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 8 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 82 66 73
Rank change year-on-year -16 +7 -60
Permanent jobs citing QA 409 358 529
As % of all permanent jobs in the North of England 2.23% 4.88% 3.16%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 27.62% 27.20% 23.07%
Number of salaries quoted 213 129 344
10th Percentile £28,500 £40,790 £26,250
25th Percentile £32,500 £42,500 £35,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £55,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -18.18% +15.79% -12.84%
75th Percentile £65,640 £68,750 £60,000
90th Percentile £81,000 £86,250 £70,000
England median annual salary £55,000 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -4.35% +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 1,481 1,316 2,293
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North of England 8.07% 17.92% 13.68%
Number of salaries quoted 972 624 1,632
10th Percentile £30,000 £25,750 £26,250
25th Percentile £38,996 £34,755 £35,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £52,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year +0.96% +9.47% -5.00%
75th Percentile £67,500 £66,250 £62,500
90th Percentile £83,750 £81,250 £82,548
England median annual salary £60,000 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year +4.35% +9.52% -8.70%

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 8 May 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 8 May 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 +7 229 £45,000 -14.29% 82
Yorkshire +3 116 £43,474 -14.34% 39
North East -36 64 £45,000 -18.18% 19
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 8 (1.96%) CMS
1 8 (1.96%) WordPress
2 5 (1.22%) Apache Airflow
3 2 (0.49%) Apache
3 2 (0.49%) IIS
3 2 (0.49%) Jupyter
3 2 (0.49%) nginx
3 2 (0.49%) SharePoint
4 1 (0.24%) Confluence
4 1 (0.24%) WebLogic
Applications
1 19 (4.65%) Microsoft Excel
2 12 (2.93%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (2.20%) MS Visio
4 7 (1.71%) Spreadsheet
5 5 (1.22%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 9 (2.20%) SAP ERP
2 5 (1.22%) SAP PM
2 5 (1.22%) SAP S/4HANA
3 3 (0.73%) Shopify
4 2 (0.49%) Academy Housing
5 1 (0.24%) NetSuite
Cloud Services
1 36 (8.80%) Azure
2 29 (7.09%) AWS
3 28 (6.85%) Power Platform
4 17 (4.16%) Microsoft 365
5 15 (3.67%) SaaS
6 9 (2.20%) Amazon S3
6 9 (2.20%) GCP
6 9 (2.20%) Google Analytics
6 9 (2.20%) Serverless
7 7 (1.71%) AWS Lambda
8 6 (1.47%) Apigee
9 5 (1.22%) Amazon EC2
9 5 (1.22%) Azure DevOps
10 4 (0.98%) Amazon ECR
10 4 (0.98%) Amazon ECS
10 4 (0.98%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (0.98%) AWS Step Functions
10 4 (0.98%) dbt
11 3 (0.73%) Entra ID
11 3 (0.73%) GitHub
Communications & Networking
1 5 (1.22%) Broadband
2 4 (0.98%) HTTP
3 2 (0.49%) TCP/IP
4 1 (0.24%) HTTPS
4 1 (0.24%) SAN
4 1 (0.24%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (5.87%) Power BI
2 7 (1.71%) SQL Server
3 6 (1.47%) DynamoDB
4 5 (1.22%) BigQuery
4 5 (1.22%) Relational Database
5 4 (0.98%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.73%) Data Lake
6 3 (0.73%) MySQL
7 2 (0.49%) Amazon Athena
7 2 (0.49%) Data Mining
7 2 (0.49%) Looker
7 2 (0.49%) MongoDB
7 2 (0.49%) PostHog
7 2 (0.49%) Redis
7 2 (0.49%) Tableau
8 1 (0.24%) Data Warehouse
8 1 (0.24%) Metadata
8 1 (0.24%) PostgreSQL
8 1 (0.24%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 17 (4.16%) JIRA
2 15 (3.67%) Git
2 15 (3.67%) GitLab
3 12 (2.93%) Jenkins
4 9 (2.20%) Postman
4 9 (2.20%) SonarQube
5 8 (1.96%) Cypress.io
6 7 (1.71%) Cucumber
7 5 (1.22%) Selenium
8 4 (0.98%) Maven
9 3 (0.73%) Artifactory
9 3 (0.73%) JMeter
9 3 (0.73%) SpecFlow
9 3 (0.73%) TestRail
10 2 (0.49%) JUnit
10 2 (0.49%) NUnit
10 2 (0.49%) Visual Studio
11 1 (0.24%) LSMW
11 1 (0.24%) REST Assured
11 1 (0.24%) TestComplete
General
1 141 (34.47%) Social Skills
2 75 (18.34%) Manufacturing
3 70 (17.11%) Finance
4 67 (16.38%) Analytical Skills
5 26 (6.36%) Pharmaceutical
6 24 (5.87%) Organisational Skills
6 24 (5.87%) Public Sector
7 20 (4.89%) Marketing
8 19 (4.65%) Influencing Skills
9 18 (4.40%) Law
10 14 (3.42%) Legal
11 10 (2.44%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 9 (2.20%) Games
13 8 (1.96%) Aerospace
14 7 (1.71%) Banking
14 7 (1.71%) Retail
15 6 (1.47%) Military
15 6 (1.47%) Telecoms
16 5 (1.22%) Documentation Skills
17 4 (0.98%) French Language
Job Titles
1 53 (12.96%) QA Manager
2 39 (9.54%) Quality Manager
3 36 (8.80%) Lead
4 35 (8.56%) Senior
5 33 (8.07%) Head of QA
6 32 (7.82%) Analyst
7 28 (6.85%) QA Engineer
8 21 (5.13%) QA Officer
9 16 (3.91%) Developer
10 15 (3.67%) Software Engineer
11 14 (3.42%) Business Analyst
11 14 (3.42%) QA Leader
12 13 (3.18%) Tester
13 12 (2.93%) Administrator
13 12 (2.93%) QA Tester
13 12 (2.93%) Quality Engineer
14 9 (2.20%) Test Engineer
15 8 (1.96%) Portfolio Manager
15 8 (1.96%) QA Automation Engineer
15 8 (1.96%) Senior Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (3.91%) HTML
2 15 (3.67%) .NET
2 15 (3.67%) CSS
3 9 (2.20%) Playwright
3 9 (2.20%) REST
4 8 (1.96%) React
4 8 (1.96%) RESTful
5 7 (1.71%) AngularJS
6 6 (1.47%) .NET Framework
6 6 (1.47%) Entity Framework
6 6 (1.47%) Gherkin
6 6 (1.47%) Spring
6 6 (1.47%) Spring Boot
7 5 (1.22%) JSON
7 5 (1.22%) RabbitMQ
8 4 (0.98%) .NET Core
8 4 (0.98%) ASP.NET
8 4 (0.98%) ASP.NET Web API
8 4 (0.98%) Jest
8 4 (0.98%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 35 (8.56%) Analytical Mindset
2 12 (2.93%) Product Ownership
3 11 (2.69%) Onboarding
4 10 (2.44%) Cloud Native
5 8 (1.96%) PMI
5 8 (1.96%) Social Media
6 7 (1.71%) Distributed Systems
6 7 (1.71%) Driving Licence
7 6 (1.47%) Self-Motivation
8 5 (1.22%) Management Information System
8 5 (1.22%) Mobile App
9 4 (0.98%) CCTV
9 4 (0.98%) Life Science
9 4 (0.98%) Online Games
10 3 (0.73%) Animation
10 3 (0.73%) Client/Server
10 3 (0.73%) Legacy Applications
10 3 (0.73%) Mainframe
10 3 (0.73%) NHS
10 3 (0.73%) Photography
Operating Systems
1 12 (2.93%) Windows
2 6 (1.47%) Android
2 6 (1.47%) Apple iOS
2 6 (1.47%) Linux
3 4 (0.98%) Unix
4 3 (0.73%) VME
4 3 (0.73%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 92 (22.49%) Continuous Improvement
2 78 (19.07%) Agile
3 68 (16.63%) Mentoring
4 61 (14.91%) Problem-Solving
5 55 (13.45%) Analytics
6 50 (12.22%) CI/CD
6 50 (12.22%) Test Automation
7 48 (11.74%) Quality Management
8 44 (10.76%) DevOps
9 43 (10.51%) Stakeholder Management
10 40 (9.78%) PRINCE2
11 39 (9.54%) Actionable Insight
12 38 (9.29%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 37 (9.05%) Change Management
14 35 (8.56%) Root Cause Analysis
15 33 (8.07%) Service Delivery
16 32 (7.82%) Coaching
17 30 (7.33%) Anti-Money Laundering
17 30 (7.33%) Customer Experience
18 28 (6.85%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 30 (7.33%) SQL
2 25 (6.11%) C#
3 24 (5.87%) Python
4 20 (4.89%) Java
5 13 (3.18%) TypeScript
6 12 (2.93%) JavaScript
7 9 (2.20%) Go
8 7 (1.71%) Groovy
9 6 (1.47%) Bash
10 3 (0.73%) COBOL
10 3 (0.73%) PHP
11 2 (0.49%) Bicep
11 2 (0.49%) C++
11 2 (0.49%) PowerShell
12 1 (0.24%) C
12 1 (0.24%) Perl
12 1 (0.24%) R
12 1 (0.24%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 33 (8.07%) Degree
2 30 (7.33%) IRCA
3 13 (3.18%) BPSS Clearance
4 12 (2.93%) PMI Certification
5 7 (1.71%) Microsoft Certification
5 7 (1.71%) Security Cleared
6 6 (1.47%) AWS Certification
6 6 (1.47%) DBS Check
6 6 (1.47%) MCSE
7 5 (1.22%) Computer Science Degree
7 5 (1.22%) ISTQB
8 4 (0.98%) PMP
8 4 (0.98%) SC Cleared
9 3 (0.73%) CCEA
9 3 (0.73%) Citrix Certification
9 3 (0.73%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
10 1 (0.24%) DV Cleared
10 1 (0.24%) Master's Degree
10 1 (0.24%) PRINCE2 Certification
10 1 (0.24%) RIBA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 38 (9.29%) GDPR
2 32 (7.82%) ISO 9001
3 10 (2.44%) Data Quality
4 9 (2.20%) Accessibility
5 8 (1.96%) P3O
6 7 (1.71%) PCI DSS
7 4 (0.98%) GMP
7 4 (0.98%) PMO
8 3 (0.73%) Software Quality Assurance
8 3 (0.73%) WCAG
9 2 (0.49%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.49%) GRC
9 2 (0.49%) ISO 14001
9 2 (0.49%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 2 (0.49%) NIST
9 2 (0.49%) SOC 2
10 1 (0.24%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.24%) SLA
System Software
1 15 (3.67%) Docker
2 1 (0.24%) Active Directory
2 1 (0.24%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 7 (1.71%) Kubernetes
1 7 (1.71%) Terraform
2 4 (0.98%) Grafana
2 4 (0.98%) HP Fortify
3 3 (0.73%) Ansible
3 3 (0.73%) Packer
4 1 (0.24%) Microsoft Intune
Vendors
1 38 (9.29%) Microsoft
2 20 (4.89%) SAP
3 13 (3.18%) Google
4 10 (2.44%) Intapp
4 10 (2.44%) ServiceNow
5 9 (2.20%) Aderant
5 9 (2.20%) iManage
6 4 (0.98%) Planon
6 4 (0.98%) Siemens
7 3 (0.73%) Adobe
7 3 (0.73%) AppDynamics
7 3 (0.73%) IBM
8 2 (0.49%) DevExpress
8 2 (0.49%) Foundry
9 1 (0.24%) CheckPoint
9 1 (0.24%) Nimble Storage
9 1 (0.24%) Splunk
9 1 (0.24%) Veracode