IT Engineer Contract Job Trends

IT Engineer
UK

The median IT Engineer daily rate in the UK is £190, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 6 November 2025.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Nov 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 216 246 229
Rank change year-on-year +30 -17 +106
Contract jobs requiring an IT Engineer 459 352 508
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.33% 0.96% 1.09%
As % of the Job Titles category 1.46% 1.04% 1.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 291 224 315
10th Percentile £131 £133 £111
25th Percentile £153 £152 £143
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £190 £200 £200
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £238 £300 £253
90th Percentile £338 £538 £400
UK excluding London median daily rate £189 £180 £200
% change year-on-year +4.86% -10.00% +11.11%
Number of hourly rates quoted 120 48 103
10th Percentile £18.68 £14.17 £13.16
25th Percentile £18.87 £15.22 £15.88
Median hourly rate £25.15 £21.59 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +16.49% +21.84% +0.91%
75th Percentile - £24.18 £20.00
90th Percentile - - £30.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £21.59 £17.72
% change year-on-year +16.49% +21.84% +0.91%

All Contract IT Job Vacancies
UK

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title 31,481 33,928 43,540
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 90.93% 92.88% 93.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 19,970 20,456 29,619
10th Percentile £279 £300 £299
25th Percentile £402 £412 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £623 £638 £650
90th Percentile £725 £738 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £490 £500
% change year-on-year -3.06% -2.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,790 1,271 1,517
10th Percentile £14.09 £15.10 £14.90
25th Percentile £17.69 £20.22 £19.06
Median hourly rate £25.15 £37.00 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -32.03% -17.78% +55.71%
75th Percentile £51.19 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £69.65 £73.75 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £36.00 £44.50
% change year-on-year -30.14% -19.10% +85.42%

IT Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'IT Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

IT Engineer job vacancy trend in the UK

IT Engineer
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK

IT Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing IT Engineer over the 6 months to 6 November 2025.

Daily rate histogram for IT Engineer in the UK

IT Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for IT Engineer job vacancies in the UK

IT Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing IT Engineer over the 6 months to 6 November 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for IT Engineer in the UK

IT Engineer
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 IT Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 6 November 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 +57 417 £195 -2.50% 504
UK excluding London +11 340 £189 +4.86% 511
London +7 108 £200 -16.67% 130
South East +25 93 £190 -2.56% 157
South West +40 68 £235 +25.33% 58
North of England -11 65 £170 -11.69% 100
Midlands -27 49 £200 +5.26% 68
East of England +4 40 £190 +5.56% 57
North West -3 33 £163 -10.96% 63
Work from Home -9 32 £250 -31.03% 160
West Midlands -18 31 £250 +25.00% 30
Scotland 0 24 £200 +21.21% 41
Yorkshire -23 23 £205 +2.50% 25
East Midlands -17 20 £128 -29.17% 37
Wales -8 10 £165 +16.81% 27
North East -5 9 £106 -47.00% 12
Northern Ireland -8 1 £195 - 13

IT Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities

For the 6 months to 6 November 2025, IT Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring IT Engineer in the job title.

1 195 (42.48%) Windows
2 138 (30.07%) Microsoft
3 133 (28.98%) Microsoft 365
4 121 (26.36%) Security Cleared
5 116 (25.27%) SC Cleared
6 113 (24.62%) Active Directory
7 101 (22.00%) Windows 10
8 82 (17.86%) Customer Service
9 74 (16.12%) Migration
10 63 (13.73%) Problem-Solving
11 56 (12.20%) Workflow
12 52 (11.33%) Workflow Management
13 51 (11.11%) Asset Management
14 48 (10.46%) Microsoft Intune
15 47 (10.24%) Azure
16 44 (9.59%) ITIL
17 39 (8.50%) ServiceNow
18 36 (7.84%) DBS Check
19 33 (7.19%) Microsoft Office
20 32 (6.97%) TCP/IP
21 30 (6.54%) ITSM
22 29 (6.32%) Firewall
23 28 (6.10%) DNS
24 27 (5.88%) SharePoint
25 26 (5.66%) Cisco
25 26 (5.66%) SCCM
25 26 (5.66%) Windows Server
26 25 (5.45%) Entra ID
26 25 (5.45%) Microsoft Exchange
27 24 (5.23%) Android

IT Engineer Skill Set
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 27 (5.88%) SharePoint
2 25 (5.45%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.44%) IIS
4 1 (0.22%) Apache
4 1 (0.22%) Confluence
4 1 (0.22%) Skype for Business
4 1 (0.22%) Tomcat
4 1 (0.22%) WebSphere
Applications
1 33 (7.19%) Microsoft Office
2 9 (1.96%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.44%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.22%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 4 (0.87%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.22%) Maximo
2 1 (0.22%) Pegasus Opera
2 1 (0.22%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 133 (28.98%) Microsoft 365
2 47 (10.24%) Azure
3 25 (5.45%) Entra ID
4 20 (4.36%) Google Workspace
5 10 (2.18%) OneDrive
6 6 (1.31%) Azure Stack
6 6 (1.31%) Slack
7 5 (1.09%) AWS
8 4 (0.87%) Power Platform
9 3 (0.65%) IaaS
9 3 (0.65%) PaaS
9 3 (0.65%) SaaS
10 2 (0.44%) AWS IoT
10 2 (0.44%) Azure Sentinel
10 2 (0.44%) Google Drive
11 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Copilot
11 1 (0.22%) Microsoft Purview
11 1 (0.22%) Mimecast
11 1 (0.22%) Power Automate
11 1 (0.22%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 32 (6.97%) TCP/IP
2 29 (6.32%) Firewall
3 28 (6.10%) DNS
4 24 (5.23%) DHCP
5 22 (4.79%) LAN
5 22 (4.79%) VPN
6 21 (4.58%) ATM
7 19 (4.14%) Wi-Fi
8 16 (3.49%) WAN
9 13 (2.83%) Network Security
10 12 (2.61%) VLAN
10 12 (2.61%) Wireless
11 10 (2.18%) VoIP
12 7 (1.53%) PABX
13 5 (1.09%) Remote Desktop
14 4 (0.87%) Ethernet
14 4 (0.87%) IP Telephony
15 3 (0.65%) Cisco Wireless
15 3 (0.65%) SAN
16 2 (0.44%) Intrusion Detection
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (0.87%) SQL Server
2 3 (0.65%) Power BI
3 1 (0.22%) Amazon RDS
3 1 (0.22%) DB2
3 1 (0.22%) Electronic Patient Records
3 1 (0.22%) Metadata
3 1 (0.22%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 5 (1.09%) JIRA
2 1 (0.22%) Hudson
General
1 172 (37.47%) Social Skills
2 26 (5.66%) Finance
3 22 (4.79%) Manufacturing
4 20 (4.36%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 20 (4.36%) Public Sector
5 19 (4.14%) Organisational Skills
6 12 (2.61%) Electronics
6 12 (2.61%) Marketing
6 12 (2.61%) Telecoms
7 11 (2.40%) Banking
8 8 (1.74%) Aerospace
8 8 (1.74%) Local Government
9 5 (1.09%) Analytical Skills
10 4 (0.87%) Documentation Skills
10 4 (0.87%) Retail
11 3 (0.65%) Pharmaceutical
12 2 (0.44%) Automotive
12 2 (0.44%) Law
12 2 (0.44%) Legal
13 1 (0.22%) Financial Institution
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (0.44%) Middleware
1 2 (0.44%) XML
2 1 (0.22%) 802.1X
2 1 (0.22%) JSON
2 1 (0.22%) SOAP
2 1 (0.22%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 30 (6.54%) Driving Licence
2 25 (5.45%) EPoS
3 17 (3.70%) Smartphone
4 15 (3.27%) Self-Motivation
5 14 (3.05%) Onboarding
6 10 (2.18%) Operational Technology
7 9 (1.96%) Legacy Systems
8 8 (1.74%) Data Centre
9 7 (1.53%) iPhone
10 6 (1.31%) Hybrid Cloud
10 6 (1.31%) Video Conferencing
11 4 (0.87%) Enterprise Software
11 4 (0.87%) Management Information System
12 3 (0.65%) CCTV
13 2 (0.44%) 3D Printing
13 2 (0.44%) Digital Signage
13 2 (0.44%) IoT
13 2 (0.44%) NHS
13 2 (0.44%) Replication
13 2 (0.44%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 195 (42.48%) Windows
2 101 (22.00%) Windows 10
3 26 (5.66%) Windows Server
4 24 (5.23%) Android
5 22 (4.79%) Apple iOS
6 21 (4.58%) Mac OS
7 16 (3.49%) Linux
7 16 (3.49%) Windows 7
8 3 (0.65%) VMS
8 3 (0.65%) Windows 8
9 2 (0.44%) Mac OS X
9 2 (0.44%) Solaris
9 2 (0.44%) Unix
9 2 (0.44%) Windows Server 2016
9 2 (0.44%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.22%) CentOS
10 1 (0.22%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 1 (0.22%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 82 (17.86%) Customer Service
2 74 (16.12%) Migration
3 63 (13.73%) Problem-Solving
4 56 (12.20%) Workflow
5 52 (11.33%) Workflow Management
6 51 (11.11%) Asset Management
7 44 (9.59%) ITIL
8 30 (6.54%) ITSM
9 22 (4.79%) Cybersecurity
10 21 (4.58%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 17 (3.70%) Break/Fix
12 15 (3.27%) Ticket Management
13 14 (3.05%) Business Intelligence
13 14 (3.05%) Service Management
14 12 (2.61%) Service Delivery
15 11 (2.40%) Collaborative Working
15 11 (2.40%) Digital Marketing
15 11 (2.40%) Programme Management
15 11 (2.40%) User Experience
16 10 (2.18%) Logistics
Programming Languages
1 16 (3.49%) PowerShell
2 5 (1.09%) SQL
3 3 (0.65%) Python
4 1 (0.22%) Bash
4 1 (0.22%) C
4 1 (0.22%) Java
4 1 (0.22%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 121 (26.36%) Security Cleared
2 116 (25.27%) SC Cleared
3 36 (7.84%) DBS Check
4 10 (2.18%) Degree
5 9 (1.96%) Cisco Certification
5 9 (1.96%) Network+ Certification
6 6 (1.31%) A+ Certification
6 6 (1.31%) Azure Certification
6 6 (1.31%) Microsoft Certification
7 5 (1.09%) CCNA
8 4 (0.87%) BPSS Clearance
8 4 (0.87%) DV Cleared
9 3 (0.65%) CCNP
9 3 (0.65%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
10 2 (0.44%) City & Guilds
10 2 (0.44%) Computer Science Degree
10 2 (0.44%) HNC
10 2 (0.44%) HND
10 2 (0.44%) MCP
10 2 (0.44%) MCSE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (3.70%) SLA
2 4 (0.87%) GDPR
3 2 (0.44%) Cyber Essentials
4 1 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
4 1 (0.22%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 1 (0.22%) PMO
4 1 (0.22%) QA
System Software
1 113 (24.62%) Active Directory
2 13 (2.83%) VMware Infrastructure
3 9 (1.96%) Virtual Desktop
4 8 (1.74%) Hyper-V
5 5 (1.09%) Virtual Machines
6 3 (0.65%) Firmware
6 3 (0.65%) vSphere
7 2 (0.44%) VMware Workstation
8 1 (0.22%) BitLocker
8 1 (0.22%) Terminal Services
8 1 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.22%) XenApp
8 1 (0.22%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 48 (10.46%) Microsoft Intune
2 26 (5.66%) SCCM
3 13 (2.83%) Jamf Pro
4 3 (0.65%) WSUS
5 2 (0.44%) Autotask
5 2 (0.44%) SCOM
6 1 (0.22%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 1 (0.22%) Ansible
6 1 (0.22%) FortiGate
6 1 (0.22%) Single Sign-On
6 1 (0.22%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 138 (30.07%) Microsoft
2 39 (8.50%) ServiceNow
3 26 (5.66%) Cisco
4 22 (4.79%) Google
5 20 (4.36%) VMware
6 19 (4.14%) Apple
6 19 (4.14%) HP
7 16 (3.49%) Dell
8 13 (2.83%) SAP
9 7 (1.53%) Citrix
10 6 (1.31%) Okta
11 5 (1.09%) Remedy
12 4 (0.87%) IBM
12 4 (0.87%) Meraki
13 3 (0.65%) CheckPoint
13 3 (0.65%) Datto
13 3 (0.65%) Palo Alto
13 3 (0.65%) Sophos
13 3 (0.65%) Veeam
14 2 (0.44%) Red Hat