QA Job Trends in the North of England

Quality Assurance (QA)
England > North of England

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the North of England requiring QA skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 21 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 50 89 51
Rank change year-on-year +39 -38 +30
Permanent jobs citing QA 630 300 513
As % of all permanent jobs in the North of England 2.64% 3.20% 3.65%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 31.25% 27.60% 28.64%
Number of salaries quoted 403 128 207
10th Percentile £27,500 £32,675 £25,000
25th Percentile £31,250 £41,531 £30,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £55,000 £41,774
Median % change year-on-year -18.18% +31.66% -24.05%
75th Percentile £59,375 £71,250 £55,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £86,250 £70,000
England median annual salary £52,500 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -8.70% +9.52% -12.50%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
North of England

QA falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills in the North of England.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 2,016 1,087 1,791
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North of England 8.44% 11.60% 12.75%
Number of salaries quoted 1,426 469 878
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,000 £25,000
25th Percentile £37,500 £33,125 £31,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £50,000 £46,000
Median % change year-on-year - +8.70% -8.00%
75th Percentile £67,500 £64,875 £60,991
90th Percentile £85,625 £76,050 £77,500
England median annual salary £57,500 £56,785 £57,500
% change year-on-year +1.26% -1.24% -4.17%

QA
Job Vacancy Trend in the North of England

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

QA job vacancy trend in the North of England

QA
Salary Trend in the North of England

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

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

QA
Salary Histogram in the North of England

Salary distribution for jobs citing QA in the North of England over the 6 months to 21 September 2026.

Salary histogram for QA in the North of England

QA
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 QA within the North of England region over the 6 months to 21 September 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 +31 378 £45,000 -18.18% 232
Yorkshire +17 131 £40,000 -27.27% 102
North East +16 121 £55,000 +22.22% 69
QA
England

QA
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 10 (1.59%) Apache Airflow
2 7 (1.11%) Apache
2 7 (1.11%) Apache Spark
2 7 (1.11%) Jupyter
2 7 (1.11%) SharePoint
3 5 (0.79%) CMS
4 4 (0.63%) WordPress
5 3 (0.48%) IIS
5 3 (0.48%) WebLogic
6 2 (0.32%) Confluence
7 1 (0.16%) Apache Superset
7 1 (0.16%) Headless CMS
Applications
1 35 (5.56%) Microsoft Excel
2 27 (4.29%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.43%) MS Visio
3 9 (1.43%) Revit
4 7 (1.11%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 6 (0.95%) AutoCAD
5 6 (0.95%) Microsoft Project
6 4 (0.63%) Navisworks
7 3 (0.48%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 5 (0.79%) SAP PM
2 4 (0.63%) Sage 200
2 4 (0.63%) SAP Business One
2 4 (0.63%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (0.48%) SystmOne
4 1 (0.16%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 71 (11.27%) AWS
2 62 (9.84%) Azure
3 35 (5.56%) Power Platform
4 32 (5.08%) Microsoft 365
5 30 (4.76%) Azure DevOps
6 22 (3.49%) Serverless
7 20 (3.17%) Amazon S3
8 18 (2.86%) SaaS
9 17 (2.70%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 16 (2.54%) Amazon EC2
10 16 (2.54%) AWS Lambda
11 14 (2.22%) GitHub
12 12 (1.90%) GCP
13 10 (1.59%) GitHub Actions
14 9 (1.43%) Amazon ECR
14 9 (1.43%) Amazon EKS
14 9 (1.43%) Power Automate
15 6 (0.95%) Amazon ECS
15 6 (0.95%) dbt
15 6 (0.95%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 7 (1.11%) DNS
2 6 (0.95%) Remote Desktop
3 5 (0.79%) SSL
3 5 (0.79%) TCP/IP
4 4 (0.63%) Internet
4 4 (0.63%) VPN
5 3 (0.48%) HTTPS
5 3 (0.48%) Structured Cabling
6 2 (0.32%) Broadband
6 2 (0.32%) HTTP
6 2 (0.32%) LAN
6 2 (0.32%) VoIP
6 2 (0.32%) WAN
7 1 (0.16%) ADSL
7 1 (0.16%) DHCP
7 1 (0.16%) Firewall
7 1 (0.16%) Intranet
7 1 (0.16%) ISDN
7 1 (0.16%) RIP
7 1 (0.16%) SMS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 28 (4.44%) Power BI
2 15 (2.38%) SQL Server
3 7 (1.11%) DynamoDB
3 7 (1.11%) MySQL
3 7 (1.11%) Relational Database
4 6 (0.95%) Amazon Athena
4 6 (0.95%) MongoDB
5 5 (0.79%) DocumentDB
6 4 (0.63%) BigQuery
6 4 (0.63%) Data Warehouse
6 4 (0.63%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.63%) Redis
7 3 (0.48%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.48%) Big Data
7 3 (0.48%) Data Lake
8 2 (0.32%) Amazon RDS
8 2 (0.32%) EDRMS
8 2 (0.32%) Tableau
9 1 (0.16%) EDMS
9 1 (0.16%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 35 (5.56%) Git
2 25 (3.97%) JIRA
3 24 (3.81%) GitLab
4 14 (2.22%) Cypress.io
5 11 (1.75%) Jenkins
6 10 (1.59%) Postman
7 6 (0.95%) Selenium
8 5 (0.79%) Cucumber
8 5 (0.79%) JMeter
9 4 (0.63%) SonarQube
10 3 (0.48%) Artifactory
10 3 (0.48%) Claude Code
10 3 (0.48%) JUnit
10 3 (0.48%) RStudio
11 2 (0.32%) Bitbucket
11 2 (0.32%) NUnit
11 2 (0.32%) TestRail
12 1 (0.16%) Android Studio
12 1 (0.16%) Appium
12 1 (0.16%) Zephyr
General
1 163 (25.87%) Social Skills
2 112 (17.78%) Manufacturing
3 78 (12.38%) Analytical Skills
4 62 (9.84%) Finance
4 62 (9.84%) Pharmaceutical
5 42 (6.67%) Public Sector
6 30 (4.76%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 30 (4.76%) Legal
7 26 (4.13%) Law
8 22 (3.49%) Aerospace
9 20 (3.17%) Organisational Skills
10 15 (2.38%) Marketing
11 13 (2.06%) Retail
12 12 (1.90%) Swedish Language
13 10 (1.59%) Banking
13 10 (1.59%) Local Government
14 9 (1.43%) Electronics
15 8 (1.27%) Games
15 8 (1.27%) Telecoms
16 7 (1.11%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 81 (12.86%) QA Engineer
2 73 (11.59%) Analyst
3 67 (10.63%) Senior
4 65 (10.32%) Quality Engineer
5 63 (10.00%) QA Officer
6 57 (9.05%) Lead
7 50 (7.94%) QA Manager
8 47 (7.46%) Developer
9 40 (6.35%) Quality Manager
10 23 (3.65%) QA Leader
11 21 (3.33%) Test Engineer
12 19 (3.02%) Automation Engineer
12 19 (3.02%) Business Analyst
12 19 (3.02%) QA Automation Engineer
13 18 (2.86%) Software Engineer
14 16 (2.54%) Service Analyst
14 16 (2.54%) Service Desk Analyst
15 13 (2.06%) IT Support
15 13 (2.06%) Software Developer
16 12 (1.90%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (6.98%) .NET
2 30 (4.76%) HTML
3 28 (4.44%) CSS
4 26 (4.13%) Playwright
5 22 (3.49%) Node.js
5 22 (3.49%) REST
6 18 (2.86%) Terraform
7 17 (2.70%) RESTful
8 10 (1.59%) OAuth
9 9 (1.43%) .NET Framework
9 9 (1.43%) AngularJS
9 9 (1.43%) React
10 8 (1.27%) ASP.NET Web API
11 7 (1.11%) .NET Core
11 7 (1.11%) ASP.NET
11 7 (1.11%) Entity Framework
11 7 (1.11%) JWT
11 7 (1.11%) OAuth2
11 7 (1.11%) Vue
12 6 (0.95%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 31 (4.92%) Product Ownership
2 19 (3.02%) Life Science
3 17 (2.70%) Cloud Native
4 14 (2.22%) Distributed Systems
5 11 (1.75%) Driving Licence
5 11 (1.75%) Management Information System
6 9 (1.43%) Onboarding
7 7 (1.11%) Analytical Mindset
7 7 (1.11%) Data Centre
8 6 (0.95%) AI Agents
8 6 (0.95%) Enterprise Software
8 6 (0.95%) Mobile App
8 6 (0.95%) Self-Motivation
9 5 (0.79%) PMI
9 5 (0.79%) Security Posture
10 4 (0.63%) Blog
10 4 (0.63%) Cyber Kill Chain
10 4 (0.63%) Online Games
11 3 (0.48%) FMCG
11 3 (0.48%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 20 (3.17%) Windows
2 14 (2.22%) Linux
3 7 (1.11%) Android
4 6 (0.95%) Apple iOS
4 6 (0.95%) Mac OS
4 6 (0.95%) Unix
5 5 (0.79%) Windows 10
6 2 (0.32%) Windows Server
7 1 (0.16%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 140 (22.22%) Agile
2 139 (22.06%) Continuous Improvement
3 108 (17.14%) CI/CD
4 96 (15.24%) Problem-Solving
5 95 (15.08%) Test Automation
6 76 (12.06%) DevOps
7 73 (11.59%) Mentoring
8 62 (9.84%) Validation
9 53 (8.41%) Software Testing
10 50 (7.94%) Software Engineering
11 49 (7.78%) Decision-Making
11 49 (7.78%) Stakeholder Management
12 42 (6.67%) AI
12 42 (6.67%) Customer Service
13 36 (5.71%) Coaching
14 34 (5.40%) Collaborative Working
14 34 (5.40%) Scrum
15 33 (5.24%) SDLC
16 32 (5.08%) Microservices
17 30 (4.76%) Data Analysis
Programming Languages
1 68 (10.79%) SQL
2 62 (9.84%) JavaScript
3 51 (8.10%) C#
4 40 (6.35%) Python
5 31 (4.92%) TypeScript
6 30 (4.76%) Java
7 9 (1.43%) Bash
8 5 (0.79%) Go
8 5 (0.79%) PHP
8 5 (0.79%) PowerShell
8 5 (0.79%) R
9 3 (0.48%) C++
9 3 (0.48%) Groovy
9 3 (0.48%) Kotlin
10 2 (0.32%) VB.NET
11 1 (0.16%) Objective-C
11 1 (0.16%) Perl
11 1 (0.16%) Scala
11 1 (0.16%) Swift
11 1 (0.16%) VBA
Qualifications
1 76 (12.06%) Degree
2 55 (8.73%) Security Cleared
3 47 (7.46%) SC Cleared
4 18 (2.86%) BPSS Clearance
5 17 (2.70%) Microsoft Certification
6 14 (2.22%) AWS Certification
6 14 (2.22%) MCSE
7 9 (1.43%) RIBA
8 8 (1.27%) Postgraduate
9 7 (1.11%) DBS Check
9 7 (1.11%) HNC
10 6 (0.95%) Computer Science Degree
10 6 (0.95%) CREST Certified
10 6 (0.95%) HND
10 6 (0.95%) IRCA
10 6 (0.95%) PMI Certification
11 5 (0.79%) PMP
12 4 (0.63%) DV Cleared
13 2 (0.32%) CHECK Team Member
13 2 (0.32%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (4.92%) ISO 9001
2 24 (3.81%) Accessibility
3 13 (2.06%) Data Quality
3 13 (2.06%) GDPR
3 13 (2.06%) GMP
4 8 (1.27%) PMO
5 4 (0.63%) Software Quality Assurance
6 3 (0.48%) ISO 19650
6 3 (0.48%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 2 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials
7 2 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 2 (0.32%) WCAG
8 1 (0.16%) AQAP
8 1 (0.16%) ECSS
8 1 (0.16%) Good Clinical Practice
8 1 (0.16%) GRC
8 1 (0.16%) NCSC
8 1 (0.16%) NEBOSH
8 1 (0.16%) NIST
8 1 (0.16%) P3O
System Software
1 30 (4.76%) Docker
2 3 (0.48%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 18 (2.86%) Kubernetes
2 4 (0.63%) Microsoft Intune
3 3 (0.48%) Ansible
3 3 (0.48%) Packer
4 2 (0.32%) Grafana
4 2 (0.32%) Kibana
5 1 (0.16%) Cisco CUCM
5 1 (0.16%) Fluentd
Vendors
1 69 (10.95%) Microsoft
2 22 (3.49%) SAP
3 20 (3.17%) ServiceNow
4 9 (1.43%) Aderant
4 9 (1.43%) Autodesk
5 8 (1.27%) iManage
5 8 (1.27%) Intapp
6 6 (0.95%) Databricks
6 6 (0.95%) Dynatrace
6 6 (0.95%) Sage
7 5 (0.79%) Confluent
7 5 (0.79%) Google
8 4 (0.63%) IBM
8 4 (0.63%) Salesforce
9 3 (0.48%) AppDynamics
9 3 (0.48%) Planon
9 3 (0.48%) Splunk
9 3 (0.48%) YouTube
10 2 (0.32%) F5
10 2 (0.32%) Palo Alto