HNC Job Trends in the North of England

Higher National Certificate (HNC)
England > North of England

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies advertised in the North of England with a requirement for HNC qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries 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 237 147 265
Rank change year-on-year -90 +118 +123
Permanent jobs citing HNC 72 96 117
As % of all permanent jobs in the North of England 0.44% 1.50% 0.73%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.52% 3.50% 3.41%
Number of salaries quoted 50 52 54
10th Percentile £37,500 £40,000 £21,475
25th Percentile £37,875 £47,000 £26,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £47,683 £42,500
Median % change year-on-year +25.83% +12.20% +41.67%
75th Percentile £62,500 £51,240 £56,625
90th Percentile - £58,528 £75,000
England median annual salary £42,500 £47,683 £46,000
% change year-on-year -10.87% +3.66% +39.39%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
North of England

HNC falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in the North of England.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 4,740 2,743 3,436
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North of England 28.72% 42.80% 21.35%
Number of salaries quoted 1,531 1,307 2,520
10th Percentile £28,250 £26,750 £26,750
25th Percentile £29,750 £39,000 £35,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £49,000 £50,055 £48,734
Median % change year-on-year -2.11% +2.71% -7.17%
75th Percentile £63,750 £66,250 £63,750
90th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £78,750
England median annual salary £57,500 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year - +4.55% -4.35%

HNC
Job Vacancy Trend in the North of England

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing HNC relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the North of England.

HNC job vacancy trend in the North of England

HNC
Salary Trend in the North of England

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing HNC.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing HNC

HNC
Salary Histogram in the North of England

Salary distribution for jobs citing HNC in the North of England over the 6 months to 10 April 2026.

Salary histogram for HNC in the North of England

HNC
Job Locations in the North of England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing HNC within the North of England region 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
North West -59 40 £60,000 +25.83% 26
North East -5 26 £60,000 +60.00% 2
Yorkshire -73 6 £40,000 -30.51% 4
HNC
England

HNC
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North of England 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 2 (2.78%) WinCC
Applications
1 10 (13.89%) Microsoft Office
2 9 (12.50%) AutoCAD
2 9 (12.50%) SOLIDWORKS
3 2 (2.78%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 6 (8.33%) SAP ERP
1 6 (8.33%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 6 (8.33%) Google Docs
1 6 (8.33%) Google Sheets
1 6 (8.33%) Google Workspace
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (2.78%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 6 (8.33%) JIRA
General
1 24 (33.33%) Social Skills
2 23 (31.94%) Manufacturing
3 10 (13.89%) Advertising
4 9 (12.50%) Electronics
5 8 (11.11%) Analytical Skills
5 8 (11.11%) Finance
5 8 (11.11%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 6 (8.33%) Organisational Skills
7 5 (6.94%) Avionics
8 3 (4.17%) Legal
9 2 (2.78%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 15 (20.83%) Support Manager
2 10 (13.89%) Senior
2 10 (13.89%) Support Engineer
2 10 (13.89%) Systems Engineer
2 10 (13.89%) Technical Engineer
2 10 (13.89%) Technical Support
2 10 (13.89%) Technical Support Engineer
3 9 (12.50%) Infrastructure Engineer
3 9 (12.50%) Manufacturing Engineer
3 9 (12.50%) Principal Engineer
3 9 (12.50%) Systems Manager
3 9 (12.50%) Systems Support
3 9 (12.50%) Systems Support Manager
4 8 (11.11%) Senior Systems Engineer
5 6 (8.33%) Planning Manager
5 6 (8.33%) Project Manager
6 5 (6.94%) Senior Integration Engineer
6 5 (6.94%) Senior Validation Engineer
6 5 (6.94%) Software Manager
6 5 (6.94%) Validation Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 15 (20.83%) Driving Licence
2 11 (15.28%) Renewable Energy
3 6 (8.33%) Management Information System
4 2 (2.78%) Robotics
4 2 (2.78%) Verilog
4 2 (2.78%) VHDL
5 1 (1.39%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 6 (8.33%) Windows
1 6 (8.33%) Windows 10
1 6 (8.33%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 30 (41.67%) Project Management
2 18 (25.00%) Stakeholder Management
3 15 (20.83%) Data Analysis
3 15 (20.83%) Problem-Solving
4 14 (19.44%) Time Management
5 12 (16.67%) Business Case
6 10 (13.89%) B2B
6 10 (13.89%) B2B Sales
6 10 (13.89%) Business Development
6 10 (13.89%) Commercial Awareness
6 10 (13.89%) Customer Experience
6 10 (13.89%) Customer Service
6 10 (13.89%) Data Entry
6 10 (13.89%) Mathematics
6 10 (13.89%) Process Improvement
6 10 (13.89%) Systems Engineering
6 10 (13.89%) Telesales
7 9 (12.50%) Facilities Management
7 9 (12.50%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 9 (12.50%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 6 (8.33%) SQL
Qualifications
1 29 (40.28%) BPSS Clearance
2 24 (33.33%) HND
3 19 (26.39%) Degree
4 9 (12.50%) RIBA
5 6 (8.33%) A+ Certification
5 6 (8.33%) Microsoft Certification
5 6 (8.33%) Microsoft Certified Professional
6 3 (4.17%) Security Cleared
7 2 (2.78%) CEH
7 2 (2.78%) NVQ Level 4
System Software
1 6 (8.33%) Active Directory
Vendors
1 16 (22.22%) Microsoft
2 6 (8.33%) Citrix
2 6 (8.33%) Google
2 6 (8.33%) SAP
3 2 (2.78%) EXASOL
3 2 (2.78%) Siemens