Higher National Certificate (HNC)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies with a requirement for HNC qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 8 December 2024, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Dec 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 179 441 780
Rank change year-on-year +262 +339 -34
Permanent jobs citing HNC 1,123 306 300
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 1.62% 0.58% 0.24%
As % of the Qualifications category 4.41% 1.77% 0.83%
Number of salaries quoted 367 82 138
10th Percentile - £31,791 £27,961
25th Percentile £40,000 £37,750 £33,700
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,628 £44,560 £42,250
Median % change year-on-year +2.40% +5.47% +5.63%
75th Percentile £58,943 £64,580 £55,000
90th Percentile £60,265 £78,375 £60,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £45,628 £44,560 £42,000
% change year-on-year +2.40% +6.10% +5.00%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK

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.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 25,484 17,262 36,222
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 36.74% 32.58% 29.49%
Number of salaries quoted 8,985 10,822 16,973
10th Percentile £34,404 £31,212 £31,250
25th Percentile £45,000 £42,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £57,500 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year - - +4.55%
75th Percentile £75,000 £75,000 £76,250
90th Percentile £90,000 £92,500 £93,750
UK excluding London median annual salary £54,714 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year +4.22% +5.00% -

HNC
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing HNC as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for HNC in the UK

HNC
Salary Trend

3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing HNC.

Salary trend for HNC in the UK

HNC
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing HNC over the 6 months to 8 December 2024.

Salary histogram for HNC in the UK

HNC
Top 17 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing HNC within the UK over the 6 months to 8 December 2024. 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
UK excluding London +207 1,098 £45,628 +2.40% 288
England +230 1,002 £45,628 +2.40% 286
North of England +217 448 £45,628 +21.67% 78
North West +159 339 £45,628 +21.67% 57
East of England +91 208 £66,375 +72.40% 42
Midlands +83 168 £35,000 -22.22% 35
West Midlands +46 116 £35,000 -22.22% 20
Scotland +72 94 £58,033 +115.35% 26
Yorkshire +96 87 - - 13
South West +70 87 £52,600 +66.98% 34
South East -134 77 £47,500 +6.60% 77
East Midlands - 52 £45,000 - 15
Work from Home +21 46 £56,250 +11.94% 75
North East -12 22 £37,500 -48.28% 9
London -43 13 £47,000 +1.08% 38
Wales - 9 - - 4
Northern Ireland - 7 £40,221 - 3

HNC
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 4 (0.36%) Confluence
1 4 (0.36%) WinCC
2 1 (0.089%) Apache
2 1 (0.089%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 161 (14.34%) Microsoft Office
2 150 (13.36%) Microsoft Excel
3 122 (10.86%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 39 (3.47%) Simulink
5 15 (1.34%) Microsoft Project
6 7 (0.62%) CATIA
6 7 (0.62%) Siemens NX
7 6 (0.53%) EPLAN
8 4 (0.36%) AutoCAD
9 1 (0.089%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 113 (10.06%) Teamcenter
2 1 (0.089%) ENOVIA
2 1 (0.089%) Maximo
2 1 (0.089%) NEC Housing
2 1 (0.089%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 25 (2.23%) Google Workspace
2 1 (0.089%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 28 (2.49%) Firewall
2 27 (2.40%) TCP/IP
3 26 (2.32%) DHCP
3 26 (2.32%) DNS
4 25 (2.23%) BGP
4 25 (2.23%) OSPF
4 25 (2.23%) VLAN
4 25 (2.23%) WLAN
5 13 (1.16%) LAN
6 9 (0.80%) Ethernet
7 6 (0.53%) Modbus
8 4 (0.36%) Profibus
8 4 (0.36%) RS-485
9 3 (0.27%) LTE
10 2 (0.18%) DWDM
10 2 (0.18%) MPLS
10 2 (0.18%) SDH
10 2 (0.18%) SNMP
10 2 (0.18%) Wireless
11 1 (0.089%) DVB
Database & Business Intelligence
1 16 (1.42%) DTS
2 13 (1.16%) QlikView
3 2 (0.18%) SQL Server
3 2 (0.18%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 1 (0.089%) Data Hub
4 1 (0.089%) MySQL
4 1 (0.089%) Oracle ODI
4 1 (0.089%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 1 (0.089%) SSDT
Development Applications
1 147 (13.09%) Rational DOORS
2 120 (10.69%) LabVIEW
3 5 (0.45%) JIRA
4 2 (0.18%) Subversion
5 1 (0.089%) ClearCase
5 1 (0.089%) Git
General
1 688 (61.26%) Social Skills
2 236 (21.02%) Retail
3 203 (18.08%) Presentation Skills
4 139 (12.38%) Automotive
5 137 (12.20%) Aerospace
6 69 (6.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 59 (5.25%) Manufacturing
8 44 (3.92%) Finance
9 29 (2.58%) Military
10 14 (1.25%) Law
11 11 (0.98%) Billing
12 6 (0.53%) Avionics
12 6 (0.53%) Organisational Skills
12 6 (0.53%) Public Sector
13 5 (0.45%) Advertising
14 4 (0.36%) Electronics
14 4 (0.36%) Telecoms
15 3 (0.27%) Welsh Language
16 2 (0.18%) Back Office
16 2 (0.18%) Swedish Language
Job Titles
1 269 (23.95%) Systems Engineer
2 261 (23.24%) Senior
3 251 (22.35%) Project Manager
4 175 (15.58%) Requirements Engineer
5 116 (10.33%) Senior Electrical Engineer
6 91 (8.10%) Engineering Manager
6 91 (8.10%) Systems Engineering Manager
6 91 (8.10%) Systems Manager
7 83 (7.39%) Senior Manager
8 43 (3.83%) Principal Engineer
9 42 (3.74%) Project Engineer
10 41 (3.65%) Senior Systems Engineer
11 40 (3.56%) Principal Systems Engineer
12 28 (2.49%) Technical Support
13 26 (2.32%) Lead
14 25 (2.23%) IT Engineer
15 24 (2.14%) Infrastructure Project Leader
15 24 (2.14%) Project Leader
16 16 (1.42%) Support Engineer
17 15 (1.34%) Senior Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (0.089%) Middleware
1 1 (0.089%) Oracle Fusion
1 1 (0.089%) XML
1 1 (0.089%) XSD
Miscellaneous
1 201 (17.90%) Onboarding
2 140 (12.47%) Driving Licence
3 54 (4.81%) Management Information System
4 33 (2.94%) STB
5 25 (2.23%) Smartphone
6 16 (1.42%) SCADA
7 6 (0.53%) Renewable Energy
8 4 (0.36%) Data Centre
9 2 (0.18%) Robotics
9 2 (0.18%) Self-Motivation
10 1 (0.089%) Analogue Electronics
10 1 (0.089%) ARM Cortex
10 1 (0.089%) CAN bus
10 1 (0.089%) Embedded Systems
10 1 (0.089%) FMCG
10 1 (0.089%) Industrial Internet of Things
10 1 (0.089%) IoT
10 1 (0.089%) Operational Technology
10 1 (0.089%) PMI
10 1 (0.089%) Wiki
Operating Systems
1 44 (3.92%) Windows
2 30 (2.67%) Linux
3 28 (2.49%) Windows Server
4 26 (2.32%) Ubuntu
4 26 (2.32%) Windows 10
4 26 (2.32%) Windows Server 2016
4 26 (2.32%) Windows Server 2019
5 25 (2.23%) Mac OS X
6 2 (0.18%) Solaris
7 1 (0.089%) CentOS
7 1 (0.089%) Windows Server 2008
7 1 (0.089%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 384 (34.19%) Systems Engineering
2 252 (22.44%) Mathematics
3 240 (21.37%) Project Management
4 226 (20.12%) Problem-Solving
5 205 (18.25%) Data Analysis
6 202 (17.99%) Customer Service
6 202 (17.99%) Mentoring
7 201 (17.90%) Mechatronics
8 180 (16.03%) Validation
9 178 (15.85%) Verification and Validation
10 172 (15.32%) Budgeting
11 145 (12.91%) OO
12 139 (12.38%) Agile
13 134 (11.93%) Requirements Engineering
14 120 (10.69%) PLM
15 116 (10.33%) Experiential Learning
15 116 (10.33%) Resource Management
15 116 (10.33%) Workflow
15 116 (10.33%) Workflow Management
16 110 (9.80%) Business Case
Programming Languages
1 152 (13.54%) MATLAB
2 28 (2.49%) SQL
3 25 (2.23%) PowerShell
4 5 (0.45%) C
5 3 (0.27%) C#
5 3 (0.27%) C++
5 3 (0.27%) Python
5 3 (0.27%) VB
6 1 (0.089%) Ada
6 1 (0.089%) Java
Qualifications
1 888 (79.07%) Degree
2 419 (37.31%) HND
3 116 (10.33%) BPSS Clearance
4 41 (3.65%) Computer Science Degree
5 35 (3.12%) Security Cleared
6 32 (2.85%) SC Cleared
7 26 (2.32%) Microsoft Certification
8 25 (2.23%) MCSE
9 9 (0.80%) CTC Cleared
10 3 (0.27%) DV Cleared
11 2 (0.18%) DBS Check
11 2 (0.18%) NVQ Level 4
12 1 (0.089%) A+ Certification
12 1 (0.089%) APMP
12 1 (0.089%) Chartered Engineer
12 1 (0.089%) CompTIA Security+
12 1 (0.089%) MCSA
12 1 (0.089%) PMI Certification
12 1 (0.089%) RIBA
12 1 (0.089%) Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 175 (15.58%) QA
2 117 (10.42%) ISO 9001
2 117 (10.42%) ISO/IEC 17025
3 6 (0.53%) NEBOSH
4 3 (0.27%) Def Stans
4 3 (0.27%) NIST
4 3 (0.27%) NIST 800
5 1 (0.089%) IEC 61508
5 1 (0.089%) ISO/IEC 15288
System Software
1 27 (2.40%) Active Directory
2 2 (0.18%) Firmware
3 1 (0.089%) Embedded Firmware
3 1 (0.089%) Terminal Services
3 1 (0.089%) VMware Infrastructure
Systems Management
1 4 (0.36%) Wonderware InTouch
2 1 (0.089%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 178 (15.85%) NEC
2 172 (15.32%) Microsoft
3 113 (10.06%) ANSYS
4 29 (2.58%) Google
5 27 (2.40%) Cisco
6 25 (2.23%) Apple
6 25 (2.23%) Dell
6 25 (2.23%) Fortinet
6 25 (2.23%) Ubiquiti
7 24 (2.14%) Siemens
8 5 (0.45%) Rockwell
9 4 (0.36%) Allen-Bradley
9 4 (0.36%) Atlassian
9 4 (0.36%) EMC
9 4 (0.36%) SAP
9 4 (0.36%) Wonderware
10 2 (0.18%) Oracle
10 2 (0.18%) Progress
11 1 (0.089%) BT
11 1 (0.089%) HP