Aerospace Contract Job Trends

Aerospace
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Aerospace in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Aerospace over the 6 months leading up to 23 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 296 382 290
Rank change year-on-year +86 -92 +104
Contract jobs citing Aerospace 324 148 319
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.85% 0.47% 0.73%
As % of the General category 1.43% 0.76% 1.25%
Number of daily rates quoted 101 42 86
10th Percentile £72 £323 £334
25th Percentile £313 £399 £494
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £548 £600
Median % change year-on-year -8.76% -8.67% +6.90%
75th Percentile £628 £671 £675
90th Percentile £700 £717 £744
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £488 £588
% change year-on-year +0.92% -17.02% +3.98%
Number of hourly rates quoted 139 36 131
10th Percentile £31.30 £29.01 £21.50
25th Percentile £42.00 £40.48 £40.00
Median hourly rate £56.00 £61.50 £55.56
Median % change year-on-year -8.94% +10.69% -14.52%
75th Percentile £68.13 £69.06 £66.88
90th Percentile £76.25 £74.38 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £57.35 £62.50 £55.00
% change year-on-year -8.24% +13.64% -15.38%

All General Skills
UK

Aerospace falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 22,642 19,580 25,604
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 59.71% 61.79% 58.80%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,274 11,685 16,659
10th Percentile £284 £284 £267
25th Percentile £401 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% -2.27%
75th Percentile £625 £650 £650
90th Percentile £735 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,391 651 1,404
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.62 £13.29
25th Percentile £16.41 £20.00 £15.33
Median hourly rate £22.85 £27.50 £26.72
Median % change year-on-year -16.91% +2.92% +6.88%
75th Percentile £46.00 £53.75 £56.02
90th Percentile £70.00 £73.75 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.28 £26.50 £26.00
% change year-on-year -19.72% +1.92% +15.79%

Aerospace
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Aerospace relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Aerospace job vacancy trend in the UK

Aerospace
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Aerospace.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Aerospace

Aerospace
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Aerospace over the 6 months to 23 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Aerospace in the UK

Aerospace
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Aerospace.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Aerospace

Aerospace
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Aerospace over the 6 months to 23 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Aerospace in the UK

Aerospace
Top 15 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Aerospace within the UK over the 6 months to 23 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
UK excluding London +65 276 £492 +0.92% 488
England +77 273 £510 -6.76% 482
South West +38 83 £450 -17.81% 113
East of England +28 73 £500 +25.00% 74
Work from Home +10 52 £480 -28.41% 152
South East +2 39 £581 +28.04% 145
Midlands -45 27 £650 +82.46% 62
London -18 26 £625 +3.73% 30
Scotland +26 23 £65 -84.71% 17
North of England -47 23 £164 -71.94% 77
East Midlands -21 16 £650 +73.33% 30
North West -28 16 £250 -57.26% 49
West Midlands -49 11 - - 31
Wales +4 8 £550 - 19
North East -7 7 £70 - 6

Aerospace
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 5 (1.54%) SharePoint
2 4 (1.23%) CMS
2 4 (1.23%) Confluence
3 2 (0.62%) Apache
4 1 (0.31%) Alfresco
4 1 (0.31%) Apache Spark
4 1 (0.31%) Documentum
4 1 (0.31%) Jupyter
4 1 (0.31%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 13 (4.01%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (2.47%) Microsoft Office
3 7 (2.16%) Simulink
4 6 (1.85%) FrameMaker
5 5 (1.54%) Stateflow
6 3 (0.93%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 3 (0.93%) Siemens NX
7 2 (0.62%) Microsoft Project
8 1 (0.31%) MS Visio
8 1 (0.31%) PTC Creo
8 1 (0.31%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 16 (4.94%) SAP S/4HANA
2 9 (2.78%) SAP EHS
2 9 (2.78%) Teamcenter
3 5 (1.54%) SAP HCM
4 3 (0.93%) SAP PS
5 2 (0.62%) Oracle ERP
5 2 (0.62%) Oracle SCM
5 2 (0.62%) SAP MM
5 2 (0.62%) SAP Oil and Gas
6 1 (0.31%) Primavera
6 1 (0.31%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.31%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 13 (4.01%) Azure
2 7 (2.16%) AWS
3 6 (1.85%) Microsoft 365
3 6 (1.85%) Power Platform
4 4 (1.23%) Azure DevOps
4 4 (1.23%) Google Workspace
4 4 (1.23%) OpenShift
5 3 (0.93%) GitHub
5 3 (0.93%) GitHub Actions
6 2 (0.62%) OCI
6 2 (0.62%) Smartsheet
7 1 (0.31%) AWS CloudFormation
7 1 (0.31%) Azure ExpressRoute
7 1 (0.31%) Azure Monitor
7 1 (0.31%) Azure Sentinel
7 1 (0.31%) Entra ID
7 1 (0.31%) Lucidchart
Communications & Networking
1 7 (2.16%) Firewall
2 6 (1.85%) PABX
3 4 (1.23%) DHCP
3 4 (1.23%) DNS
4 3 (0.93%) Ethernet
4 3 (0.93%) Network Security
5 2 (0.62%) SD-WAN
5 2 (0.62%) SNMP
5 2 (0.62%) VPN
5 2 (0.62%) WAN
6 1 (0.31%) Cisco ASA
6 1 (0.31%) Cisco IOS
6 1 (0.31%) Cisco Wireless
6 1 (0.31%) LAN
6 1 (0.31%) NX-OS
6 1 (0.31%) SAN
6 1 (0.31%) TCP/IP
6 1 (0.31%) Wi-Fi
6 1 (0.31%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (1.85%) Power BI
2 3 (0.93%) MongoDB
3 2 (0.62%) Metadata
4 1 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
4 1 (0.31%) Hadoop
4 1 (0.31%) PostgreSQL
4 1 (0.31%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 13 (4.01%) Git
2 12 (3.70%) Rational DOORS
3 11 (3.40%) GitLab
4 7 (2.16%) Jenkins
5 5 (1.54%) Rational Team Concert
6 4 (1.23%) JIRA
7 3 (0.93%) Maven
7 3 (0.93%) Rational Rhapsody
8 2 (0.62%) Visual Studio
9 1 (0.31%) Artifactory
9 1 (0.31%) Bitbucket
9 1 (0.31%) Selenium
9 1 (0.31%) SonarQube
9 1 (0.31%) Subversion
General
1 74 (22.84%) Manufacturing
2 72 (22.22%) Social Skills
3 28 (8.64%) Automotive
4 19 (5.86%) Aviation
5 16 (4.94%) Electronics
6 15 (4.63%) Analytical Skills
6 15 (4.63%) Documentation Skills
7 13 (4.01%) Organisational Skills
8 11 (3.40%) Pharmaceutical
9 10 (3.09%) Publishing
10 9 (2.78%) Finance
11 8 (2.47%) Military
12 6 (1.85%) Influencing Skills
13 5 (1.54%) Public Sector
14 4 (1.23%) Environmental Health
14 4 (1.23%) Legal
15 3 (0.93%) Avionics
15 3 (0.93%) Telecoms
16 2 (0.62%) Inclusion and Diversity
17 1 (0.31%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 38 (11.73%) Software Engineer
1 38 (11.73%) Systems Engineer
2 31 (9.57%) Senior
3 21 (6.48%) Support Engineer
4 20 (6.17%) Lead
5 18 (5.56%) Architect
6 17 (5.25%) Principal Engineer
7 13 (4.01%) Analyst
7 13 (4.01%) Electrical Engineer
7 13 (4.01%) Technical Support
8 12 (3.70%) Consultant
8 12 (3.70%) Technical Engineer
9 11 (3.40%) Administrator
9 11 (3.40%) Technical Support Engineer
9 11 (3.40%) Test Engineer
10 9 (2.78%) IT Engineer
10 9 (2.78%) Project Engineer
11 8 (2.47%) Author
11 8 (2.47%) Project Manager
11 8 (2.47%) Technical Author
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (3.40%) SAP Fiori
2 10 (3.09%) XML
3 9 (2.78%) Middleware
4 6 (1.85%) SGML
5 5 (1.54%) Kafka
5 5 (1.54%) LDAP
6 4 (1.23%) Elastic Stack
6 4 (1.23%) HTML
7 3 (0.93%) Flash
7 3 (0.93%) ModSecurity
7 3 (0.93%) OpenID
7 3 (0.93%) Qt
7 3 (0.93%) REST
7 3 (0.93%) SAML
7 3 (0.93%) Spring Boot
8 2 (0.62%) Apache NiFi
8 2 (0.62%) Unity (Game Engine)
8 2 (0.62%) Unreal Engine
9 1 (0.31%) Azure Blueprints
9 1 (0.31%) PyTorch
Miscellaneous
1 17 (5.25%) Self-Motivation
2 13 (4.01%) FPGA
3 11 (3.40%) Management Information System
4 10 (3.09%) Operational Technology
5 9 (2.78%) Legacy Systems
6 8 (2.47%) VHDL
7 7 (2.16%) Data Protection Act
7 7 (2.16%) PCIe
7 7 (2.16%) SCADA
8 6 (1.85%) Data Centre
8 6 (1.85%) Product Ownership
8 6 (1.85%) Smartphone
9 5 (1.54%) Greenfield Project
10 4 (1.23%) Learning Management System
10 4 (1.23%) State Machine
11 3 (0.93%) Algorithms
11 3 (0.93%) Security Posture
11 3 (0.93%) Verilog
12 2 (0.62%) Mixed Reality
12 2 (0.62%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 25 (7.72%) Windows
2 20 (6.17%) Linux
3 6 (1.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
3 6 (1.85%) Windows 10
4 5 (1.54%) CentOS
4 5 (1.54%) Windows Server
5 3 (0.93%) Ubuntu
5 3 (0.93%) Windows Server 2016
5 3 (0.93%) Windows Server 2019
6 2 (0.62%) Debian
7 1 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
7 1 (0.31%) Windows Server 2003
7 1 (0.31%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 49 (15.12%) Software Engineering
2 31 (9.57%) Continuous Improvement
3 30 (9.26%) Validation
4 27 (8.33%) Problem-Solving
5 26 (8.02%) Stakeholder Management
6 25 (7.72%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 25 (7.72%) Systems Engineering
7 22 (6.79%) Cybersecurity
8 20 (6.17%) Agile
9 19 (5.86%) Project Management
10 17 (5.25%) Configuration Management
11 15 (4.63%) AI
11 15 (4.63%) Risk Management
11 15 (4.63%) Software Testing
11 15 (4.63%) Workflow
12 14 (4.32%) Analytics
13 13 (4.01%) DevOps
14 12 (3.70%) Digital Transformation Programme
14 12 (3.70%) Logistics
14 12 (3.70%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 24 (7.41%) C++
2 22 (6.79%) Ada
3 21 (6.48%) C
4 19 (5.86%) Python
5 15 (4.63%) MATLAB
6 10 (3.09%) C#
7 7 (2.16%) PowerShell
8 6 (1.85%) Shell Script
9 5 (1.54%) Fortran
9 5 (1.54%) Java
10 4 (1.23%) JavaScript
11 3 (0.93%) SQL
11 3 (0.93%) SystemVerilog
12 2 (0.62%) Bash
13 1 (0.31%) Embedded C++
13 1 (0.31%) Go
13 1 (0.31%) Google Apps Script
13 1 (0.31%) SAPscript
13 1 (0.31%) TypeScript
13 1 (0.31%) VBA
Qualifications
1 144 (44.44%) Security Cleared
2 95 (29.32%) SC Cleared
3 36 (11.11%) Degree
4 20 (6.17%) DV Cleared
5 17 (5.25%) BPSS Clearance
6 7 (2.16%) HNC
7 6 (1.85%) HND
8 5 (1.54%) Microsoft Certification
9 4 (1.23%) PMP
10 3 (0.93%) AWS Certification
10 3 (0.93%) Azure Certification
10 3 (0.93%) CISM
10 3 (0.93%) CISSP
10 3 (0.93%) CompTIA Security+
10 3 (0.93%) Computer Science Degree
10 3 (0.93%) PMI Certification
11 2 (0.62%) CCNA
11 2 (0.62%) Cisco Certification
11 2 (0.62%) Master's Degree
11 2 (0.62%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 18 (5.56%) Def Stans
2 17 (5.25%) QA
3 10 (3.09%) NIST
4 8 (2.47%) SLA
5 6 (1.85%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.85%) ECSS
5 6 (1.85%) ISO 9001
6 5 (1.54%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 4 (1.23%) IEC 61508
7 4 (1.23%) JSP 440
7 4 (1.23%) MISRA
7 4 (1.23%) MISRA C
7 4 (1.23%) NCSC
7 4 (1.23%) NIST 800
8 3 (0.93%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.62%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.62%) DO-254
9 2 (0.62%) ISO/IEC 42001
9 2 (0.62%) PMO
9 2 (0.62%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 14 (4.32%) Active Directory
2 7 (2.16%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (1.54%) Docker
3 5 (1.54%) Firmware
4 4 (1.23%) Hyper-V
5 2 (0.62%) QEMU
6 1 (0.31%) Slurm Workload Manager
6 1 (0.31%) Terminal Services
6 1 (0.31%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 11 (3.40%) Ansible
2 9 (2.78%) Kubernetes
3 8 (2.47%) Podman
4 5 (1.54%) Check_MK
4 5 (1.54%) Red Hat Satellite
5 4 (1.23%) Grafana
5 4 (1.23%) Prometheus
5 4 (1.23%) Terraform
6 3 (0.93%) Microsoft Data Protection Manager
6 3 (0.93%) PingFederate
7 2 (0.62%) Argo
8 1 (0.31%) Cisco Prime
8 1 (0.31%) Kibana
8 1 (0.31%) logstash
8 1 (0.31%) MOM
8 1 (0.31%) Single Sign-On
8 1 (0.31%) Wonderware InTouch
Vendors
1 34 (10.49%) SAP
2 23 (7.10%) VMware
3 15 (4.63%) Microsoft
4 11 (3.40%) ServiceNow
5 10 (3.09%) Red Hat
6 9 (2.78%) Cisco
6 9 (2.78%) Siemens
7 6 (1.85%) Oracle
7 6 (1.85%) Twitter
8 5 (1.54%) MathWorks
8 5 (1.54%) Xilinx
9 4 (1.23%) Google
10 3 (0.93%) Altera
10 3 (0.93%) HubSpot
10 3 (0.93%) IBM
10 3 (0.93%) Intel
10 3 (0.93%) Microsemi
10 3 (0.93%) Ping Identity
10 3 (0.93%) Salesforce
10 3 (0.93%) Veeam