Job Vacancy Trend Daily Rate Trend Daily Rate Histogram Hourly Rate Trend Hourly Rate Histogram Job Locations Skill Sets
Period
to 17 September 2021

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for NCSC skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited NCSC over the 6 months to 17 September 2021 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

Note that daily and hourly rates are treated separately in these statistics. When calculating contractor rate percentiles, daily rates are never derived from quoted hourly rates or vice versa.

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
UK
6 months to
17 Sep 2021		 Same period 2020 Same period 2019
Rank 633 427 743
Rank change year-on-year -206 +316 +112
Contract jobs citing NCSC 169 101 112
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 0.21% 0.34% 0.13%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 1.71% 2.84% 1.11%
Number of daily rates quoted 101 69 75
10th Percentile £450 £258 £409
25th Percentile £463 £325 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 £500 £550
Median % change year-on-year +15.00% -9.09% -
75th Percentile £675 £600 £638
90th Percentile £775 £675 £755
UK excluding London median daily rate £575 £550 £500
% change year-on-year +4.55% +10.00% +5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 6 2
10th Percentile £66.73 £62.75 "
25th Percentile £71.75 £73.44 £76.25
Median hourly rate £73.50 £78.75 £77.50
Median % change year-on-year -6.67% +1.61% -
75th Percentile £75.25 £80.00 £78.75
90th Percentile £76.68 " "
UK excluding London median hourly rate £73.50 £78.75 £77.50
% change year-on-year -6.67% +1.61% -

NCSC is in the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills.

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK
Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 9,891 3,561 10,068
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 12.46% 11.81% 11.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,645 2,215 6,328
10th Percentile £266 £263 £242
25th Percentile £380 £362 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £470 £450
Median % change year-on-year +6.38% +4.44% -
75th Percentile £590 £564 £550
90th Percentile £675 £645 £638
UK excluding London median daily rate £438 £438 £425
% change year-on-year - +2.94% +3.03%
Number of hourly rates quoted 333 159 413
10th Percentile £11.17 £10.92 £10.80
25th Percentile £13.00 £15.38 £14.75
Median hourly rate £20.00 £21.50 £21.00
Median % change year-on-year -6.98% +2.38% +7.78%
75th Percentile £44.14 £45.00 £43.75
90th Percentile £62.18 £55.00 £53.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £17.50 £21.28 £22.50
% change year-on-year -17.74% -5.44% +16.88%

NCSC
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Job vacancy trend for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

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

Daily rate trend for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing NCSC over the 6 months to 17 September 2021.

Daily rate histogram for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

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

Hourly rate trend for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing NCSC over the 6 months to 17 September 2021.

Hourly rate histogram for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Top 15 Contract 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 September 2021. 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
Job
Vacancies
England -169 135 £550 +8.64% 40
UK excluding London -111 92 £575 +4.55% 31
London -182 43 £568 +51.33% 11
South West -25 34 £518 +7.53% 6
Work from Home -238 30 £575 +21.05% 10
South East -83 18 £654 +11.30% 8
North of England -66 15 £583 -4.35% 10
North West -49 14 £590 -3.20% 7
Scotland -74 14 £613 +16.67% 2
Midlands -65 8 £525 -4.55% 1
West Midlands -53 7 £525 -4.55% 1
East of England - 2 £610 - 4
Wales - 1 - -
Yorkshire - 1 £575 - 1
East Midlands - 1 £565 -

For the 6 months to 17 September 2021, IT contractor jobs citing NCSC also mentioned the following skills in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads with a requirement for NCSC.

1 87 (51.48%) Security Cleared
2 77 (45.56%) Cybersecurity
3 74 (43.79%) CISSP
4 72 (42.60%) SC Cleared
5 70 (41.42%) Information Security
6 46 (27.22%) Azure
6 46 (27.22%) NIST
7 38 (22.49%) Public Sector
8 36 (21.30%) CESG Certified Professional
9 28 (16.57%) CISM
10 27 (15.98%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 27 (15.98%) Social Skills
11 24 (14.20%) Linux
12 23 (13.61%) VMware
12 23 (13.61%) Agile Software Development
13 22 (13.02%) Management Information System
13 22 (13.02%) Risk Management
13 22 (13.02%) Bash Shell
13 22 (13.02%) VMware Infrastructure
13 22 (13.02%) Project Delivery
14 21 (12.43%) Microsoft
15 19 (11.24%) Risk Assessment
15 19 (11.24%) Threat Intelligence
15 19 (11.24%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
16 18 (10.65%) CREST Certified
16 18 (10.65%) AWS
17 17 (10.06%) DV Cleared
17 17 (10.06%) Information Assurance
17 17 (10.06%) SIEM
17 17 (10.06%) Microsoft 365

NCSC
Co-occurring IT Skills by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same job type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 4 (2.37%) IIS
1 4 (2.37%) nginx
1 4 (2.37%) Traefik
2 2 (1.18%) Apache
2 2 (1.18%) SAS
2 2 (1.18%) SharePoint
2 2 (1.18%) Tomcat
3 1 (0.59%) Confluence
3 1 (0.59%) IBM Notes
3 1 (0.59%) MS Exchange
3 1 (0.59%) SharePoint 2013
3 1 (0.59%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 1 (0.59%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 2 (1.18%) Dynamics CRM
1 2 (1.18%) Oracle ERP
1 2 (1.18%) Sentinel
2 1 (0.59%) SAP CCM
2 1 (0.59%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 46 (27.22%) Azure
2 18 (10.65%) AWS
3 17 (10.06%) Microsoft 365
4 11 (6.51%) Azure Active Directory
5 10 (5.92%) GCP
6 9 (5.33%) Azure Sentinel
7 7 (4.14%) Google Workspace
7 7 (4.14%) PaaS
8 6 (3.55%) SaaS
9 5 (2.96%) Cloud Computing
9 5 (2.96%) Power Platform
10 4 (2.37%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 4 (2.37%) Amazon EC2
10 4 (2.37%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (2.37%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 3 (1.78%) Azure Key Vault
11 3 (1.78%) OpenShift
11 3 (1.78%) PowerApps
12 2 (1.18%) Miro
12 2 (1.18%) Slack
Communications & Networking
1 16 (9.47%) Firewall
2 12 (7.10%) SD-WAN
2 12 (7.10%) WAN
3 9 (5.33%) 5G
4 8 (4.73%) Network Security
4 8 (4.73%) TCP/IP
5 6 (3.55%) Internet
6 5 (2.96%) DNS
7 4 (2.37%) Skype
7 4 (2.37%) SSL
8 3 (1.78%) Software-Defined Networking
8 3 (1.78%) VSAN
8 3 (1.78%) Wi-Fi
9 2 (1.18%) LAN
9 2 (1.18%) Unified Communications
10 1 (0.59%) DHCP
10 1 (0.59%) Intrusion Detection
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (2.96%) Big Data
1 5 (2.96%) SQL Server
2 4 (2.37%) Data Warehouse
3 3 (1.78%) Power BI
4 2 (1.18%) Data Lake
Development Applications
1 7 (4.14%) Jenkins
2 5 (2.96%) Git (software)
3 4 (2.37%) GitLab
3 4 (2.37%) JIRA
4 2 (1.18%) AppScan
4 2 (1.18%) TeamCity
5 1 (0.59%) Bitbucket
General
1 38 (22.49%) Public Sector
2 27 (15.98%) Social Skills
3 6 (3.55%) Finance
3 6 (3.55%) Telecoms
4 5 (2.96%) Analytical Skills
5 4 (2.37%) Influencing Skills
5 4 (2.37%) Local Government
5 4 (2.37%) Military
6 3 (1.78%) Electronics
6 3 (1.78%) Law
6 3 (1.78%) Legal
6 3 (1.78%) Manufacturing
6 3 (1.78%) Marketing
7 1 (0.59%) Back Office
7 1 (0.59%) Digital Economy
7 1 (0.59%) Police
7 1 (0.59%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 46 (27.22%) Architect
2 38 (22.49%) Consultant
3 35 (20.71%) Security Architect
4 27 (15.98%) Security Consultant
5 12 (7.10%) Administrator
5 12 (7.10%) Linux Administrator
6 11 (6.51%) Linux Systems Administrator
6 11 (6.51%) Security Manager
6 11 (6.51%) Systems Administrator
7 9 (5.33%) Cybersecurity Consultant
7 9 (5.33%) Lead Architect
8 8 (4.73%) Analyst
8 8 (4.73%) Information Manager
8 8 (4.73%) Information Security Manager
9 7 (4.14%) CyberArk Specialist
9 7 (4.14%) Penetration Tester
9 7 (4.14%) Tester
10 6 (3.55%) Lead Security Architect
10 6 (3.55%) Security Operations Manager
10 6 (3.55%) SOC Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (6.51%) Java SE
2 8 (4.73%) ModSecurity
3 7 (4.14%) LDAP
4 4 (2.37%) cloud-init
5 3 (1.78%) .NET
5 3 (1.78%) .NET Framework
5 3 (1.78%) YAML
6 2 (1.18%) .NET Core
6 2 (1.18%) ActiveMQ
6 2 (1.18%) AngularJS
6 2 (1.18%) Entity Framework
6 2 (1.18%) JMS
6 2 (1.18%) Middleware
6 2 (1.18%) RabbitMQ
6 2 (1.18%) SOAP
6 2 (1.18%) Spring
7 1 (0.59%) CSS
7 1 (0.59%) HTML
7 1 (0.59%) OAuth
Miscellaneous
1 22 (13.02%) Management Information System
2 12 (7.10%) PKI
3 6 (3.55%) Cyberthreat
4 5 (2.96%) CESG
4 5 (2.96%) CESG CLAS
4 5 (2.96%) Cyber Defence
4 5 (2.96%) Private Cloud
4 5 (2.96%) SCADA
5 4 (2.37%) Clustering
5 4 (2.37%) Data Centre
6 3 (1.78%) Self-Motivation
7 2 (1.18%) Data Protection Act
7 2 (1.18%) Fat Client
7 2 (1.18%) IVR
7 2 (1.18%) Mobile App
7 2 (1.18%) Security Operations Centre
7 2 (1.18%) Smart City
7 2 (1.18%) Thin Client
8 1 (0.59%) Hybrid Cloud
8 1 (0.59%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 24 (14.20%) Linux
2 15 (8.88%) Windows
3 11 (6.51%) Ubuntu
3 11 (6.51%) Windows Server
4 5 (2.96%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (2.37%) CentOS
5 4 (2.37%) Windows 10
6 3 (1.78%) Windows Server 2008
7 2 (1.18%) AIX
8 1 (0.59%) Android
8 1 (0.59%) Windows 7
8 1 (0.59%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 77 (45.56%) Cybersecurity
2 70 (41.42%) Information Security
3 23 (13.61%) Agile Software Development
4 22 (13.02%) Project Delivery
4 22 (13.02%) Risk Management
5 19 (11.24%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
5 19 (11.24%) Risk Assessment
5 19 (11.24%) Threat Intelligence
6 17 (10.06%) Information Assurance
6 17 (10.06%) SIEM
7 16 (9.47%) Cyber Resilience
7 16 (9.47%) DevOps
8 15 (8.88%) Penetration Testing
9 13 (7.69%) Coaching
9 13 (7.69%) Security Architecture
9 13 (7.69%) Security Management
10 12 (7.10%) Data Protection
10 12 (7.10%) Network Architecture
11 11 (6.51%) Security Testing
11 11 (6.51%) Threat Modelling
Programming Languages
1 22 (13.02%) Bash Shell
2 15 (8.88%) Python
3 14 (8.28%) PowerShell
4 13 (7.69%) Java
5 11 (6.51%) AWK
5 11 (6.51%) sed
6 7 (4.14%) SQL
7 4 (2.37%) Go
7 4 (2.37%) Ruby
8 2 (1.18%) C
8 2 (1.18%) PL/SQL
8 2 (1.18%) R
9 1 (0.59%) JavaScript
9 1 (0.59%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 87 (51.48%) Security Cleared
2 74 (43.79%) CISSP
3 72 (42.60%) SC Cleared
4 36 (21.30%) CESG Certified Professional
5 28 (16.57%) CISM
6 18 (10.65%) CREST Certified
7 17 (10.06%) Degree
7 17 (10.06%) DV Cleared
8 11 (6.51%) RHCE
8 11 (6.51%) SANS
9 9 (5.33%) CISA
9 9 (5.33%) IBM Certification
10 6 (3.55%) BPSS Clearance
11 5 (2.96%) CHECK Team Leader
11 5 (2.96%) CHECK Team Member
11 5 (2.96%) CLAS
11 5 (2.96%) Cyber Scheme
11 5 (2.96%) MBCS
11 5 (2.96%) OSCP
12 4 (2.37%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 46 (27.22%) NIST
2 27 (15.98%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 10 (5.92%) HMG Security Policy Framework
4 9 (5.33%) GDPR
4 9 (5.33%) ISO/IEC 27005
4 9 (5.33%) RMADS
5 6 (3.55%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (3.55%) GRC
5 6 (3.55%) NIST 800
6 5 (2.96%) JSP 440
7 4 (2.37%) COBIT
8 3 (1.78%) ISO 22301
8 3 (1.78%) QA
9 2 (1.18%) COSO
9 2 (1.18%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (1.18%) ISO 9001
9 2 (1.18%) ISO/IEC 17025
9 2 (1.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 2 (1.18%) SLA
10 1 (0.59%) Def Stans
System Software
1 22 (13.02%) VMware Infrastructure
2 14 (8.28%) Docker
3 12 (7.10%) Hyper-V
4 8 (4.73%) Active Directory
5 3 (1.78%) VMware ESXi
5 3 (1.78%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 14 (8.28%) Kubernetes
2 11 (6.51%) Terraform
3 9 (5.33%) QRadar
4 7 (4.14%) Ansible
5 5 (2.96%) Opsgenie
5 5 (2.96%) Puppet
6 4 (2.37%) Consul
6 4 (2.37%) Docker Swarm
6 4 (2.37%) Graphite
6 4 (2.37%) HAProxy
6 4 (2.37%) Istio
6 4 (2.37%) linkerd
6 4 (2.37%) Packer
6 4 (2.37%) Prometheus
6 4 (2.37%) ZABBIX
7 3 (1.78%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 3 (1.78%) vCenter Server
8 2 (1.18%) HP Fortify
8 2 (1.18%) Single Sign-On
8 2 (1.18%) WebInspect
Vendors
1 23 (13.61%) VMware
2 21 (12.43%) Microsoft
3 12 (7.10%) Cisco
3 12 (7.10%) CyberArk
4 10 (5.92%) Google
5 9 (5.33%) IBM
5 9 (5.33%) Splunk
6 6 (3.55%) Oracle
7 4 (2.37%) PagerDuty
7 4 (2.37%) Red Hat
8 3 (1.78%) Citrix
8 3 (1.78%) SAP
9 2 (1.18%) ServiceNow
9 2 (1.18%) Veracode
10 1 (0.59%) Atlassian
10 1 (0.59%) Lotus
10 1 (0.59%) Nintex
10 1 (0.59%) Palo Alto
10 1 (0.59%) Salesforce.com
10 1 (0.59%) Sparx