NCSC Contract Job Trends

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring NCSC skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 17 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 348 404 498
Rank change year-on-year +56 +94 -76
Contract jobs citing NCSC 340 142 82
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.65% 0.44% 0.19%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 3.81% 2.63% 1.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 247 95 55
10th Percentile £456 £500 £475
25th Percentile £519 £553 £512
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £615 £645 £600
Median % change year-on-year -4.65% +7.50% -14.29%
75th Percentile £700 £699 £731
90th Percentile £800 £738 £741
UK excluding London median daily rate £600 £641 £550
% change year-on-year -6.43% +16.59% -21.43%
Number of hourly rates quoted 7 14 1
10th Percentile £75.00 £43.60 -
25th Percentile £80.95 £66.19 -
Median hourly rate £85.40 £85.00 £80.00
Median % change year-on-year +0.47% +6.25% -3.97%
75th Percentile - £91.50 -
90th Percentile £90.24 - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £85.40 £85.00 £80.00
% change year-on-year +0.47% +6.25% -3.97%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK

NCSC 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 8,930 5,392 5,830
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 16.96% 16.58% 13.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 5,710 3,472 3,594
10th Percentile £338 £279 £281
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year - - -4.76%
75th Percentile £600 £606 £615
90th Percentile £700 £716 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £470 £475
% change year-on-year +6.38% -1.05% -4.90%
Number of hourly rates quoted 541 240 403
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.59 £11.48
25th Percentile £19.22 £17.75 £13.69
Median hourly rate £36.07 £30.00 £24.18
Median % change year-on-year +20.23% +24.07% -38.66%
75th Percentile £69.00 £62.24 £51.75
90th Percentile £82.25 £85.30 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £38.72 £26.93 £24.18
% change year-on-year +43.81% +11.35% -30.91%

NCSC
Job Vacancy Trend

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

NCSC job vacancy trend in the UK

NCSC
Daily Rate Trend

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

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NCSC

NCSC
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing NCSC over the 6 months to 17 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Hourly Rate Trend

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

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NCSC

NCSC
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing NCSC over the 6 months to 17 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Top 14 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing NCSC within the UK over the 6 months to 17 July 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 +18 291 £600 -6.98% 57
UK excluding London -21 173 £600 -6.43% 42
Work from Home +32 137 £625 -2.34% 36
London -7 114 £625 -3.85% 21
South East -4 87 £631 -6.48% 13
South West -32 37 £600 -6.98% 12
North of England -62 21 £668 +8.98% 8
North West -34 18 £668 +14.84% 7
Midlands -51 17 £492 -24.31% 2
West Midlands -53 17 £492 -24.31% 1
Scotland -6 9 £663 +32.50% 4
Wales - 4 £800 - 1
East of England -30 3 £450 +80.72% 3
Yorkshire -43 3 £600 -7.69% 1

NCSC
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 15 (4.41%) Confluence
2 3 (0.88%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.59%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.59%) WebLogic
3 2 (0.59%) WebSphere
4 1 (0.29%) SharePoint 2010
4 1 (0.29%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 2 (0.59%) PlantUML
2 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.29%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.29%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 9 (2.65%) Oracle ERP
2 3 (0.88%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 2 (0.59%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.59%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 118 (34.71%) Azure
2 83 (24.41%) AWS
3 31 (9.12%) Entra ID
4 25 (7.35%) GCP
5 22 (6.47%) Microsoft 365
6 21 (6.18%) SaaS
7 15 (4.41%) OpenShift
8 14 (4.12%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (2.65%) OCI
10 8 (2.35%) IaaS
10 8 (2.35%) PaaS
11 7 (2.06%) Amazon EKS
11 7 (2.06%) Azure AKS
12 6 (1.76%) GitHub
12 6 (1.76%) Serverless
12 6 (1.76%) Virtual Private Cloud
13 5 (1.47%) Azure Monitor
13 5 (1.47%) Power Platform
14 4 (1.18%) AWS Lambda
14 4 (1.18%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 31 (9.12%) Firewall
2 30 (8.82%) Network Security
3 19 (5.59%) VPN
4 16 (4.71%) DNS
5 12 (3.53%) BGP
5 12 (3.53%) TCP/IP
6 11 (3.24%) OSPF
6 11 (3.24%) WAN
7 10 (2.94%) IPsec
7 10 (2.94%) MPLS
7 10 (2.94%) VLAN
8 9 (2.65%) LAN
8 9 (2.65%) SD-WAN
9 6 (1.76%) Cisco ASA
9 6 (1.76%) Cisco Nexus
9 6 (1.76%) VSAN
10 5 (1.47%) Cisco Firepower
10 5 (1.47%) DHCP
11 4 (1.18%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
11 4 (1.18%) NGFW
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (2.94%) Geospatial Data
2 6 (1.76%) Azure SQL Database
3 3 (0.88%) Metadata
3 3 (0.88%) Oracle Reports
3 3 (0.88%) Power BI
4 2 (0.59%) Amazon RDS
5 1 (0.29%) Amazon Redshift
5 1 (0.29%) BigQuery
5 1 (0.29%) DynamoDB
5 1 (0.29%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.29%) Relational Database
5 1 (0.29%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 18 (5.29%) JIRA
2 12 (3.53%) Git
2 12 (3.53%) Jenkins
3 8 (2.35%) MSI
4 3 (0.88%) Sonatype Nexus
5 1 (0.29%) GitLab
General
1 102 (30.00%) Public Sector
2 95 (27.94%) Social Skills
3 33 (9.71%) Finance
4 22 (6.47%) Influencing Skills
5 20 (5.88%) Telecoms
6 19 (5.59%) Documentation Skills
7 17 (5.00%) Analytical Skills
8 14 (4.12%) Military
9 9 (2.65%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 8 (2.35%) Law
11 7 (2.06%) Local Government
11 7 (2.06%) Police
12 6 (1.76%) Legal
13 5 (1.47%) Aerospace
14 4 (1.18%) Organisational Skills
15 2 (0.59%) Aviation
15 2 (0.59%) Banking
15 2 (0.59%) Manufacturing
16 1 (0.29%) Back Office
16 1 (0.29%) Retail
Job Titles
1 127 (37.35%) Architect
2 56 (16.47%) Security Architect
3 40 (11.76%) Lead
4 34 (10.00%) Technical Architect
5 29 (8.53%) Consultant
6 28 (8.24%) Senior
7 19 (5.59%) Security Consultant
8 18 (5.29%) Security Manager
9 16 (4.71%) Lead Architect
10 15 (4.41%) Analyst
11 14 (4.12%) Solutions Architect
11 14 (4.12%) Technical Leader
12 13 (3.82%) Tester
13 12 (3.53%) Cybersecurity Manager
13 12 (3.53%) Developer
13 12 (3.53%) Penetration Tester
13 12 (3.53%) Security Engineer
14 11 (3.24%) CyberArk Architect
14 11 (3.24%) Network Architect
15 10 (2.94%) Senior Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (6.18%) OpenID
1 21 (6.18%) SAML
2 19 (5.59%) LDAP
3 14 (4.12%) .NET
4 12 (3.53%) REST
5 10 (2.94%) GeoJSON
5 10 (2.94%) RESTful
6 9 (2.65%) .NET Framework
6 9 (2.65%) OAuth
7 8 (2.35%) .NET Core
7 8 (2.35%) ATL
7 8 (2.35%) COM
7 8 (2.35%) CSS
7 8 (2.35%) CSS3
7 8 (2.35%) HTML
7 8 (2.35%) HTML5
7 8 (2.35%) MFC
7 8 (2.35%) WPF
8 5 (1.47%) SailPoint
9 4 (1.18%) OAuth2
Miscellaneous
1 42 (12.35%) Cloud Native
2 38 (11.18%) Onboarding
3 25 (7.35%) Management Information System
3 25 (7.35%) Security Operations Centre
4 20 (5.88%) Cyber Threat
5 19 (5.59%) Security Posture
6 17 (5.00%) Data Centre
6 17 (5.00%) Operational Technology
7 16 (4.71%) Legacy Systems
8 15 (4.41%) CSOC
8 15 (4.41%) PKI
9 14 (4.12%) Public Cloud
10 13 (3.82%) Hybrid Cloud
11 11 (3.24%) Private Cloud
11 11 (3.24%) SCADA
12 10 (2.94%) Product Ownership
13 6 (1.76%) Enterprise Software
14 5 (1.47%) Cyber Defence
14 5 (1.47%) Data Protection Act
15 4 (1.18%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 25 (7.35%) Windows
2 23 (6.76%) Linux
3 7 (2.06%) Mac OS
4 6 (1.76%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 6 (1.76%) Windows Server
5 4 (1.18%) Windows 10
6 3 (0.88%) VMS
7 2 (0.59%) Android
7 2 (0.59%) CentOS
7 2 (0.59%) Ubuntu
7 2 (0.59%) Unix
8 1 (0.29%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.29%) Rocky
8 1 (0.29%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 158 (46.47%) Cybersecurity
2 81 (23.82%) CI/CD
3 76 (22.35%) Cloud Security
4 74 (21.76%) Agile
5 70 (20.59%) Infrastructure as Code
6 65 (19.12%) DevOps
7 62 (18.24%) Incident Response
8 60 (17.65%) Stakeholder Management
9 59 (17.35%) Security Architecture
10 58 (17.06%) Risk Management
11 56 (16.47%) SIEM
12 55 (16.18%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 51 (15.00%) Continuous Improvement
14 50 (14.71%) Threat Modelling
15 43 (12.65%) TOGAF
15 43 (12.65%) Vulnerability Management
16 42 (12.35%) Zero Trust
17 39 (11.47%) Security Operations
18 37 (10.88%) Architectural Patterns
18 37 (10.88%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 23 (6.76%) Python
2 21 (6.18%) Bicep
3 11 (3.24%) SQL
4 10 (2.94%) PowerShell
5 9 (2.65%) C#
6 8 (2.35%) JavaScript
6 8 (2.35%) TypeScript
7 7 (2.06%) Java
8 3 (0.88%) Bash
9 2 (0.59%) Groovy
9 2 (0.59%) Kusto Query Language
9 2 (0.59%) Objective-C
9 2 (0.59%) Search Processing Language
10 1 (0.29%) C
Qualifications
1 251 (73.82%) Security Cleared
2 204 (60.00%) SC Cleared
3 75 (22.06%) DV Cleared
4 44 (12.94%) CISSP
5 39 (11.47%) CISM
6 33 (9.71%) Cisco Certification
7 22 (6.47%) Degree
8 17 (5.00%) CCNP
9 15 (4.41%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 12 (3.53%) Azure Certification
10 12 (3.53%) CHECK Team Leader
10 12 (3.53%) GIAC
11 11 (3.24%) AWS Certification
11 11 (3.24%) CHECK Team Member
12 9 (2.65%) CESG Certified Professional
13 8 (2.35%) BPSS Clearance
13 8 (2.35%) CCIE
13 8 (2.35%) CCSP
13 8 (2.35%) CompTIA Security+
13 8 (2.35%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 117 (34.41%) NIST
2 97 (28.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 47 (13.82%) GDPR
4 36 (10.59%) Cyber Essentials
5 27 (7.94%) NIST 800
6 21 (6.18%) JSP 440
7 19 (5.59%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 16 (4.71%) GRC
9 15 (4.41%) Government Security Classifications
10 13 (3.82%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 12 (3.53%) Accessibility
11 12 (3.53%) RMADS
12 10 (2.94%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
13 9 (2.65%) COBIT
14 8 (2.35%) WCAG
15 7 (2.06%) Data Quality
15 7 (2.06%) ISO/IEC 20000
15 7 (2.06%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 7 (2.06%) PCI DSS
15 7 (2.06%) QA
System Software
1 30 (8.82%) Active Directory
2 17 (5.00%) Docker
3 15 (4.41%) VMware Infrastructure
4 14 (4.12%) VMware NSX
5 5 (1.47%) Hyper-V
6 4 (1.18%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.88%) vSphere
8 2 (0.59%) KVM
9 1 (0.29%) GPFS
9 1 (0.29%) Lustre
9 1 (0.29%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 1 (0.29%) UAG
Systems Management
1 52 (15.29%) Kubernetes
2 41 (12.06%) Terraform
3 11 (3.24%) Ansible
4 7 (2.06%) Jamf Pro
5 6 (1.76%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 3 (0.88%) Istio
6 3 (0.88%) Microsoft Intune
7 2 (0.59%) Cisco Prime
7 2 (0.59%) CSIRT
7 2 (0.59%) Iperf
7 2 (0.59%) Nmap
7 2 (0.59%) Single Sign-On
8 1 (0.29%) CASB
8 1 (0.29%) Cisco CUCM
8 1 (0.29%) FortiGate
8 1 (0.29%) FreeIPA
8 1 (0.29%) McAfee ePO
8 1 (0.29%) Prometheus
8 1 (0.29%) vCenter Server
8 1 (0.29%) VxRail
Vendors
1 73 (21.47%) Microsoft
2 27 (7.94%) VMware
3 19 (5.59%) Cisco
4 18 (5.29%) Splunk
5 15 (4.41%) Palo Alto
6 13 (3.82%) CyberArk
6 13 (3.82%) ServiceNow
7 9 (2.65%) Oracle
8 8 (2.35%) Google
9 7 (2.06%) Fortinet
9 7 (2.06%) SolarWinds
10 6 (1.76%) SAP
11 5 (1.47%) Apple
11 5 (1.47%) CheckPoint
11 5 (1.47%) F5
12 4 (1.18%) Zscaler
13 3 (0.88%) Citrix
13 3 (0.88%) Juniper
13 3 (0.88%) Sparx
14 2 (0.59%) BiZZdesign