HNC Job Trends in the Thames Valley

Higher National Certificate (HNC)
South East > Thames Valley

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies advertised in the Thames Valley with a requirement for HNC qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 12 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 138 159 122
Rank change year-on-year +21 -37 +123
Permanent jobs citing HNC 33 20 74
As % of all permanent jobs in the Thames Valley 0.82% 0.59% 1.86%
As % of the Qualifications category 2.96% 1.35% 4.25%
Number of salaries quoted 12 3 22
10th Percentile - £44,510 £39,380
25th Percentile £37,500 £49,381 £42,341
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £40,000 £60,000 £62,500
Median % change year-on-year -33.33% -4.00% +71.23%
75th Percentile £42,500 £68,750 £105,000
90th Percentile - £72,500 -
South East median annual salary £40,000 £44,175 £47,680
% change year-on-year -9.45% -7.35% -0.67%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Thames Valley

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 Thames Valley.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 1,114 1,481 1,742
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the Thames Valley 27.79% 43.48% 43.81%
Number of salaries quoted 431 497 1,114
10th Percentile £28,500 £35,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £33,375 £45,000 £39,085
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £48,000 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -20.00% +9.09% +10.00%
75th Percentile £65,000 £77,500 £70,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £95,000 £85,000
South East median annual salary £52,500 £60,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -12.50% +14.29% +0.96%

HNC
Job Vacancy Trend in the Thames Valley

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

HNC job vacancy trend in the Thames Valley

HNC
Salary Trend in the Thames Valley

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing HNC.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Thames Valley citing HNC

HNC
Salary Histogram in the Thames Valley

Salary distribution for jobs citing HNC in the Thames Valley over the 6 months to 12 January 2026.

Salary histogram for HNC in the Thames Valley

HNC
Job Locations in the Thames Valley

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing HNC within the Thames Valley region over the 6 months to 12 January 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
Buckinghamshire +40 28 £40,000 -33.33%
Berkshire -1 5 £39,280 -34.08% 1
HNC
South East

HNC
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Thames Valley 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 (24.24%) SugarCRM
Cloud Services
1 8 (24.24%) Power Platform
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (24.24%) Power BI
General
1 19 (57.58%) Social Skills
2 11 (33.33%) Manufacturing
3 8 (24.24%) Presentation Skills
4 7 (21.21%) Inclusion and Diversity
5 6 (18.18%) Organisational Skills
6 2 (6.06%) Electronics
7 1 (3.03%) Retail
Job Titles
1 13 (39.39%) Support Engineer
1 13 (39.39%) Technical Engineer
1 13 (39.39%) Technical Support
1 13 (39.39%) Technical Support Engineer
2 8 (24.24%) Lead
3 7 (21.21%) Project Engineer
4 5 (15.15%) Automation Engineer
5 4 (12.12%) Electrical Engineer
5 4 (12.12%) Senior
6 2 (6.06%) Audio Visual Engineer
Miscellaneous
1 8 (24.24%) Management Information System
2 4 (12.12%) SCADA
2 4 (12.12%) Self-Motivation
3 3 (9.09%) Driving Licence
Processes & Methodologies
1 11 (33.33%) Customer Service
2 10 (30.30%) CRM
3 8 (24.24%) Analytics
3 8 (24.24%) Budgeting
3 8 (24.24%) Budgeting and Forecasting
3 8 (24.24%) Business Intelligence
3 8 (24.24%) Data Analysis
3 8 (24.24%) Data Management
3 8 (24.24%) Data Matching
3 8 (24.24%) Decision-Making
3 8 (24.24%) Information Management
3 8 (24.24%) Objectives and Key Results
3 8 (24.24%) Performance Metrics
3 8 (24.24%) Validation
4 6 (18.18%) Problem-Solving
5 5 (15.15%) Service Delivery
6 4 (12.12%) Continuous Improvement
6 4 (12.12%) Cost Control
7 3 (9.09%) Commercial Awareness
7 3 (9.09%) Cost-Benefit Analysis
Programming Languages
1 1 (3.03%) Ladder Logic
Qualifications
1 26 (78.79%) Degree
2 6 (18.18%) HND
3 3 (9.09%) DV Cleared
3 3 (9.09%) SC Cleared
3 3 (9.09%) Security Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 2 (6.06%) GDPR
Vendors
1 2 (6.06%) Logitech
1 2 (6.06%) Yealink