DV Cleared Contract Job Trends

Developed Vetting (DV) Clearance
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for DV Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 31 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 73 52 44
Rank change year-on-year -21 -8 +80
Contract jobs citing DV Cleared 1,288 1,313 1,851
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 3.48% 3.93% 4.31%
As % of the Qualifications category 10.28% 13.14% 14.34%
Number of daily rates quoted 908 831 1,267
10th Percentile £463 £385 £368
25th Percentile £513 £498 £501
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £600 £585 £600
Median % change year-on-year +2.56% -2.50% -
75th Percentile £688 £675 £700
90th Percentile £738 £735 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £575 £585 £600
% change year-on-year -1.71% -2.50% +1.69%
Number of hourly rates quoted 45 38 103
10th Percentile £17.71 £46.21 £50.03
25th Percentile £25.15 £55.87 £57.33
Median hourly rate £47.48 £63.08 £63.29
Median % change year-on-year -24.73% -0.34% -7.94%
75th Percentile £75.00 £72.88 £76.63
90th Percentile £87.00 £86.08 £79.96
UK excluding London median hourly rate £65.00 £63.15 £63.29
% change year-on-year +2.93% -0.22% -9.59%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK

DV Cleared falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 12,527 9,992 12,905
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 33.82% 29.93% 30.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,191 6,111 8,135
10th Percentile £313 £300 £300
25th Percentile £417 £415 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £522 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -0.57% -4.55% -
75th Percentile £625 £630 £650
90th Percentile £725 £725 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £501 £540
% change year-on-year -0.22% -7.20% +2.86%
Number of hourly rates quoted 985 483 737
10th Percentile £16.25 £18.50 £16.48
25th Percentile £19.23 £23.80 £26.24
Median hourly rate £25.15 £40.00 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year -37.13% -23.81% +16.67%
75th Percentile £55.00 £66.50 £67.56
90th Percentile £75.95 £75.20 £80.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £42.50 £51.89
% change year-on-year -40.82% -18.10% +16.87%

DV Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend

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

DV Cleared job vacancy trend in the UK

DV Cleared
Daily Rate Trend

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

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing DV Cleared

DV Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing DV Cleared over the 6 months to 31 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for DV Cleared in the UK

DV Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend

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

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing DV Cleared

DV Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing DV Cleared over the 6 months to 31 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for DV Cleared in the UK

DV Cleared
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 DV Cleared within the UK over the 6 months to 31 December 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 -20 1,170 £600 +2.13% 403
UK excluding London -12 891 £575 -1.71% 314
South East 0 476 £575 - 116
London -40 286 £625 +6.61% 115
South West -6 257 £610 +1.58% 119
Work from Home -22 164 £575 -1.71% 155
Midlands -3 76 £575 -17.12% 12
West Midlands -4 69 £575 -17.86% 8
East of England -8 38 £550 -4.35% 44
North of England -58 29 £525 -4.55% 28
Scotland -28 26 £632 +22.32% 3
North West -11 22 £513 +150.00% 22
Northern Ireland -1 9 £600 - 2
East Midlands -12 7 £650 +27.45% 4
Yorkshire -53 6 £613 +11.36% 6
Wales -11 5 £600 -14.29% 3
North East -18 1 - -

DV Cleared
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 44 (3.42%) Microsoft Exchange
1 44 (3.42%) SharePoint
2 37 (2.87%) Apache
3 29 (2.25%) Skype for Business
4 24 (1.86%) Confluence
5 8 (0.62%) SharePoint Server
6 7 (0.54%) Exchange Server 2003
6 7 (0.54%) Exchange Server 2007
6 7 (0.54%) Exchange Server 2010
6 7 (0.54%) Exchange Server 2013
6 7 (0.54%) Office Communications Server
7 6 (0.47%) OpenStack
8 4 (0.31%) Apache Spark
9 3 (0.23%) Documentum
9 3 (0.23%) IIS
10 1 (0.078%) CMS
10 1 (0.078%) Mattermost
10 1 (0.078%) nginx
Applications
1 63 (4.89%) Microsoft Office
2 25 (1.94%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (1.16%) Microsoft Project
4 8 (0.62%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.39%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.078%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 17 (1.32%) SAP S/4HANA
2 12 (0.93%) Remedy ITSM
3 10 (0.78%) SAP EWM
3 10 (0.78%) SAP WM
3 10 (0.78%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 6 (0.47%) Maximo
5 5 (0.39%) Primavera
6 4 (0.31%) Oracle Applications
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle Assets
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle Cash Management
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle ERP
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle General Ledger
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle Payroll
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
7 1 (0.078%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.078%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 127 (9.86%) Azure
2 121 (9.39%) AWS
3 59 (4.58%) Microsoft 365
4 41 (3.18%) Serverless
5 40 (3.11%) GitHub
6 36 (2.80%) GCP
7 35 (2.72%) OpenShift
8 30 (2.33%) Azure DevOps
9 23 (1.79%) Amazon S3
10 21 (1.63%) GitHub Actions
11 19 (1.48%) Entra ID
12 18 (1.40%) AWS CloudFormation
13 16 (1.24%) Amazon EC2
13 16 (1.24%) Amazon ECS
13 16 (1.24%) AWS Lambda
13 16 (1.24%) Azure Sentinel
14 15 (1.16%) IaaS
15 13 (1.01%) npm
15 13 (1.01%) Power Platform
16 12 (0.93%) Azure AKS
Communications & Networking
1 89 (6.91%) Firewall
2 87 (6.75%) DNS
3 57 (4.43%) Network Security
4 44 (3.42%) LAN
5 41 (3.18%) VPN
6 37 (2.87%) TCP/IP
7 35 (2.72%) WAN
8 34 (2.64%) DHCP
9 27 (2.10%) Cisco IOS
10 26 (2.02%) Junos
10 26 (2.02%) Skype
11 25 (1.94%) SAN
12 23 (1.79%) Cisco ISE
13 22 (1.71%) Cisco Firepower
14 17 (1.32%) BGP
14 17 (1.32%) SSL
14 17 (1.32%) Wireless
15 12 (0.93%) SMTP
15 12 (0.93%) VLAN
16 11 (0.85%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (1.94%) Big Data
2 22 (1.71%) PostgreSQL
3 20 (1.55%) Elasticsearch
4 17 (1.32%) Hadoop
5 14 (1.09%) SQL Server
6 12 (0.93%) Oracle Database
7 11 (0.85%) Amazon RDS
8 10 (0.78%) Redis
8 10 (0.78%) Relational Database
9 7 (0.54%) InfluxDB
9 7 (0.54%) MongoDB
9 7 (0.54%) Power BI
10 6 (0.47%) SAP HANA
11 5 (0.39%) RDBMS
12 4 (0.31%) Metadata
12 4 (0.31%) MySQL
12 4 (0.31%) NoSQL
13 3 (0.23%) Apache Hive
13 3 (0.23%) Data Lake
13 3 (0.23%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 40 (3.11%) JIRA
2 38 (2.95%) GitLab
3 33 (2.56%) Jenkins
4 32 (2.48%) Git
5 17 (1.32%) SonarQube
6 15 (1.16%) Maven
7 14 (1.09%) Artifactory
8 10 (0.78%) Sonatype Nexus
9 8 (0.62%) Bitbucket
9 8 (0.62%) Cypress.io
10 7 (0.54%) Selenium
11 6 (0.47%) Postman
12 5 (0.39%) CircleCI
12 5 (0.39%) Gradle
12 5 (0.39%) JUnit
12 5 (0.39%) Snyk
12 5 (0.39%) webpack
13 3 (0.23%) Robot Framework
14 2 (0.16%) Atlassian Bamboo
14 2 (0.16%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
General
1 261 (20.26%) Social Skills
2 180 (13.98%) Public Sector
3 104 (8.07%) Analytical Skills
4 65 (5.05%) Finance
5 47 (3.65%) Military
6 33 (2.56%) Manufacturing
7 32 (2.48%) Telecoms
8 29 (2.25%) Legal
9 28 (2.17%) Documentation Skills
10 21 (1.63%) Marketing
10 21 (1.63%) Presentation Skills
11 20 (1.55%) Electronics
12 19 (1.48%) Law
13 18 (1.40%) Organisational Skills
14 17 (1.32%) Banking
15 13 (1.01%) Aerospace
16 10 (0.78%) Police
17 8 (0.62%) Inclusion and Diversity
18 3 (0.23%) Influencing Skills
19 2 (0.16%) Multimedia
Job Titles
1 238 (18.48%) Architect
2 86 (6.68%) Analyst
3 85 (6.60%) Consultant
4 70 (5.43%) Senior
5 64 (4.97%) Network Engineer
6 59 (4.58%) Support Engineer
7 56 (4.35%) DevOps Engineer
8 51 (3.96%) Lead
9 50 (3.88%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
10 47 (3.65%) Developer
11 46 (3.57%) Solutions Architect
12 44 (3.42%) Technical Architect
13 42 (3.26%) 3rd Line Engineer
14 36 (2.80%) Cloud Engineer
14 36 (2.80%) Infrastructure Architect
14 36 (2.80%) Project Manager
14 36 (2.80%) SOC Analyst
15 33 (2.56%) Infrastructure Engineer
16 31 (2.41%) Administrator
17 25 (1.94%) Enterprise Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (2.87%) Apache NiFi
2 31 (2.41%) REST
3 22 (1.71%) Kafka
4 20 (1.55%) OAuth
4 20 (1.55%) React
5 18 (1.40%) OpenID
6 17 (1.32%) SAML
7 16 (1.24%) OAuth2
8 15 (1.16%) Elastic Stack
8 15 (1.16%) YAML
9 14 (1.09%) .NET
9 14 (1.09%) Node.js
10 13 (1.01%) RabbitMQ
11 12 (0.93%) LDAP
12 10 (0.78%) FastAPI
12 10 (0.78%) Flask
13 9 (0.70%) JSON
13 9 (0.70%) Web Services
14 8 (0.62%) gRPC
14 8 (0.62%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 86 (6.68%) PKI
2 43 (3.34%) Data Centre
3 36 (2.80%) Security Operations Centre
4 34 (2.64%) Cyber Threat
5 33 (2.56%) Management Information System
6 20 (1.55%) Analytical Mindset
6 20 (1.55%) Replication
7 19 (1.48%) Cloud Native
7 19 (1.48%) Cyberattack
8 17 (1.32%) CSOC
8 17 (1.32%) Onboarding
8 17 (1.32%) Private Cloud
9 13 (1.01%) Cyber Defence
9 13 (1.01%) Driving Licence
10 12 (0.93%) Enterprise Software
11 11 (0.85%) Fat Client
11 11 (0.85%) Greenfield Project
11 11 (0.85%) Thin Client
12 10 (0.78%) Legacy Systems
12 10 (0.78%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 236 (18.32%) Windows
2 136 (10.56%) Linux
3 73 (5.67%) Windows Server
4 37 (2.87%) Windows 10
5 25 (1.94%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 15 (1.16%) Android
6 15 (1.16%) Mac OS
6 15 (1.16%) Windows 7
7 11 (0.85%) Unix
7 11 (0.85%) Windows Server 2019
8 10 (0.78%) Ubuntu
8 10 (0.78%) Windows Server 2003
9 7 (0.54%) CentOS
10 3 (0.23%) Debian
11 2 (0.16%) VMS
11 2 (0.16%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.078%) Data ONTAP
12 1 (0.078%) Mac OS X
12 1 (0.078%) Rocky
12 1 (0.078%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 226 (17.55%) Agile
2 148 (11.49%) Cybersecurity
3 138 (10.71%) DevOps
3 138 (10.71%) Problem-Solving
4 119 (9.24%) CI/CD
5 91 (7.07%) ITIL
6 85 (6.60%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 77 (5.98%) Infrastructure as Code
8 75 (5.82%) SIEM
9 74 (5.75%) Continuous Improvement
10 72 (5.59%) Stakeholder Management
11 69 (5.36%) Service Management
12 67 (5.20%) ITSM
13 64 (4.97%) Containerisation
14 62 (4.81%) Incident Response
14 62 (4.81%) Infrastructure Engineering
15 61 (4.74%) Risk Management
16 55 (4.27%) Project Management
16 55 (4.27%) Scrum
17 53 (4.11%) Security Operations
Programming Languages
1 149 (11.57%) Python
2 119 (9.24%) PowerShell
3 64 (4.97%) SQL
4 52 (4.04%) Java
5 35 (2.72%) JavaScript
6 34 (2.64%) Bash
7 18 (1.40%) Go
8 17 (1.32%) C#
9 15 (1.16%) C++
9 15 (1.16%) TypeScript
10 14 (1.09%) Shell Script
11 10 (0.78%) C
12 8 (0.62%) VBScript
13 7 (0.54%) Bicep
13 7 (0.54%) VB
14 5 (0.39%) ABAP
15 3 (0.23%) Kusto Query Language
15 3 (0.23%) T-SQL
16 2 (0.16%) Ruby
17 1 (0.078%) Rust
Qualifications
1 1,288 (100.00%) Security Cleared
2 414 (32.14%) SC Cleared
3 54 (4.19%) Degree
4 52 (4.04%) CISSP
5 36 (2.80%) CISM
6 34 (2.64%) Microsoft Certification
7 30 (2.33%) Cisco Certification
8 19 (1.48%) CCNP
8 19 (1.48%) CompTIA Security+
9 17 (1.32%) CEH
9 17 (1.32%) GIAC
10 15 (1.16%) Computer Science Degree
11 13 (1.01%) CESG Certified Professional
11 13 (1.01%) CompTIA CySA+
12 12 (0.93%) Azure Certification
12 12 (0.93%) BPSS Clearance
12 12 (0.93%) CCNA
12 12 (0.93%) CTC Cleared
13 11 (0.85%) PMI Certification
14 9 (0.70%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 66 (5.12%) NIST
2 49 (3.80%) NCSC
3 46 (3.57%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 22 (1.71%) QA
5 21 (1.63%) JSP 440
5 21 (1.63%) SLA
6 20 (1.55%) PMO
7 16 (1.24%) GDPR
7 16 (1.24%) NIST 800
8 13 (1.01%) Data Quality
9 10 (0.78%) GRC
10 9 (0.70%) RMADS
11 4 (0.31%) Cyber Essentials
11 4 (0.31%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 4 (0.31%) P3O
12 3 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
12 3 (0.23%) COBIT
12 3 (0.23%) Def Stans
12 3 (0.23%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 3 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 111 (8.62%) Active Directory
2 76 (5.90%) Docker
3 64 (4.97%) VMware Infrastructure
4 39 (3.03%) VMware NSX
5 34 (2.64%) VMware ESXi
6 23 (1.79%) vSphere
7 11 (0.85%) Virtual Machines
8 9 (0.70%) NFS
9 8 (0.62%) Firmware
10 7 (0.54%) BitLocker
10 7 (0.54%) Brightmail
10 7 (0.54%) ISA Server
11 5 (0.39%) Virtual Desktop
12 4 (0.31%) Hyper-V
13 3 (0.23%) vCloud
14 2 (0.16%) GPFS
14 2 (0.16%) Lustre
14 2 (0.16%) Microsoft App-V
14 2 (0.16%) Slurm Workload Manager
14 2 (0.16%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 121 (9.39%) Kubernetes
2 107 (8.31%) Terraform
3 79 (6.13%) Ansible
4 48 (3.73%) vCenter Server
5 39 (3.03%) Grafana
6 32 (2.48%) Prometheus
7 28 (2.17%) Single Sign-On
8 27 (2.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 24 (1.86%) SCCM
10 14 (1.09%) Progress Chef
11 13 (1.01%) Puppet
11 13 (1.01%) WMI
12 11 (0.85%) Podman
13 10 (0.78%) Microsoft Intune
14 9 (0.70%) Microsoft Clustering
15 8 (0.62%) Argo
15 8 (0.62%) SCOM
16 7 (0.54%) Kibana
16 7 (0.54%) Nessus
16 7 (0.54%) vRealize
Vendors
1 201 (15.61%) Microsoft
2 135 (10.48%) VMware
3 105 (8.15%) Cisco
4 54 (4.19%) Splunk
5 50 (3.88%) Juniper
6 49 (3.80%) SAP
7 35 (2.72%) Red Hat
8 32 (2.48%) Palantir
9 29 (2.25%) Oracle
10 28 (2.17%) SolarWinds
11 24 (1.86%) Foundry
11 24 (1.86%) NetApp
12 23 (1.79%) Dell
13 18 (1.40%) ServiceNow
14 17 (1.32%) Veeam
15 16 (1.24%) HP
16 15 (1.16%) Apple
17 14 (1.09%) Atlassian
17 14 (1.09%) Remedy
18 13 (1.01%) Google