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 29 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
29 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 355 402 479
Rank change year-on-year +47 +77 -97
Contract jobs citing NCSC 363 159 78
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.67% 0.48% 0.20%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 3.87% 2.84% 1.51%
Number of daily rates quoted 254 112 52
10th Percentile £458 £500 £481
25th Percentile £519 £548 £505
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £600 £645 £588
Median % change year-on-year -6.98% +9.79% -15.32%
75th Percentile £688 £700 £728
90th Percentile £775 £738 £771
UK excluding London median daily rate £599 £650 £575
% change year-on-year -7.85% +13.04% -17.86%
Number of hourly rates quoted 12 15 1
10th Percentile £71.00 £46.05 -
25th Percentile £77.75 £82.50 -
Median hourly rate £85.20 £87.50 £80.00
Median % change year-on-year -2.63% +9.38% -4.02%
75th Percentile £96.00 £91.50 -
90th Percentile - - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £85.40 £88.75 £80.00
% change year-on-year -3.77% +10.94% -4.08%

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 9,381 5,595 5,165
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 17.40% 16.98% 13.40%
Number of daily rates quoted 5,959 3,596 3,155
10th Percentile £325 £289 £289
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year - -2.44% -2.38%
75th Percentile £600 £606 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £475 £484
% change year-on-year +3.58% -1.81% -3.25%
Number of hourly rates quoted 585 258 281
10th Percentile £13.86 £13.60 £11.80
25th Percentile £17.21 £17.03 £14.44
Median hourly rate £35.00 £30.00 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +16.67% +20.00% -28.57%
75th Percentile £68.75 £60.00 £55.00
90th Percentile £79.60 £83.68 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £36.07 £26.50 £24.18
% change year-on-year +36.11% +9.59% -29.91%

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 29 August 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 29 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for NCSC in the UK

NCSC
Top 13 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 29 August 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 +23 307 £591 -8.78% 192
UK excluding London -5 198 £599 -7.85% 148
Work from Home +17 137 £593 -7.70% 123
London -12 111 £585 -10.00% 81
South East -2 81 £638 -5.56% 27
South West -27 53 £600 -11.11% 36
North West -24 37 £568 +42.00% 21
North of England -38 37 £568 -5.33% 29
West Midlands -33 17 £568 -18.86% 13
Midlands -42 17 £568 -18.86% 19
Scotland -16 10 £800 +64.10% 15
East of England -33 6 £480 +92.77% 11
Wales -12 5 £800 +236.13% 2

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 20 (5.51%) Confluence
2 4 (1.10%) Microsoft Exchange
3 2 (0.55%) SharePoint
4 1 (0.28%) SharePoint 2010
4 1 (0.28%) SharePoint 2013
Applications
1 2 (0.55%) Microsoft Excel
1 2 (0.55%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 1 (0.28%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.28%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 10 (2.75%) Oracle ERP
2 4 (1.10%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 2 (0.55%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.55%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 125 (34.44%) Azure
2 84 (23.14%) AWS
3 33 (9.09%) Entra ID
4 26 (7.16%) GCP
5 21 (5.79%) SaaS
6 20 (5.51%) Azure DevOps
6 20 (5.51%) Microsoft 365
7 11 (3.03%) GitHub
8 10 (2.75%) IaaS
8 10 (2.75%) OCI
9 8 (2.20%) Azure AKS
9 8 (2.20%) PaaS
10 7 (1.93%) Azure Sentinel
10 7 (1.93%) GitHub Actions
10 7 (1.93%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 6 (1.65%) Amazon EKS
12 5 (1.38%) AWS CloudFormation
12 5 (1.38%) Azure Key Vault
12 5 (1.38%) Azure Monitor
12 5 (1.38%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 32 (8.82%) Network Security
2 27 (7.44%) Firewall
3 17 (4.68%) DNS
3 17 (4.68%) VPN
4 9 (2.48%) TCP/IP
5 8 (2.20%) WAN
6 7 (1.93%) LAN
7 6 (1.65%) IPsec
7 6 (1.65%) SD-WAN
7 6 (1.65%) VLAN
8 5 (1.38%) Cisco Firepower
8 5 (1.38%) Cisco Nexus
8 5 (1.38%) DHCP
9 4 (1.10%) 4G
9 4 (1.10%) 5G
9 4 (1.10%) BIG-IP
9 4 (1.10%) Cisco ASA
9 4 (1.10%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
9 4 (1.10%) MPLS
9 4 (1.10%) X.509
Database & Business Intelligence
1 13 (3.58%) Geospatial Data
2 6 (1.65%) Azure SQL Database
3 4 (1.10%) Metadata
4 3 (0.83%) Amazon RDS
4 3 (0.83%) Oracle Reports
5 2 (0.55%) Amazon Redshift
5 2 (0.55%) Data Lake
5 2 (0.55%) Data Warehouse
5 2 (0.55%) DynamoDB
5 2 (0.55%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.55%) Power BI
6 1 (0.28%) Big Data
6 1 (0.28%) BigQuery
6 1 (0.28%) Relational Database
6 1 (0.28%) SAP HANA
6 1 (0.28%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 22 (6.06%) JIRA
2 15 (4.13%) Git
3 11 (3.03%) MSI
4 7 (1.93%) GitLab
4 7 (1.93%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.55%) Sonatype Nexus
General
1 109 (30.03%) Public Sector
2 88 (24.24%) Social Skills
3 23 (6.34%) Analytical Skills
4 22 (6.06%) Finance
5 20 (5.51%) Military
6 18 (4.96%) Telecoms
7 14 (3.86%) Influencing Skills
8 12 (3.31%) Aerospace
8 12 (3.31%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 11 (3.03%) Local Government
10 9 (2.48%) Documentation Skills
10 9 (2.48%) Police
11 8 (2.20%) Law
12 5 (1.38%) Manufacturing
12 5 (1.38%) Organisational Skills
13 4 (1.10%) Legal
14 2 (0.55%) Banking
15 1 (0.28%) Pharmaceutical
15 1 (0.28%) Publishing
15 1 (0.28%) Retail
Job Titles
1 122 (33.61%) Architect
2 61 (16.80%) Security Architect
3 53 (14.60%) Lead
4 36 (9.92%) Consultant
5 31 (8.54%) Senior
5 31 (8.54%) Technical Architect
6 26 (7.16%) Security Manager
7 21 (5.79%) Security Consultant
8 20 (5.51%) Lead Architect
9 19 (5.23%) Cybersecurity Manager
10 17 (4.68%) Security Engineer
11 16 (4.41%) Technical Leader
12 13 (3.58%) Cybersecurity Consultant
12 13 (3.58%) Developer
13 12 (3.31%) Analyst
14 11 (3.03%) Information Manager
14 11 (3.03%) Information Security Manager
14 11 (3.03%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 11 (3.03%) Penetration Tester
14 11 (3.03%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (14.60%) Terraform
2 17 (4.68%) .NET
3 15 (4.13%) REST
4 14 (3.86%) RESTful
5 13 (3.58%) GeoJSON
6 12 (3.31%) .NET Framework
7 11 (3.03%) .NET Core
7 11 (3.03%) ATL
7 11 (3.03%) COM
7 11 (3.03%) CSS
7 11 (3.03%) CSS3
7 11 (3.03%) HTML
7 11 (3.03%) HTML5
7 11 (3.03%) MFC
7 11 (3.03%) OAuth
7 11 (3.03%) SAML
7 11 (3.03%) WPF
8 10 (2.75%) OpenID
9 8 (2.20%) LDAP
10 6 (1.65%) ARM Templates
Miscellaneous
1 36 (9.92%) Cloud Native
2 34 (9.37%) Security Operations Centre
3 33 (9.09%) Management Information System
4 28 (7.71%) Onboarding
5 22 (6.06%) Security Posture
6 21 (5.79%) Legacy Systems
7 20 (5.51%) CSOC
7 20 (5.51%) Cyber Threat
7 20 (5.51%) PKI
8 19 (5.23%) Operational Technology
9 14 (3.86%) Hybrid Cloud
10 12 (3.31%) SCADA
11 11 (3.03%) Data Centre
11 11 (3.03%) Private Cloud
11 11 (3.03%) Public Cloud
12 9 (2.48%) Product Ownership
13 6 (1.65%) Enterprise Software
14 5 (1.38%) Cyber Defence
14 5 (1.38%) Distributed Systems
14 5 (1.38%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 30 (8.26%) Windows
2 21 (5.79%) Linux
3 11 (3.03%) Windows Server
4 7 (1.93%) Mac OS
5 6 (1.65%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 4 (1.10%) Windows 10
7 2 (0.55%) Android
7 2 (0.55%) Unix
7 2 (0.55%) VMS
8 1 (0.28%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.28%) CentOS
8 1 (0.28%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.28%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 174 (47.93%) Cybersecurity
2 87 (23.97%) Incident Response
3 84 (23.14%) Cloud Security
4 78 (21.49%) Risk Management
5 73 (20.11%) Agile
5 73 (20.11%) Security Architecture
6 72 (19.83%) CI/CD
6 72 (19.83%) Continuous Improvement
7 66 (18.18%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 66 (18.18%) Stakeholder Management
8 65 (17.91%) Infrastructure as Code
8 65 (17.91%) Vulnerability Management
9 59 (16.25%) Zero Trust
10 55 (15.15%) Security Operations
11 54 (14.88%) DevOps
12 53 (14.60%) SIEM
13 48 (13.22%) Identity Access Management
13 48 (13.22%) ITIL
13 48 (13.22%) Threat Modelling
14 45 (12.40%) TOGAF
Programming Languages
1 32 (8.82%) Bicep
2 29 (7.99%) Python
3 19 (5.23%) PowerShell
4 12 (3.31%) C#
5 11 (3.03%) JavaScript
5 11 (3.03%) TypeScript
6 9 (2.48%) SQL
7 7 (1.93%) Bash
8 5 (1.38%) Java
9 3 (0.83%) Kusto Query Language
10 2 (0.55%) Groovy
10 2 (0.55%) Objective-C
10 2 (0.55%) Search Processing Language
11 1 (0.28%) C
11 1 (0.28%) Go
Qualifications
1 281 (77.41%) Security Cleared
2 221 (60.88%) SC Cleared
3 88 (24.24%) DV Cleared
4 60 (16.53%) CISSP
5 52 (14.33%) CISM
6 31 (8.54%) Cisco Certification
7 23 (6.34%) (ISC)2 CCSP
8 22 (6.06%) Degree
9 15 (4.13%) Azure Certification
10 12 (3.31%) CEH
10 12 (3.31%) CompTIA Security+
11 11 (3.03%) AWS Certification
11 11 (3.03%) CHECK Team Leader
11 11 (3.03%) CRISC
11 11 (3.03%) GIAC
12 10 (2.75%) CCSP
12 10 (2.75%) CESG Certified Professional
12 10 (2.75%) CHECK Team Member
13 9 (2.48%) Microsoft Certification
14 7 (1.93%) CCNP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 116 (31.96%) NIST
2 106 (29.20%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 47 (12.95%) GDPR
4 37 (10.19%) Cyber Essentials
5 30 (8.26%) JSP 440
6 29 (7.99%) GRC
7 26 (7.16%) NIST 800
8 22 (6.06%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 16 (4.41%) Accessibility
9 16 (4.41%) Data Quality
10 15 (4.13%) Government Security Classifications
11 11 (3.03%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 11 (3.03%) WCAG
12 10 (2.75%) COBIT
13 8 (2.20%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
13 8 (2.20%) RMADS
14 7 (1.93%) ISO/IEC 20000
14 7 (1.93%) PCI DSS
14 7 (1.93%) QA
15 6 (1.65%) SLA
System Software
1 33 (9.09%) Active Directory
2 20 (5.51%) Docker
3 17 (4.68%) VMware Infrastructure
4 11 (3.03%) VMware NSX
5 6 (1.65%) Hyper-V
6 4 (1.10%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.83%) vSphere
8 2 (0.55%) Firmware
8 2 (0.55%) KVM
8 2 (0.55%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 2 (0.55%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.55%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.28%) UAG
Systems Management
1 49 (13.50%) Kubernetes
2 10 (2.75%) Ansible
3 7 (1.93%) Active Directory Federation Services
3 7 (1.93%) Jamf Pro
4 5 (1.38%) Microsoft Intune
5 3 (0.83%) Prometheus
5 3 (0.83%) QRadar
5 3 (0.83%) Single Sign-On
6 2 (0.55%) CSIRT
6 2 (0.55%) Grafana
6 2 (0.55%) Istio
6 2 (0.55%) SCCM
7 1 (0.28%) Argo
7 1 (0.28%) CloudForms
7 1 (0.28%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
7 1 (0.28%) FortiGate
7 1 (0.28%) FreeIPA
7 1 (0.28%) McAfee ePO
7 1 (0.28%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 91 (25.07%) Microsoft
2 24 (6.61%) VMware
3 15 (4.13%) ServiceNow
4 11 (3.03%) Cisco
5 10 (2.75%) Google
5 10 (2.75%) Oracle
5 10 (2.75%) Palo Alto
5 10 (2.75%) Splunk
6 6 (1.65%) SAP
7 5 (1.38%) Apple
8 4 (1.10%) F5
8 4 (1.10%) OneLogin
8 4 (1.10%) SolarWinds
8 4 (1.10%) Sparx
9 3 (0.83%) Citrix
9 3 (0.83%) Cribl.io
9 3 (0.83%) Fortinet
9 3 (0.83%) Red Hat
9 3 (0.83%) Tenable
10 2 (0.55%) Qualys