (0.73%) CMS
4 3 (0.73%) Drupal
5 2 (0.49%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.24%) BizTalk Server
6 1 (0.24%) IIS
6 1 (0.24%) Joomla!
6 1 (0.24%) LiveLink
6 1 (0.24%) Microsoft Exchange
6 1 (0.24%) Tomcat
6 1 (0.24%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.24%) WordPress
Applications
1 6 (1.47%) Microsoft Excel
1 6 (1.47%) Microsoft Office
1 6 (1.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
1 6 (1.47%) MS Visio
2 3 (0.73%) Adobe XD
2 3 (0.73%) InVision
2 3 (0.73%) Sketch
2 3 (0.73%) Zeplin
3 2 (0.49%) Trello
4 1 (0.24%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 12 (2.93%) Aligne
2 11 (2.69%) SAP S/4HANA
3 10 (2.44%) Dynamics CRM
4 7 (1.71%) SAP PM
5 5 (1.22%) SimCorp Dimension
6 4 (0.98%) Shopify
7 3 (0.73%) Salesforce CRM
7 3 (0.73%) SAP Hybris
8 2 (0.49%) VisionPLUS
9 1 (0.24%) Endur
9 1 (0.24%) Oracle ERP
9 1 (0.24%) Remedy ITSM
9 1 (0.24%) SAP APO
9 1 (0.24%) SAP IBP
9 1 (0.24%) SAP MM
9 1 (0.24%) Softmar
9 1 (0.24%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 69 (16.87%) Azure
2 40 (9.78%) Azure DevOps
3 23 (5.62%) Dynamics 365
4 22 (5.38%) Power Platform
5 21 (5.13%) AWS
6 13 (3.18%) Power Automate
7 7 (1.71%) Microsoft 365
7 7 (1.71%) Miro
7 7 (1.71%) SaaS
8 6 (1.47%) PowerApps
9 5 (1.22%) Figma
10 4 (0.98%) BigCommerce
10 4 (0.98%) PaaS
10 4 (0.98%) SAP Commerce Cloud
11 3 (0.73%) Adobe Analytics
11 3 (0.73%) Azure Data Factory
12 2 (0.49%) Amazon GuardDuty
12 2 (0.49%) Entra ID
12 2 (0.49%) Serverless
12 2 (0.49%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 6 (1.47%) SSH
2 3 (0.73%) DNS
2 3 (0.73%) Wi-Fi
3 2 (0.49%) DHCP
3 2 (0.49%) Firewall
3 2 (0.49%) GSM
3 2 (0.49%) HTTP
4 1 (0.24%) 3GPP
4 1 (0.24%) 4G
4 1 (0.24%) 5G
4 1 (0.24%) Bluetooth
4 1 (0.24%) LAN
4 1 (0.24%) LTE
4 1 (0.24%) PuTTY
4 1 (0.24%) SMS
4 1 (0.24%) SSL
4 1 (0.24%) TETRA
4 1 (0.24%) UMTS
4 1 (0.24%) VPN
4 1 (0.24%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 16 (3.91%) Power BI
2 10 (2.44%) NoSQL
3 8 (1.96%) Data Lake
3 8 (1.96%) Data Warehouse
4 5 (1.22%) Geospatial Data
4 5 (1.22%) GIS
4 5 (1.22%) SQL Server
5 4 (0.98%) Apache Cassandra
5 4 (0.98%) MySQL
5 4 (0.98%) Redis
5 4 (0.98%) SAP HANA
5 4 (0.98%) SQL Server Analysis Services
5 4 (0.98%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 4 (0.98%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 2 (0.49%) Big Data
6 2 (0.49%) Data Mart
6 2 (0.49%) Delta Lake
6 2 (0.49%) SAP BW
6 2 (0.49%) Tableau
7 1 (0.24%) EDRMS
Development Applications
1 50 (12.22%) JIRA
2 16 (3.91%) Postman
3 15 (3.67%) Selenium
4 11 (2.69%) JMeter
5 10 (2.44%) JUnit
5 10 (2.44%) SoapUI
6 8 (1.96%) Cucumber
7 6 (1.47%) Git
8 5 (1.22%) Appium
8 5 (1.22%) Gatling
8 5 (1.22%) LoadRunner
8 5 (1.22%) Visual Studio
8 5 (1.22%) WebDriver
9 4 (0.98%) Mockito
9 4 (0.98%) ScalaTest
10 3 (0.73%) Axure RP
10 3 (0.73%) Rational Performance Tester
10 3 (0.73%) SpecFlow
11 2 (0.49%) REST Assured
11 2 (0.49%) XCUITest
General
1 140 (34.23%) Social Skills
2 86 (21.03%) Finance
3 73 (17.85%) Analytical Skills
4 40 (9.78%) Public Sector
5 27 (6.60%) Presentation Skills
6 16 (3.91%) Back Office
7 15 (3.67%) Banking
8 12 (2.93%) Retail
8 12 (2.93%) Telecoms
9 9 (2.20%) Games
9 9 (2.20%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 8 (1.96%) Influencing Skills
11 7 (1.71%) Investment Banking
11 7 (1.71%) Marketing
12 5 (1.22%) Front Office
12 5 (1.22%) German Language
12 5 (1.22%) Manufacturing
12 5 (1.22%) Organisational Skills
13 3 (0.73%) Law
13 3 (0.73%) Legal
Job Titles
1 168 (41.08%) Analyst
2 130 (31.78%) Business Analyst
3 67 (16.38%) Senior
4 36 (8.80%) Senior Analyst
5 32 (7.82%) Product Owner
6 30 (7.33%) Developer
7 26 (6.36%) Project Manager
7 26 (6.36%) Technical Analyst
8 24 (5.87%) Senior Business Analyst
9 22 (5.38%) Service Manager
10 20 (4.89%) Consultant
11 19 (4.65%) Service Transition Manager
11 19 (4.65%) Technical Business Analyst
11 19 (4.65%) Transition Manager
12 18 (4.40%) Tester
13 16 (3.91%) Lead
14 13 (3.18%) Agile Business Analyst
15 12 (2.93%) Test Analyst
15 12 (2.93%) Test Leader
16 11 (2.69%) Data Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 17 (4.16%) SOAP
2 15 (3.67%) REST
3 14 (3.42%) XML
4 13 (3.18%) Web Services
5 12 (2.93%) JSON
6 10 (2.44%) Hibernate
6 10 (2.44%) JPA
6 10 (2.44%) Spring
7 8 (1.96%) RESTful
8 7 (1.71%) .NET
8 7 (1.71%) Swagger
9 6 (1.47%) ADO
9 6 (1.47%) Gherkin
9 6 (1.47%) J2EE
9 6 (1.47%) OpenAPI
10 5 (1.22%) Akka
10 5 (1.22%) HTML
11 4 (0.98%) Play Framework
11 4 (0.98%) spray
11 4 (0.98%) VML
Miscellaneous
1 86 (21.03%) Product Ownership
2 25 (6.11%) Management Information System
3 22 (5.38%) Mobile App
4 11 (2.69%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
5 9 (2.20%) Renewable Energy
5 9 (2.20%) Solar Panel
6 6 (1.47%) Algorithms
6 6 (1.47%) Enterprise Software
6 6 (1.47%) Linux Command Line
7 5 (1.22%) Derivative
7 5 (1.22%) Hybrid Cloud
7 5 (1.22%) Onboarding
7 5 (1.22%) SWIFT Messaging Network
8 4 (0.98%) Data Structures
9 3 (0.73%) Data Protection Act
9 3 (0.73%) Low-Code
9 3 (0.73%) Security Posture
10 2 (0.49%) Freedom of Information
10 2 (0.49%) Freedom of Information Act
10 2 (0.49%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 19 (4.65%) Linux
2 10 (2.44%) Unix
3 9 (2.20%) Windows
4 7 (1.71%) Android
5 3 (0.73%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.24%) AIX
Processes & Methodologies
1 249 (60.88%) Agile
2 214 (52.32%) User Stories
3 97 (23.72%) Scrum
4 94 (22.98%) Business Analysis
5 91 (22.25%) Problem-Solving
6 70 (17.11%) DevOps
7 56 (13.69%) User Acceptance Testing
8 52 (12.71%) Test Automation
9 44 (10.76%) Project Management
10 42 (10.27%) Workshop Facilitation
11 40 (9.78%) Epics
11 40 (9.78%) Product Backlog
11 40 (9.78%) Requirements Gathering
12 38 (9.29%) Project Delivery
13 36 (8.80%) Stakeholder Management
14 35 (8.56%) Scenario Testing
14 35 (8.56%) Service Design
14 35 (8.56%) Translating Business Requirements
15 33 (8.07%) SDLC
15 33 (8.07%) Test Scripting
Programming Languages
1 35 (8.56%) SQL
2 30 (7.33%) Java
3 17 (4.16%) Python
4 11 (2.69%) C#
5 10 (2.44%) JavaScript
6 8 (1.96%) C
7 6 (1.47%) C++
7 6 (1.47%) Kotlin
7 6 (1.47%) Scala
7 6 (1.47%) VB
8 5 (1.22%) Perl
8 5 (1.22%) T-SQL
9 4 (0.98%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 4 (0.98%) PL/SQL
9 4 (0.98%) PowerShell
10 3 (0.73%) R
11 2 (0.49%) Go
11 2 (0.49%) Swift
11 2 (0.49%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.24%) ABAP
Qualifications
1 56 (13.69%) Security Cleared
2 46 (11.25%) Degree
3 40 (9.78%) SC Cleared
4 10 (2.44%) DV Cleared
5 8 (1.96%) CBAP
6 7 (1.71%) CSPO
7 6 (1.47%) BPSS Clearance
7 6 (1.47%) ISEB
8 4 (0.98%) Computer Science Degree
8 4 (0.98%) ISTQB
8 4 (0.98%) ITIL Certification
8 4 (0.98%) Master's Degree
8 4 (0.98%) PMI Certification
9 3 (0.73%) MBA
9 3 (0.73%) PMP
10 2 (0.49%) Azure Certification
10 2 (0.49%) IIBA
10 2 (0.49%) ISEB Practitioner
11 1 (0.24%) DBS Check
11 1 (0.24%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 58 (14.18%) QA
2 19 (4.65%) Accessibility
3 12 (2.93%) WCAG
4 9 (2.20%) PCI DSS
5 8 (1.96%) PMO
6 5 (1.22%) ISO 20022
7 4 (0.98%) Data Quality
8 3 (0.73%) Disclosure Scotland
8 3 (0.73%) ISO 9001
9 2 (0.49%) COBIT
9 2 (0.49%) GDPR
9 2 (0.49%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.49%) PSD2
9 2 (0.49%) SLA
9 2 (0.49%) Software Quality Assurance
10 1 (0.24%) NCSC
10 1 (0.24%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 8 (1.96%) Docker
2 2 (0.49%) Active Directory
3 1 (0.24%) PowerHA
Systems Management
1 8 (1.96%) Kubernetes
2 6 (1.47%) Grafana
2 6 (1.47%) Prometheus
3 3 (0.73%) HP Quality Center
4 1 (0.24%) HP ALM
Vendors
1 46 (11.25%) Microsoft
2 31 (7.58%) SAP
3 14 (3.42%) Adobe
4 8 (1.96%) Salesforce
4 8 (1.96%) ServiceNow
5 6 (1.47%) IBM
6 5 (1.22%) Atlassian
6 5 (1.22%) CyberSource
6 5 (1.22%) SimCorp
7 4 (0.98%) HP
7 4 (0.98%) Sitecore
8 3 (0.73%) Dell
8 3 (0.73%) ESRI
8 3 (0.73%) Intel
9 2 (0.49%) Ariba
9 2 (0.49%) Civica
9 2 (0.49%) Google
9 2 (0.49%) Murex
9 2 (0.49%) Oracle
10 1 (0.24%) EMC