Higher National Certificate (HNC)
UK

The following table provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies with a requirement for HNC qualifications. Included is a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months to 30 November 2023 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
30 Nov 2023
Same period 2022 Same period 2021
Rank 434 779 757
Rank change year-on-year +345 -22 -71
Permanent jobs citing HNC 316 320 356
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 0.59% 0.25% 0.27%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.80% 0.86% 1.11%
Number of salaries quoted 93 147 175
10th Percentile £31,833 £27,500 £27,400
25th Percentile £37,750 £33,700 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £44,560 £42,500 £40,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.85% +6.25% +9.51%
75th Percentile £59,413 £55,000 £46,563
90th Percentile £72,050 £60,000 £56,762
UK excluding London median annual salary £44,560 £42,000 £40,000
% change year-on-year +6.10% +5.00% +9.51%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK

HNC is in the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies with a requirement for academic qualifications or professional certifications.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 17,523 37,320 32,078
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 32.54% 29.53% 24.78%
Number of salaries quoted 10,978 17,212 17,882
10th Percentile £31,250 £31,250 £31,250
25th Percentile £42,102 £41,250 £40,853
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £57,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +0.88% +3.64% -
75th Percentile £75,000 £76,250 £72,500
90th Percentile £92,500 £93,750 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £50,000 £49,590
% change year-on-year +5.00% +0.83% +1.20%

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 30 November 2023.

Salary histogram for HNC in the UK

HNC
Top 14 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 30 November 2023. 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
England +342 304 £44,560 +6.10% 605
UK excluding London +225 269 £44,560 +6.10% 620
South East +248 205 £44,560 -7.17% 139
London +311 44 £44,000 +20.55% 72
Work from Home +206 33 £47,500 +10.20% 126
West Midlands +122 19 £45,000 +12.50% 77
Midlands +109 19 £45,000 +19.35% 125
South West +14 19 £31,500 -6.67% 65
North of England +147 14 £37,500 -6.25% 162
Scotland +51 11 £26,949 -12.48% 67
North West +111 10 £37,500 +12.78% 79
Yorkshire +77 3 £32,500 -18.75% 58
East of England +83 1 £38,500 -3.75% 68
North East - 1 £72,500 - 28

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 3 (0.95%) WinCC
Applications
1 50 (15.82%) SOLIDWORKS
2 20 (6.33%) AutoCAD
3 12 (3.80%) Microsoft Office
4 11 (3.48%) Microsoft Excel
5 9 (2.85%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 7 (2.22%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.32%) CATIA
7 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.32%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.32%) PTC Creo
7 1 (0.32%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 2 (0.63%) SAP PM
2 1 (0.32%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 7 (2.22%) Azure
2 6 (1.90%) IaaS
3 2 (0.63%) Microsoft 365
3 2 (0.63%) PaaS
3 2 (0.63%) SaaS
4 1 (0.32%) Adobe Creative Cloud
4 1 (0.32%) AWS
4 1 (0.32%) Azure DevOps
4 1 (0.32%) Power Platform
Communications & Networking
1 6 (1.90%) SMS
2 2 (0.63%) Firewall
2 2 (0.63%) Radio Access Network
3 1 (0.32%) 4G
3 1 (0.32%) 5G
3 1 (0.32%) DMZ
3 1 (0.32%) GSM
3 1 (0.32%) Internet
3 1 (0.32%) LAN
3 1 (0.32%) Network Security
3 1 (0.32%) Remote Desktop
3 1 (0.32%) VLAN
3 1 (0.32%) VoIP
3 1 (0.32%) VSAT
3 1 (0.32%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.63%) GIS
2 1 (0.32%) Data Mining
2 1 (0.32%) Data Warehouse
2 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Analysis Services
2 1 (0.32%) MongoDB
2 1 (0.32%) MS Access
2 1 (0.32%) MySQL
2 1 (0.32%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.32%) Power BI
2 1 (0.32%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.32%) SQL Server Analysis Services
2 1 (0.32%) SQL Server Integration Services
2 1 (0.32%) SQL Server Reporting Services
2 1 (0.32%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 81 (25.63%) LabVIEW
2 7 (2.22%) Rational DOORS
3 1 (0.32%) JIRA
3 1 (0.32%) Postman
3 1 (0.32%) SoapUI
3 1 (0.32%) Visual Studio
General
1 152 (48.10%) Manufacturing
2 47 (14.87%) Social Skills
3 27 (8.54%) Finance
4 18 (5.70%) Electronics
5 17 (5.38%) Aerospace
6 10 (3.16%) Telecoms
7 9 (2.85%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 8 (2.53%) Analytical Skills
9 6 (1.90%) Legal
10 5 (1.58%) Automotive
10 5 (1.58%) Local Government
10 5 (1.58%) Retail
11 4 (1.27%) Publishing
12 3 (0.95%) Aeronautics
12 3 (0.95%) Documentation Skills
12 3 (0.95%) Pharmaceutical
12 3 (0.95%) Public Sector
13 2 (0.63%) Military
14 1 (0.32%) Games
14 1 (0.32%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 69 (21.84%) Systems Engineer
2 54 (17.09%) Analyst
2 54 (17.09%) Test Engineer
3 34 (10.76%) Graduate
4 32 (10.13%) Systems Test Engineer
5 26 (8.23%) Design Engineer
6 25 (7.91%) Project Engineer
7 21 (6.65%) Senior
8 16 (5.06%) Graduate Systems Engineer
8 16 (5.06%) Graduate Test Engineer
9 15 (4.75%) Control Systems Engineer
10 12 (3.80%) Mechanical Engineer
10 12 (3.80%) Traffic Engineer
11 11 (3.48%) Support Engineer
12 10 (3.16%) Digital Analyst
13 9 (2.85%) Software Engineer
14 8 (2.53%) Engineering Manager
14 8 (2.53%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 7 (2.22%) IT Engineer
15 7 (2.22%) PLC Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 2 (0.63%) .NET
1 2 (0.63%) .NET Framework
1 2 (0.63%) EDI
2 1 (0.32%) .NET Core
2 1 (0.32%) ASP.NET
2 1 (0.32%) JSON
2 1 (0.32%) RESTful
2 1 (0.32%) SOAP
2 1 (0.32%) WCF
2 1 (0.32%) Web Services
2 1 (0.32%) XML
2 1 (0.32%) XML Schema
Miscellaneous
1 81 (25.63%) Arduino
1 81 (25.63%) Raspberry Pi
2 26 (8.23%) Driving Licence
3 20 (6.33%) Product Ownership
4 15 (4.75%) Operational Technology
5 9 (2.85%) SCADA
6 6 (1.90%) Management Information System
6 6 (1.90%) Self-Motivation
7 2 (0.63%) Data Centre
7 2 (0.63%) Data Structures
8 1 (0.32%) BYOD
8 1 (0.32%) CCTV
8 1 (0.32%) Cyber Threat
8 1 (0.32%) Distributed Applications
8 1 (0.32%) Embedded Systems
8 1 (0.32%) NHS
8 1 (0.32%) Photography
8 1 (0.32%) Renewable Energy
8 1 (0.32%) Robotics
8 1 (0.32%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 15 (4.75%) Windows
2 7 (2.22%) Linux
3 5 (1.58%) Windows 10
4 4 (1.27%) Windows 7
4 4 (1.27%) Windows Server 2012
4 4 (1.27%) Windows Server 2016
4 4 (1.27%) Windows Server 2019
5 2 (0.63%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.32%) Android
6 1 (0.32%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 114 (36.08%) Problem-Solving
2 82 (25.95%) Design for Manufacturing
3 61 (19.30%) CAD
4 57 (18.04%) Validation
5 50 (15.82%) Hazard Analysis
6 38 (12.03%) ITIL
7 24 (7.59%) Roadmaps
8 23 (7.28%) Computer Science
8 23 (7.28%) Systems Engineering
9 21 (6.65%) Agile
9 21 (6.65%) ERP
9 21 (6.65%) Statistics
10 20 (6.33%) PRINCE2
10 20 (6.33%) Product Management
10 20 (6.33%) Task Automation
10 20 (6.33%) Technology Roadmap
11 18 (5.70%) Customer Service
12 17 (5.38%) Customer Requirements
12 17 (5.38%) Decision-Making
13 12 (3.80%) Matrix Organization
Programming Languages
1 86 (27.22%) SQL
2 83 (26.27%) Python
2 83 (26.27%) VB
3 10 (3.16%) PowerShell
4 5 (1.58%) C++
5 3 (0.95%) C#
6 1 (0.32%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 167 (52.85%) Degree
2 84 (26.58%) HND
3 52 (16.46%) Security Cleared
4 21 (6.65%) Computer Science Degree
5 7 (2.22%) DBS Check
6 6 (1.90%) Chartered Engineer
7 3 (0.95%) SC Cleared
8 2 (0.63%) BPSS Clearance
8 2 (0.63%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 1 (0.32%) CCNA
9 1 (0.32%) Cisco Certification
9 1 (0.32%) DV Cleared
9 1 (0.32%) MCSA
9 1 (0.32%) MCSE
9 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (5.38%) QA
2 8 (2.53%) NEBOSH
3 7 (2.22%) SLA
4 3 (0.95%) Def Stans
5 2 (0.63%) COSHH
5 2 (0.63%) IEC 61508
5 2 (0.63%) ISO 9001
6 1 (0.32%) AQAP
6 1 (0.32%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.32%) HAZOP
6 1 (0.32%) ISO 13485
6 1 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 17025
6 1 (0.32%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 1 (0.32%) NCSC
6 1 (0.32%) NIST
6 1 (0.32%) PMO
System Software
1 10 (3.16%) Active Directory
2 6 (1.90%) Hyper-V
2 6 (1.90%) vSphere
3 4 (1.27%) VMware Infrastructure
4 1 (0.32%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 10 (3.16%) SCCM
2 6 (1.90%) Microsoft Intune
2 6 (1.90%) SCOM
3 5 (1.58%) Functional Safety
4 3 (0.95%) Wonderware InTouch
Vendors
1 14 (4.43%) Microsoft
2 10 (3.16%) Rockwell
2 10 (3.16%) Siemens
2 10 (3.16%) VMware
3 3 (0.95%) AVEVA
3 3 (0.95%) Oracle
3 3 (0.95%) SAP
3 3 (0.95%) Wonderware
4 2 (0.63%) EMC
4 2 (0.63%) IBM
4 2 (0.63%) Sun
5 1 (0.32%) Adobe
5 1 (0.32%) Cisco
5 1 (0.32%) Dataiku
5 1 (0.32%) Mentor Graphics
5 1 (0.32%) NCR