Defect Management Contracts

Defect Management
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring Defect Management skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Defect Management over the 6 months leading up to 7 August 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Aug 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 386 420 490
Rank change year-on-year +34 +70 +23
Contract jobs citing Defect Management 169 150 168
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 0.51% 0.38% 0.32%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.57% 0.45% 0.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 126 101 107
10th Percentile £309 £288 £293
25th Percentile £350 £350 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.56% -10.00% +7.53%
75th Percentile £538 £575 £575
90th Percentile £594 £638 £721
UK excluding London median daily rate £400 £408 £500
% change year-on-year -1.84% -18.50% +11.11%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

Defect Management 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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 29,761 33,371 47,375
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 90.43% 85.51% 89.25%
Number of daily rates quoted 18,624 21,366 32,450
10th Percentile £300 £310 £320
25th Percentile £404 £413 £428
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -4.55% 0.00%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £729 £750 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,659 1,868 1,540
10th Percentile £14.13 £14.00 £14.25
25th Percentile £17.30 £18.13 £18.81
Median hourly rate £25.15 £40.33 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year -37.63% -5.12% +60.70%
75th Percentile £49.88 £64.25 £65.00
90th Percentile £68.00 £74.51 £77.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.00 £40.94 £40.00
% change year-on-year -43.82% +2.35% +86.05%

Defect Management
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Defect Management as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Defect Management in the UK

Defect Management
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Defect Management.

Daily rate trend for Defect Management in the UK

Defect Management
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Defect Management over the 6 months to 7 August 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Defect Management in the UK

Defect Management
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Defect Management.

Hourly rate trend for Defect Management in the UK

Defect Management
Top 17 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Defect Management within the UK over the 6 months to 7 August 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 +44 151 £438 -2.78% 47
UK excluding London +27 87 £400 -1.84% 33
London +20 66 £509 +9.00% 18
Work from Home +32 63 £438 -2.78% 20
South East +40 39 £373 -25.50% 13
Midlands -1 18 £515 +23.35% 4
North of England -12 17 £443 +8.59% 8
West Midlands +1 16 £517 +18.79% 3
North West -5 10 £425 +54.55% 3
South West +24 6 £438 -12.94% 3
Yorkshire -18 4 £455 +1.11% 5
East of England +5 3 £413 +32.00% 4
North East -2 3 £460 +15.00%
East Midlands -3 2 £360 -10.00% 1
Scotland -15 2 - - 1
Wales -1 1 £413 +121.51%
Northern Ireland - 1 - -

Defect Management
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 5 (2.96%) SAS
2 3 (1.78%) Apache Airflow
2 3 (1.78%) Confluence
2 3 (1.78%) WebLogic
3 2 (1.18%) CMS
4 1 (0.59%) EPiServer
4 1 (0.59%) SharePoint
Applications
1 4 (2.37%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (1.78%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (1.78%) MS Visio
3 2 (1.18%) Spreadsheet
4 1 (0.59%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 8 (4.73%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (2.96%) Oracle EBS
3 2 (1.18%) Oracle EBS R12
3 2 (1.18%) Salesforce CRM
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle Assets
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle ERP
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle General Ledger
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle Payables
4 1 (0.59%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
4 1 (0.59%) PORTIA
4 1 (0.59%) SAP CO
4 1 (0.59%) SAP ERP
4 1 (0.59%) SAP FI
4 1 (0.59%) SAP FI/CO
4 1 (0.59%) SAP Retail
4 1 (0.59%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 35 (20.71%) Azure
2 30 (17.75%) Azure DevOps
3 8 (4.73%) AWS
3 8 (4.73%) Power Platform
4 6 (3.55%) Power Automate
5 5 (2.96%) Microsoft 365
5 5 (2.96%) PowerApps
5 5 (2.96%) SuccessFactors
6 4 (2.37%) GitHub
7 3 (1.78%) PaaS
8 2 (1.18%) Azure Cosmos DB
8 2 (1.18%) BrowserStack
8 2 (1.18%) GitHub Actions
8 2 (1.18%) OCI
8 2 (1.18%) SaaS
9 1 (0.59%) Dynamics 365
9 1 (0.59%) Tricentis Tosca
9 1 (0.59%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 22 (13.02%) Firewall
2 5 (2.96%) WAN
3 3 (1.78%) Broadband
3 3 (1.78%) LAN
4 2 (1.18%) 4G
4 2 (1.18%) 5G
4 2 (1.18%) Diameter Protocol
4 2 (1.18%) SD-WAN
4 2 (1.18%) SIGTRAN
4 2 (1.18%) SMS
4 2 (1.18%) SS7
4 2 (1.18%) VoLTE
4 2 (1.18%) VoWiFi
4 2 (1.18%) Wireshark
5 1 (0.59%) Converged Networks
5 1 (0.59%) Ethernet
5 1 (0.59%) FlexRay
5 1 (0.59%) RTP
5 1 (0.59%) Unified Communications
5 1 (0.59%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (5.92%) SQL Server
2 5 (2.96%) Oracle Database
2 5 (2.96%) SAS Enterprise Guide
2 5 (2.96%) SAS Visual Analytics
3 3 (1.78%) Power BI
4 2 (1.18%) Oracle Reports
4 2 (1.18%) Relational Database
5 1 (0.59%) BigQuery
5 1 (0.59%) Data Vault
5 1 (0.59%) Data Warehouse
5 1 (0.59%) QlikView
5 1 (0.59%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 60 (35.50%) JIRA
2 15 (8.88%) Selenium
3 14 (8.28%) Jenkins
4 8 (4.73%) Postman
5 7 (4.14%) Cucumber
6 6 (3.55%) GitLab
6 6 (3.55%) REST Assured
7 5 (2.96%) Appium
7 5 (2.96%) JMeter
7 5 (2.96%) Zephyr
8 4 (2.37%) Cypress.io
8 4 (2.37%) Git
8 4 (2.37%) SoapUI
8 4 (2.37%) SpecFlow
8 4 (2.37%) TestRail
9 3 (1.78%) Bitbucket
9 3 (1.78%) CircleCI
9 3 (1.78%) Gatling
9 3 (1.78%) Toad
10 2 (1.18%) WinRunner
General
1 55 (32.54%) Social Skills
2 41 (24.26%) Finance
3 18 (10.65%) Telecoms
4 13 (7.69%) Analytical Skills
4 13 (7.69%) Public Sector
5 11 (6.51%) Front Office
6 9 (5.33%) Documentation Skills
7 8 (4.73%) Banking
7 8 (4.73%) Organisational Skills
8 7 (4.14%) Back Office
9 4 (2.37%) Local Government
9 4 (2.37%) Retail
10 3 (1.78%) Financial Institution
10 3 (1.78%) Influencing Skills
11 2 (1.18%) Automotive
11 2 (1.18%) Billing
11 2 (1.18%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 2 (1.18%) Law
11 2 (1.18%) Legal
12 1 (0.59%) Games
Job Titles
1 46 (27.22%) Analyst
2 40 (23.67%) Test Analyst
2 40 (23.67%) Test Manager
3 23 (13.61%) Lead
4 22 (13.02%) Test Engineer
5 17 (10.06%) Tester
6 15 (8.88%) Senior
7 13 (7.69%) Test Leader
8 12 (7.10%) Network Engineer
9 11 (6.51%) Senior Analyst
9 11 (6.51%) Senior Test Analyst
10 9 (5.33%) Infrastructure Manager
10 9 (5.33%) Infrastructure Test Manager
11 8 (4.73%) Project Manager
11 8 (4.73%) Release Manager
12 6 (3.55%) Automation Tester
12 6 (3.55%) Consultant
12 6 (3.55%) SAP Analyst
12 6 (3.55%) SAP Test Analyst
13 5 (2.96%) Defect Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (11.83%) RFC 2544
2 12 (7.10%) XML
3 6 (3.55%) Playwright
3 6 (3.55%) WebdriverIO
4 5 (2.96%) SOAP
5 4 (2.37%) Middleware
6 3 (1.78%) .NET
6 3 (1.78%) REST
6 3 (1.78%) Swagger
7 2 (1.18%) ADO
7 2 (1.18%) JSON
7 2 (1.18%) XML Messaging
8 1 (0.59%) Oracle Fusion
8 1 (0.59%) Play Framework
8 1 (0.59%) RESTful
8 1 (0.59%) WireMock
Miscellaneous
1 20 (11.83%) Data Centre
2 15 (8.88%) Product Ownership
3 11 (6.51%) Fibre Optics
4 6 (3.55%) SCADA
5 5 (2.96%) Data Structures
5 5 (2.96%) Legacy Systems
5 5 (2.96%) Low-Code
5 5 (2.96%) Management Information System
6 4 (2.37%) Public Cloud
7 3 (1.78%) Onboarding
8 2 (1.18%) Data Protection Act
8 2 (1.18%) Mobile Banking
8 2 (1.18%) Online Banking
8 2 (1.18%) PDA
8 2 (1.18%) PKI
8 2 (1.18%) PMI
9 1 (0.59%) Derivative
9 1 (0.59%) FMCG
9 1 (0.59%) Freedom of Information
9 1 (0.59%) SWIFT Messaging Network
Operating Systems
1 17 (10.06%) Windows
2 3 (1.78%) Linux
3 2 (1.18%) Android
3 2 (1.18%) Apple iOS
3 2 (1.18%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 70 (41.42%) Test Automation
2 58 (34.32%) Agile
3 57 (33.73%) Test Scripting
4 54 (31.95%) Test Management
5 51 (30.18%) Test Planning
6 50 (29.59%) Test Strategy
6 50 (29.59%) User Acceptance Testing
7 33 (19.53%) DevOps
7 33 (19.53%) System Integration Testing
8 31 (18.34%) Software Testing
9 30 (17.75%) Regression Testing
10 29 (17.16%) Stakeholder Management
11 28 (16.57%) Service Management
12 27 (15.98%) Migration
12 27 (15.98%) Scenario Testing
13 26 (15.38%) End-to-End Testing
13 26 (15.38%) Problem-Solving
13 26 (15.38%) Validation
14 25 (14.79%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 24 (14.20%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 19 (11.24%) Java
2 18 (10.65%) SQL
3 17 (10.06%) C#
4 11 (6.51%) JavaScript
5 8 (4.73%) VB
6 4 (2.37%) Python
7 3 (1.78%) TypeScript
8 2 (1.18%) C++
8 2 (1.18%) RPG
9 1 (0.59%) Bash
9 1 (0.59%) PHP
9 1 (0.59%) PowerShell
9 1 (0.59%) Ruby
9 1 (0.59%) Scala
9 1 (0.59%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 39 (23.08%) Security Cleared
2 34 (20.12%) SC Cleared
3 17 (10.06%) ISTQB
4 7 (4.14%) ISEB
5 6 (3.55%) Degree
5 6 (3.55%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
6 4 (2.37%) BPSS Clearance
6 4 (2.37%) PMI Certification
7 3 (1.78%) CCNA
7 3 (1.78%) Cisco Certification
7 3 (1.78%) DV Cleared
8 2 (1.18%) CCNP
8 2 (1.18%) Computer Science Degree
8 2 (1.18%) ISTQB Advanced Certification
8 2 (1.18%) PMP
9 1 (0.59%) Azure Certification
9 1 (0.59%) HND
9 1 (0.59%) IIBA
9 1 (0.59%) ISEB Practitioner
9 1 (0.59%) SAP Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (19.53%) QA
2 8 (4.73%) Accessibility
3 1 (0.59%) AUTOSAR
3 1 (0.59%) SEPA
3 1 (0.59%) Software Quality Assurance
3 1 (0.59%) WCAG
System Software
1 1 (0.59%) Active Directory
1 1 (0.59%) Docker
Systems Management
1 15 (8.88%) HP ALM
2 2 (1.18%) Amdocs OSS
3 1 (0.59%) Perfmon
3 1 (0.59%) SCOM
Vendors
1 23 (13.61%) Cisco
2 22 (13.02%) Oracle
3 18 (10.65%) Microsoft
4 16 (9.47%) HP
5 14 (8.28%) SAP
6 10 (5.92%) Charles River
7 5 (2.96%) Salesforce
8 4 (2.37%) MuleSoft
8 4 (2.37%) webMethods
9 3 (1.78%) CheckPoint
10 2 (1.18%) Atlassian
10 2 (1.18%) Cramer
10 2 (1.18%) Databricks
10 2 (1.18%) Infoblox
10 2 (1.18%) Remedy
10 2 (1.18%) Virgin Media
11 1 (0.59%) Compaq
11 1 (0.59%) Genesys
11 1 (0.59%) JDA
11 1 (0.59%) Juniper