Data Centre Contract Job Trends

Data Center
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Data Centre in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Data Centre over the 6 months leading up to 11 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 143 129 98
Rank change year-on-year -14 -31 +2
Contract jobs citing Data Centre 735 622 1,003
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.02% 1.96% 2.33%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 5.88% 6.08% 7.53%
Number of daily rates quoted 483 373 670
10th Percentile £278 £350 £312
25th Percentile £410 £425 £411
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £499 £525 £526
Median % change year-on-year -4.95% -0.24% -2.09%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £650
90th Percentile £698 £675 £707
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £515
% change year-on-year -5.10% -2.91% +3.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 36 27 26
10th Percentile £21.14 £16.88 £17.41
25th Percentile - £22.36 £21.25
Median hourly rate £25.15 £24.18 £23.00
Median % change year-on-year +4.01% +5.13% -64.06%
75th Percentile £45.31 £29.00 £60.94
90th Percentile £74.01 £41.25 £76.53
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £24.18 £23.00
% change year-on-year +168.80% +5.13% -65.15%

All Generic Skills
UK

Data Centre falls under the General and Transferable Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring generic IT skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for generic IT skills 12,492 10,232 13,323
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 34.33% 32.19% 31.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 7,849 6,089 8,809
10th Percentile £281 £263 £263
25th Percentile £406 £409 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £501 £535 £545
Median % change year-on-year -6.45% -1.83% -0.91%
75th Percentile £628 £663 £660
90th Percentile £738 £775 £763
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 614 316 551
10th Percentile £14.25 £18.14 £15.43
25th Percentile £18.25 £23.30 £18.94
Median hourly rate £27.50 £34.25 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year -19.71% -8.67% +50.00%
75th Percentile £61.07 £64.81 £63.75
90th Percentile £75.00 £81.50 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £27.21 £32.50 £41.23
% change year-on-year -16.28% -21.17% +96.99%

Data Centre
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Data Centre job vacancy trend in the UK

Data Centre
Daily Rate Trend

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

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Data Centre

Data Centre
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Data Centre over the 6 months to 11 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Hourly Rate Trend

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

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Data Centre

Data Centre
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Data Centre over the 6 months to 11 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Data Centre within the UK over the 6 months to 11 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
England -5 635 £500 -4.76% 472
UK excluding London +5 413 £475 -5.10% 419
London -8 231 £530 +0.95% 128
Work from Home +36 209 £519 -3.08% 153
North of England +4 141 £475 -4.76% 82
South East -1 93 £450 -10.00% 144
North West +17 90 £519 +3.85% 33
Midlands -2 83 £465 -19.83% 38
West Midlands +2 66 £474 -18.28% 13
Yorkshire -33 46 £390 -7.14% 38
Scotland +9 37 £450 - 28
South West -32 34 £550 +0.18% 52
East of England -12 28 £492 +16.45% 58
East Midlands -12 17 £179 -71.40% 24
Wales -5 9 £265 -33.75% 20
North East -4 8 £175 - 12
Northern Ireland - 3 £425 - 12

Data Centre
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 30 (4.08%) SharePoint
2 22 (2.99%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.50%) Confluence
4 9 (1.22%) OpenStack
5 7 (0.95%) Apache Airflow
6 6 (0.82%) Apache
7 5 (0.68%) Apache Spark
8 4 (0.54%) HCL Notes
8 4 (0.54%) nginx
9 3 (0.41%) CICS
9 3 (0.41%) GeoServer
9 3 (0.41%) Smallworld
9 3 (0.41%) Tomcat
10 2 (0.27%) Oracle Coherence
10 2 (0.27%) ThingWorx
10 2 (0.27%) WebSphere
11 1 (0.14%) FileNet
11 1 (0.14%) IIS
11 1 (0.14%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 52 (7.07%) Microsoft Office
2 32 (4.35%) Microsoft Excel
3 25 (3.40%) MS Visio
4 19 (2.59%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 15 (2.04%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.14%) OmniGraffle
Business Applications
1 6 (0.82%) Remedy ITSM
2 4 (0.54%) Oracle Financials
3 2 (0.27%) DELMIA
3 2 (0.27%) Oracle Payables
4 1 (0.14%) Epicor iScala
4 1 (0.14%) Maximo
4 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.14%) Primavera
4 1 (0.14%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 137 (18.64%) Azure
2 108 (14.69%) AWS
3 64 (8.71%) Microsoft 365
4 40 (5.44%) GCP
5 24 (3.27%) Power Platform
6 14 (1.90%) Azure ExpressRoute
7 13 (1.77%) OpenShift
7 13 (1.77%) SaaS
7 13 (1.77%) Virtual Private Cloud
8 11 (1.50%) AWS Direct Connect
8 11 (1.50%) Entra ID
8 11 (1.50%) IaaS
9 10 (1.36%) AWS CloudFormation
9 10 (1.36%) GitHub
9 10 (1.36%) PaaS
10 8 (1.09%) Google Kubernetes Engine
11 7 (0.95%) npm
11 7 (0.95%) OCI
12 6 (0.82%) Azure DevOps
13 5 (0.68%) OneDrive
Communications & Networking
1 217 (29.52%) Firewall
2 140 (19.05%) WAN
3 85 (11.56%) Wireless
4 80 (10.88%) VPN
5 79 (10.75%) BGP
6 76 (10.34%) LAN
7 67 (9.12%) Network Security
8 57 (7.76%) OSPF
9 51 (6.94%) Wi-Fi
10 50 (6.80%) DNS
11 46 (6.26%) VLAN
12 43 (5.85%) SD-WAN
13 38 (5.17%) SAN
14 35 (4.76%) Cisco Nexus
15 34 (4.63%) Cisco ISE
15 34 (4.63%) VXLAN
16 31 (4.22%) DHCP
16 31 (4.22%) IPsec
17 29 (3.95%) NX-OS
17 29 (3.95%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (2.99%) Power BI
2 16 (2.18%) Relational Database
3 10 (1.36%) SQL Server
4 9 (1.22%) RDBMS
5 7 (0.95%) GIS
6 6 (0.82%) NoSQL
7 5 (0.68%) Apache Hive
7 5 (0.68%) Hadoop
7 5 (0.68%) HBase
8 4 (0.54%) Data Mining
8 4 (0.54%) Oracle Database
8 4 (0.54%) PostgreSQL
8 4 (0.54%) Power Query
8 4 (0.54%) PowerPivot
9 3 (0.41%) Data Lake
9 3 (0.41%) Data Vault
9 3 (0.41%) Geospatial Data
9 3 (0.41%) InfluxDB
9 3 (0.41%) Metadata
9 3 (0.41%) QGIS
Development Applications
1 26 (3.54%) Git
2 20 (2.72%) Jenkins
3 14 (1.90%) Sonatype Nexus
4 13 (1.77%) GitLab
4 13 (1.77%) JIRA
5 9 (1.22%) Maven
6 7 (0.95%) SonarQube
7 3 (0.41%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.41%) ER Studio
7 3 (0.41%) ERwin
7 3 (0.41%) ScriptRunner
8 2 (0.27%) Gradle
8 2 (0.27%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.27%) Selenium
General
1 195 (26.53%) Social Skills
2 131 (17.82%) Finance
3 88 (11.97%) Analytical Skills
4 87 (11.84%) Public Sector
5 61 (8.30%) Telecoms
6 54 (7.35%) Banking
7 48 (6.53%) Documentation Skills
8 43 (5.85%) Manufacturing
9 28 (3.81%) Marketing
10 25 (3.40%) Electronics
11 23 (3.13%) Presentation Skills
12 17 (2.31%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 15 (2.04%) Organisational Skills
14 11 (1.50%) Retail
15 10 (1.36%) Influencing Skills
16 8 (1.09%) Law
17 7 (0.95%) Front Office
17 7 (0.95%) Investment Banking
17 7 (0.95%) Legal
17 7 (0.95%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 126 (17.14%) Network Engineer
2 116 (15.78%) Architect
3 69 (9.39%) Project Manager
4 64 (8.71%) Analyst
5 50 (6.80%) Senior
6 45 (6.12%) Network Architect
7 32 (4.35%) Consultant
7 32 (4.35%) Data Centre Manager
7 32 (4.35%) Solutions Architect
8 29 (3.95%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 29 (3.95%) IT Support
8 29 (3.95%) Lead
8 29 (3.95%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
9 28 (3.81%) Cisco Engineer
10 26 (3.54%) Cisco Network Engineer
10 26 (3.54%) Security Engineer
11 25 (3.40%) Desktop Support
12 23 (3.13%) 2nd Line Desktop Support
12 23 (3.13%) 2nd Line Support
12 23 (3.13%) SC Cleared Desktop Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (3.13%) 802.1X
2 21 (2.86%) Middleware
3 9 (1.22%) LDAP
3 9 (1.22%) RFC 2544
4 5 (0.68%) Spark Streaming
5 4 (0.54%) ADO
5 4 (0.54%) Jinja
5 4 (0.54%) VML
6 3 (0.41%) REST
6 3 (0.41%) Yocto
7 2 (0.27%) ARM Templates
7 2 (0.27%) Elastic Stack
7 2 (0.27%) Java SE
7 2 (0.27%) ModSecurity
7 2 (0.27%) NETCONF
7 2 (0.27%) OpenConfig
7 2 (0.27%) OpenLayers
7 2 (0.27%) RESTCONF
7 2 (0.27%) Spring
7 2 (0.27%) YANG
Miscellaneous
1 44 (5.99%) Hybrid Cloud
2 27 (3.67%) Cloud Native
3 25 (3.40%) Public Cloud
4 19 (2.59%) Self-Motivation
5 16 (2.18%) Driving Licence
5 16 (2.18%) Fibre Optics
5 16 (2.18%) Replication
6 15 (2.04%) Mainframe
6 15 (2.04%) Onboarding
7 13 (1.77%) Analytical Mindset
7 13 (1.77%) Management Information System
7 13 (1.77%) Private Cloud
7 13 (1.77%) SCADA
8 11 (1.50%) Data Protection Act
9 10 (1.36%) PKI
10 9 (1.22%) CMDB
11 8 (1.09%) Clustering
11 8 (1.09%) Legacy Systems
12 7 (0.95%) Operational Technology
12 7 (0.95%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 96 (13.06%) Windows
2 79 (10.75%) Linux
3 40 (5.44%) Windows Server
4 37 (5.03%) Android
4 37 (5.03%) Mac OS
5 23 (3.13%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 13 (1.77%) Unix
7 9 (1.22%) CentOS
8 7 (0.95%) Windows Server 2019
9 6 (0.82%) Windows 10
10 5 (0.68%) Ubuntu
10 5 (0.68%) VMS
11 4 (0.54%) Solaris
11 4 (0.54%) Windows Server 2008
11 4 (0.54%) Windows Server 2016
12 3 (0.41%) Embedded Linux
13 2 (0.27%) zOS
14 1 (0.14%) AIX
14 1 (0.14%) MVS
Processes & Methodologies
1 117 (15.92%) Migration
2 111 (15.10%) Problem-Solving
3 90 (12.24%) Stakeholder Management
4 68 (9.25%) ITIL
5 62 (8.44%) Agile
6 59 (8.03%) Project Management
7 55 (7.48%) Project Delivery
8 49 (6.67%) DevOps
9 47 (6.39%) Network Design
10 46 (6.26%) Infrastructure as Code
11 45 (6.12%) CI/CD
12 44 (5.99%) Business Intelligence
13 43 (5.85%) Load Balancing
13 43 (5.85%) Service Management
13 43 (5.85%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 42 (5.71%) Change Management
14 42 (5.71%) Customer Service
15 41 (5.58%) Continuous Improvement
15 41 (5.58%) Programme Management
16 40 (5.44%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 73 (9.93%) Python
2 46 (6.26%) PowerShell
3 39 (5.31%) SQL
4 19 (2.59%) Bash
5 17 (2.31%) Java
6 11 (1.50%) Shell Script
7 10 (1.36%) Perl
8 8 (1.09%) Lisp
9 5 (0.68%) MATLAB
9 5 (0.68%) VBA
10 4 (0.54%) C++
11 3 (0.41%) C
11 3 (0.41%) Go
11 3 (0.41%) PL/SQL
12 2 (0.27%) Bicep
12 2 (0.27%) JavaScript
12 2 (0.27%) Ruby
13 1 (0.14%) Groovy
13 1 (0.14%) Korn
13 1 (0.14%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 246 (33.47%) Security Cleared
2 205 (27.89%) SC Cleared
3 113 (15.37%) Cisco Certification
4 89 (12.11%) CCNP
5 63 (8.57%) Degree
6 44 (5.99%) DV Cleared
7 43 (5.85%) CCNA
8 25 (3.40%) CCIE
9 22 (2.99%) AWS Certification
10 17 (2.31%) PMP
11 16 (2.18%) PMI Certification
12 12 (1.63%) CISSP
12 12 (1.63%) JNCIE
13 8 (1.09%) Azure Certification
13 8 (1.09%) BPSS Clearance
13 8 (1.09%) Computer Science Degree
13 8 (1.09%) Network+ Certification
13 8 (1.09%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 7 (0.95%) MCSE
14 7 (0.95%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (2.72%) PMO
2 18 (2.45%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 18 (2.45%) SLA
3 17 (2.31%) NIST
4 14 (1.90%) PCI DSS
4 14 (1.90%) QA
5 12 (1.63%) GDPR
6 11 (1.50%) Data Quality
7 6 (0.82%) NCSC
8 2 (0.27%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.27%) ISO 22301
8 2 (0.27%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
8 2 (0.27%) SOC 2
9 1 (0.14%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.14%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.14%) GRC
9 1 (0.14%) NIST 800
9 1 (0.14%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 77 (10.48%) VMware Infrastructure
2 52 (7.07%) Active Directory
3 43 (5.85%) VMware NSX
4 24 (3.27%) Docker
5 19 (2.59%) Virtual Machines
6 17 (2.31%) Hyper-V
7 12 (1.63%) vSphere
8 9 (1.22%) Firmware
9 8 (1.09%) KVM
9 8 (1.09%) VMware ESXi
10 5 (0.68%) HDFS
11 3 (0.41%) Lustre
12 2 (0.27%) Ceph
12 2 (0.27%) Microsoft App-V
12 2 (0.27%) NFS
12 2 (0.27%) Slurm Workload Manager
12 2 (0.27%) SRDF
12 2 (0.27%) vCloud
12 2 (0.27%) Virtual Desktop
12 2 (0.27%) Xen
Systems Management
1 79 (10.75%) Ansible
2 66 (8.98%) Terraform
3 37 (5.03%) FortiGate
4 23 (3.13%) SCCM
5 20 (2.72%) Kubernetes
6 14 (1.90%) Grafana
7 10 (1.36%) SCOM
7 10 (1.36%) vCenter Server
8 9 (1.22%) Microsoft Intune
8 9 (1.22%) Puppet
9 7 (0.95%) CASB
9 7 (0.95%) Prometheus
10 6 (0.82%) Check_MK
10 6 (0.82%) SCOrch
11 5 (0.68%) Hadoop YARN
11 5 (0.68%) Podman
11 5 (0.68%) Red Hat Satellite
11 5 (0.68%) Single Sign-On
12 4 (0.54%) Nagios
13 3 (0.41%) OPNET
Vendors
1 250 (34.01%) Cisco
2 99 (13.47%) VMware
3 98 (13.33%) Palo Alto
4 85 (11.56%) Microsoft
5 65 (8.84%) Dell
6 55 (7.48%) F5
6 55 (7.48%) Juniper
7 45 (6.12%) HP
8 42 (5.71%) CheckPoint
9 37 (5.03%) Apple
10 36 (4.90%) ServiceNow
11 34 (4.63%) Aruba
11 34 (4.63%) SAP
12 33 (4.49%) Fortinet
13 32 (4.35%) Meraki
13 32 (4.35%) Oracle
14 17 (2.31%) Arista
15 16 (2.18%) Citrix
15 16 (2.18%) Red Hat
16 14 (1.90%) Remedy