UK Defence Standards (Def Stans)
UK
The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring Def Stans skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Def Stans over the 6 months leading up to 30 April 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 30 Apr 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 469 | 569 | 679 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +100 | +110 | +142 |
| Contract jobs citing Def Stans | 50 | 31 | 34 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.17% | 0.071% | 0.057% |
| As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category | 1.10% | 0.50% | 0.43% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 10 | 7 | 13 |
| 10th Percentile | £439 | £301 | £453 |
| 25th Percentile | £462 | £500 | £463 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £513 | £575 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -10.87% | +15.00% | -10.31% |
| 75th Percentile | £619 | £706 | £525 |
| 90th Percentile | £641 | £800 | £537 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £513 | £588 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -12.77% | +17.50% | -10.31% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 27 | 20 | 14 |
| 10th Percentile | £61.25 | - | £45.19 |
| 25th Percentile | £62.50 | - | £46.94 |
| Median hourly rate | £65.00 | £45.00 | £52.66 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +44.44% | -14.55% | -21.98% |
| 75th Percentile | £67.50 | £67.38 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £68.75 | £68.75 | £66.40 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £65.00 | £45.00 | £55.33 |
| % change year-on-year | +44.44% | -18.66% | -18.04% |
All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK
Def Stans 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.
| Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills | 4,558 | 6,250 | 7,982 |
| As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK | 15.59% | 14.34% | 13.37% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 2,921 | 3,951 | 5,482 |
| 10th Percentile | £265 | £295 | £275 |
| 25th Percentile | £400 | £402 | £409 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £500 | £510 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -1.96% | -2.86% | +2.44% |
| 75th Percentile | £623 | £625 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £750 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £488 | £475 |
| % change year-on-year | -2.56% | +2.63% | +5.56% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 179 | 383 | 225 |
| 10th Percentile | £18.04 | £10.95 | £13.21 |
| 25th Percentile | £22.21 | £13.18 | £18.70 |
| Median hourly rate | £34.50 | £21.00 | £37.50 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +64.29% | -44.00% | +33.93% |
| 75th Percentile | £65.00 | £45.00 | £62.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £83.01 | £67.38 | £77.50 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.78 | £18.00 | £36.25 |
| % change year-on-year | +126.53% | -50.34% | +72.21% |
Def Stans
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings citing Def Stans as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Def Stans
Contractor Daily Rate Trend
3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Def Stans.
Def Stans
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Def Stans over the 6 months to 30 April 2025.
Def Stans
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend
3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Def Stans.
Def Stans
Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Def Stans over the 6 months to 30 April 2025.
Def Stans
Top 8 Contract Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Def Stans within the UK over the 6 months to 30 April 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +80 | 48 | £513 | -10.87% | 51 |
| UK excluding London | +72 | 48 | £513 | -12.77% | 47 |
| South West | +60 | 39 | £538 | -10.29% | 31 |
| Work from Home | +58 | 11 | £536 | -30.84% | 19 |
| South East | +45 | 6 | £513 | -24.07% | 9 |
| East of England | +34 | 2 | - | - | 1 |
| London | - | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Scotland | - | 1 | £425 | - |
Def Stans
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: