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 10 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 52 75 29
Rank change year-on-year +23 -46 +49
Contract jobs citing DV Cleared 1,859 916 2,385
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 4.05% 3.14% 5.42%
As % of the Qualifications category 12.23% 10.20% 17.66%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,312 634 1,727
10th Percentile £423 £420 £413
25th Percentile £513 £513 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £588 £588 £600
Median % change year-on-year - -2.08% -
75th Percentile £688 £661 £688
90th Percentile £750 £713 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £600 £588 £600
% change year-on-year +2.13% -2.08% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 52 23 109
10th Percentile £16.42 £37.50 £48.88
25th Percentile £35.00 £59.87 £57.33
Median hourly rate £58.25 £72.50 £63.29
Median % change year-on-year -19.66% +14.55% -9.59%
75th Percentile £78.63 £81.73 £80.00
90th Percentile £91.03 £87.85 £87.53
UK excluding London median hourly rate £58.25 £76.85 £65.75
% change year-on-year -24.20% +16.88% -12.33%

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 15,195 8,976 13,507
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 33.13% 30.72% 30.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 10,101 5,715 8,365
10th Percentile £343 £295 £300
25th Percentile £425 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £518 £525 £538
Median % change year-on-year -1.43% -2.33% -2.27%
75th Percentile £619 £625 £650
90th Percentile £725 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £513 £525
% change year-on-year -2.44% -2.38% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,104 490 1,032
10th Percentile £16.35 £18.50 £13.85
25th Percentile £20.79 £23.00 £17.74
Median hourly rate £40.75 £45.00 £39.96
Median % change year-on-year -9.44% +12.61% -23.89%
75th Percentile £69.30 £67.44 £61.30
90th Percentile £85.18 £81.01 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.50 £47.81 £40.00
% change year-on-year -13.19% +19.51% -19.22%

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 10 April 2026.

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 10 April 2026.

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 10 April 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 +18 1,702 £575 -3.77% 411
UK excluding London +11 1,335 £600 +2.13% 355
South East +10 730 £600 +2.56% 151
London +20 370 £575 -4.17% 80
South West -2 332 £560 -6.67% 104
Work from Home +22 240 £560 -2.61% 131
North of England -5 94 £690 +236.59% 40
North West +28 76 £760 +270.73% 35
East of England +4 72 £575 +4.55% 34
Midlands -28 65 £569 -18.75% 17
West Midlands -41 47 £563 -19.64% 15
Scotland +11 42 £653 +27.41% 6
East Midlands -19 18 £625 +13.64% 1
Yorkshire -39 16 £538 -14.00% 4
Northern Ireland - 7 £600 -
Wales -11 3 - - 8
North East -18 2 £675 +22.73% 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 39 (2.10%) Microsoft Exchange
2 32 (1.72%) SharePoint
3 24 (1.29%) Confluence
4 20 (1.08%) Apache
5 14 (0.75%) Skype for Business
6 10 (0.54%) Palantir Foundry
7 8 (0.43%) Apache Spark
8 5 (0.27%) Mattermost
9 4 (0.22%) Oracle Workflow
10 2 (0.11%) Apache Airflow
11 1 (0.054%) OpenStack
Applications
1 53 (2.85%) Microsoft Office
2 42 (2.26%) Microsoft Excel
3 23 (1.24%) Microsoft Project
4 13 (0.70%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 7 (0.38%) Spreadsheet
6 5 (0.27%) MS Visio
7 2 (0.11%) Lectora
7 2 (0.11%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 27 (1.45%) SAP S/4HANA
2 24 (1.29%) Remedy ITSM
3 17 (0.91%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 7 (0.38%) Maximo
5 6 (0.32%) SAP EWM
6 4 (0.22%) Oracle Assets
6 4 (0.22%) Oracle ERP
6 4 (0.22%) Oracle Payables
6 4 (0.22%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
7 3 (0.16%) SAP GRC
8 2 (0.11%) Primavera
8 2 (0.11%) SAP FI
8 2 (0.11%) SAP WM
9 1 (0.054%) Oracle Applications
9 1 (0.054%) SAP CCM
9 1 (0.054%) SAP FI-GL
9 1 (0.054%) SAP HR
9 1 (0.054%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 178 (9.58%) AWS
2 141 (7.58%) Azure
3 50 (2.69%) GCP
4 46 (2.47%) IaaS
5 43 (2.31%) PaaS
6 42 (2.26%) Microsoft 365
7 41 (2.21%) GitHub
8 34 (1.83%) Azure DevOps
9 33 (1.78%) OpenShift
10 30 (1.61%) Serverless
11 24 (1.29%) GitHub Actions
12 20 (1.08%) Amazon S3
13 18 (0.97%) Amazon EC2
14 15 (0.81%) AWS Lambda
14 15 (0.81%) OCI
15 14 (0.75%) Power Platform
16 13 (0.70%) Entra ID
17 12 (0.65%) Amazon EKS
17 12 (0.65%) AWS CloudFormation
17 12 (0.65%) Azure AKS
Communications & Networking
1 128 (6.89%) Firewall
2 107 (5.76%) DNS
3 75 (4.03%) Network Security
4 65 (3.50%) LAN
5 62 (3.34%) WAN
6 57 (3.07%) VPN
7 42 (2.26%) BGP
7 42 (2.26%) DHCP
8 33 (1.78%) TCP/IP
9 32 (1.72%) OSPF
10 25 (1.34%) Junos
11 20 (1.08%) Cisco ISE
12 19 (1.02%) SAN
12 19 (1.02%) VLAN
13 18 (0.97%) Cisco IOS
13 18 (0.97%) Ethernet VPN
13 18 (0.97%) MPLS
14 17 (0.91%) VSAN
14 17 (0.91%) VXLAN
15 16 (0.86%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 33 (1.78%) PostgreSQL
2 24 (1.29%) Elasticsearch
3 23 (1.24%) SQL Server
4 16 (0.86%) Amazon RDS
5 15 (0.81%) Oracle Database
6 14 (0.75%) MongoDB
7 12 (0.65%) Power BI
8 11 (0.59%) Big Data
8 11 (0.59%) Hadoop
9 9 (0.48%) MySQL
10 8 (0.43%) Relational Database
10 8 (0.43%) SAP HANA
11 7 (0.38%) InfluxDB
11 7 (0.38%) Metadata
11 7 (0.38%) Redis
12 6 (0.32%) MariaDB
13 5 (0.27%) SAP Data Services
13 5 (0.27%) SQL Server Integration Services
14 4 (0.22%) Data Warehouse
14 4 (0.22%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 61 (3.28%) JIRA
2 26 (1.40%) Git
2 26 (1.40%) GitLab
3 25 (1.34%) Jenkins
4 9 (0.48%) Maven
5 8 (0.43%) Artifactory
5 8 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
6 6 (0.32%) Robot Framework
7 5 (0.27%) Cypress.io
8 4 (0.22%) Oracle APEX
9 3 (0.16%) Bitbucket
9 3 (0.16%) MLflow
9 3 (0.16%) SonarQube
9 3 (0.16%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
10 2 (0.11%) ERwin
10 2 (0.11%) MSI
10 2 (0.11%) Postman
10 2 (0.11%) REST Assured
10 2 (0.11%) Selenium
11 1 (0.054%) Atlassian Bamboo
General
1 311 (16.73%) Social Skills
2 206 (11.08%) Public Sector
3 123 (6.62%) Analytical Skills
4 87 (4.68%) Finance
5 62 (3.34%) Military
6 56 (3.01%) Documentation Skills
7 49 (2.64%) Legal
8 30 (1.61%) Presentation Skills
8 30 (1.61%) Telecoms
9 24 (1.29%) Law
10 22 (1.18%) Aerospace
10 22 (1.18%) Organisational Skills
11 21 (1.13%) Police
12 16 (0.86%) Manufacturing
13 14 (0.75%) Marketing
14 13 (0.70%) Electronics
15 9 (0.48%) Banking
16 6 (0.32%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 6 (0.32%) Influencing Skills
17 3 (0.16%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 341 (18.34%) Architect
2 128 (6.89%) Senior
3 122 (6.56%) Lead
4 112 (6.02%) Analyst
5 95 (5.11%) Consultant
6 93 (5.00%) Network Engineer
7 87 (4.68%) Technical Architect
8 80 (4.30%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 71 (3.82%) Developer
10 61 (3.28%) Tester
11 58 (3.12%) SOC Analyst
12 55 (2.96%) DevOps Engineer
12 55 (2.96%) DV Cleared Network Engineer
13 53 (2.85%) Security Architect
14 52 (2.80%) Project Manager
15 42 (2.26%) Software Engineer
16 37 (1.99%) 3rd Line Engineer
16 37 (1.99%) DV Cleared Project Manager
17 36 (1.94%) Solutions Architect
18 35 (1.88%) Infrastructure Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (1.99%) REST
2 25 (1.34%) OAuth
3 22 (1.18%) React
4 21 (1.13%) Apache NiFi
5 19 (1.02%) OpenID
5 19 (1.02%) SAML
6 18 (0.97%) OAuth2
7 16 (0.86%) Node.js
7 16 (0.86%) Web Services
8 15 (0.81%) 802.1X
8 15 (0.81%) Kafka
9 14 (0.75%) .NET
9 14 (0.75%) Elastic Stack
10 13 (0.70%) LDAP
11 12 (0.65%) ModSecurity
12 11 (0.59%) Flask
12 11 (0.59%) SailPoint
12 11 (0.59%) SOAP
12 11 (0.59%) Spring
13 10 (0.54%) AngularJS
Miscellaneous
1 103 (5.54%) PKI
2 67 (3.60%) Data Centre
3 47 (2.53%) Security Operations Centre
4 33 (1.78%) Management Information System
5 31 (1.67%) Cloud Native
6 28 (1.51%) Clustering
7 27 (1.45%) Onboarding
8 24 (1.29%) Hybrid Cloud
8 24 (1.29%) Product Ownership
9 21 (1.13%) Analytical Mindset
10 20 (1.08%) Cyberattack
10 20 (1.08%) Replication
11 18 (0.97%) Cyber Threat
12 17 (0.91%) Private Cloud
12 17 (0.91%) Public Cloud
13 14 (0.75%) Driving Licence
13 14 (0.75%) Enterprise Storage
13 14 (0.75%) Legacy Systems
13 14 (0.75%) Security Posture
14 13 (0.70%) Greenfield Project
Operating Systems
1 260 (13.99%) Windows
2 197 (10.60%) Linux
3 86 (4.63%) Windows Server
4 29 (1.56%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 28 (1.51%) Windows 10
6 14 (0.75%) Windows 7
7 13 (0.70%) Ubuntu
8 10 (0.54%) Mac OS
9 9 (0.48%) Android
10 7 (0.38%) Unix
10 7 (0.38%) VMS
10 7 (0.38%) Windows Server 2003
11 6 (0.32%) CentOS
12 5 (0.27%) Data ONTAP
12 5 (0.27%) Debian
13 4 (0.22%) Windows Server 2019
14 3 (0.16%) Embedded Linux
14 3 (0.16%) Windows Server 2016
15 2 (0.11%) Rocky
16 1 (0.054%) AIX
Processes & Methodologies
1 302 (16.25%) Agile
2 201 (10.81%) Problem-Solving
3 162 (8.71%) Cybersecurity
4 156 (8.39%) DevOps
5 153 (8.23%) ITIL
6 140 (7.53%) CI/CD
7 129 (6.94%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 128 (6.89%) Service Management
9 116 (6.24%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 111 (5.97%) Continuous Improvement
11 110 (5.92%) Stakeholder Management
12 96 (5.16%) ITSM
13 84 (4.52%) Infrastructure as Code
14 83 (4.46%) Project Delivery
15 82 (4.41%) Risk Management
16 77 (4.14%) SIEM
17 73 (3.93%) Identity Access Management
18 72 (3.87%) Containerisation
19 71 (3.82%) Decision-Making
19 71 (3.82%) Incident Response
Programming Languages
1 143 (7.69%) Python
2 120 (6.46%) PowerShell
3 59 (3.17%) SQL
4 47 (2.53%) Java
5 30 (1.61%) Bash
5 30 (1.61%) JavaScript
6 20 (1.08%) C#
7 18 (0.97%) TypeScript
8 16 (0.86%) Shell Script
9 15 (0.81%) Go
10 11 (0.59%) Bicep
11 9 (0.48%) C++
12 8 (0.43%) C
12 8 (0.43%) VB
13 7 (0.38%) PL/SQL
13 7 (0.38%) VBScript
14 6 (0.32%) ABAP
14 6 (0.32%) Embedded C
14 6 (0.32%) Rust
15 4 (0.22%) PHP
Qualifications
1 1,859 (100.00%) Security Cleared
2 591 (31.79%) SC Cleared
3 60 (3.23%) Degree
4 59 (3.17%) CISSP
5 51 (2.74%) Cisco Certification
6 40 (2.15%) CISM
7 37 (1.99%) Microsoft Certification
8 28 (1.51%) CompTIA Security+
9 25 (1.34%) CCNP
10 22 (1.18%) CCNA
11 21 (1.13%) CESG Certified Professional
12 19 (1.02%) BPSS Clearance
13 18 (0.97%) AWS Certification
13 18 (0.97%) Computer Science Degree
13 18 (0.97%) GIAC
14 16 (0.86%) CompTIA CySA+
15 14 (0.75%) Azure Certification
16 13 (0.70%) CEH
16 13 (0.70%) CTC Cleared
16 13 (0.70%) JNCIS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 86 (4.63%) NIST
2 65 (3.50%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 50 (2.69%) NCSC
4 43 (2.31%) PMO
4 43 (2.31%) QA
5 36 (1.94%) JSP 440
6 23 (1.24%) GRC
7 20 (1.08%) RMADS
8 15 (0.81%) SLA
9 14 (0.75%) GDPR
9 14 (0.75%) NIST 800
10 12 (0.65%) Cyber Essentials
11 11 (0.59%) Data Quality
11 11 (0.59%) ISO/IEC 20000
12 6 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 6 (0.32%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 6 (0.32%) P3O
13 5 (0.27%) Government Security Classifications
14 4 (0.22%) Accessibility
15 3 (0.16%) Actionable Recommendations
System Software
1 125 (6.72%) Active Directory
2 100 (5.38%) VMware Infrastructure
3 91 (4.90%) Docker
4 53 (2.85%) VMware NSX
5 43 (2.31%) VMware ESXi
6 29 (1.56%) Hyper-V
7 22 (1.18%) vSphere
8 15 (0.81%) BitLocker
9 12 (0.65%) vCloud
10 10 (0.54%) Firmware
11 8 (0.43%) Microsoft App-V
12 6 (0.32%) Virtual Machines
13 5 (0.27%) Oracle RAC
14 4 (0.22%) Virtual Desktop
15 3 (0.16%) Ceph
15 3 (0.16%) GPFS
15 3 (0.16%) Lustre
15 3 (0.16%) Slurm Workload Manager
15 3 (0.16%) UAG
16 2 (0.11%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 136 (7.32%) Kubernetes
2 119 (6.40%) Terraform
3 83 (4.46%) Ansible
4 57 (3.07%) vCenter Server
5 36 (1.94%) Single Sign-On
6 35 (1.88%) SCCM
7 34 (1.83%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 27 (1.45%) Grafana
9 22 (1.18%) Prometheus
10 15 (0.81%) FortiGate
11 14 (0.75%) Puppet
12 12 (0.65%) Progress Chef
12 12 (0.65%) WMI
13 11 (0.59%) SCOM
14 10 (0.54%) Forefront Identity Manager
14 10 (0.54%) NetIQ Identity Manager
15 9 (0.48%) Nessus
15 9 (0.48%) Podman
16 8 (0.43%) vMotion
16 8 (0.43%) VxRail
Vendors
1 218 (11.73%) Microsoft
2 196 (10.54%) VMware
3 112 (6.02%) Cisco
4 59 (3.17%) SAP
4 59 (3.17%) Splunk
5 58 (3.12%) ServiceNow
6 55 (2.96%) Juniper
7 49 (2.64%) NetApp
8 46 (2.47%) Oracle
9 44 (2.37%) Red Hat
10 27 (1.45%) F5
11 26 (1.40%) Remedy
11 26 (1.40%) SolarWinds
12 23 (1.24%) Fortinet
13 22 (1.18%) Dell
14 20 (1.08%) Palo Alto
15 18 (0.97%) Sparx
16 17 (0.91%) Citrix
17 15 (0.81%) Atlassian
17 15 (0.81%) Veeam