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 12 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 127 458 706
Rank change year-on-year +331 +248 +117
Permanent jobs citing HNC 1,333 510 282
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 2.42% 0.51% 0.28%
As % of the Qualifications category 4.90% 1.86% 0.85%
Number of salaries quoted 965 257 109
10th Percentile £40,000 £27,500 £27,750
25th Percentile £45,628 £34,000 £30,265
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,055 £45,000 £33,000
Median % change year-on-year +11.23% +36.36% -20.63%
75th Percentile £58,943 £56,275 £41,829
90th Percentile £60,265 £68,750 £51,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,055 £45,000 £35,000
% change year-on-year +11.23% +28.57% -12.68%

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 27,186 27,486 33,056
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 49.31% 27.70% 32.76%
Number of salaries quoted 11,493 17,304 14,953
10th Percentile £32,500 £28,500 £31,250
25th Percentile £44,000 £38,500 £41,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £54,000 £59,526
Median % change year-on-year +1.85% -9.28% +8.23%
75th Percentile £68,568 £71,000 £77,500
90th Percentile £83,750 £87,500 £95,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,000 £50,000 £51,500
% change year-on-year +4.00% -2.91% +3.00%

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 12 May 2025.

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 12 May 2025. 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 +286 1,306 £50,055 +11.23% 431
England +276 1,045 £48,918 +6.34% 447
North of England +221 780 £47,683 +12.20% 112
North West +196 732 £47,683 +36.24% 59
Scotland +239 259 £58,033 +22.66% 28
South West +155 133 £52,600 +31.50% 61
South East +41 55 £40,000 -22.10% 117
Work from Home +127 47 £42,500 - 98
Yorkshire +58 47 £57,560 +9.12% 40
Midlands +47 39 £35,000 -26.32% 58
East of England +15 30 £55,000 +42.86% 47
West Midlands +56 25 £35,000 -17.65% 32
East Midlands +28 14 £33,000 -30.53% 25
London +85 8 £47,000 -24.80% 53
Northern Ireland +43 6 £40,221 +16.15% 3
Wales +38 4 £40,000 -11.11% 17
North East +42 1 £37,500 -9.64% 15

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 14 (1.05%) WinCC
2 1 (0.075%) Apache
Applications
1 461 (34.58%) Simulink
2 211 (15.83%) Microsoft Office
3 194 (14.55%) Microsoft Excel
4 173 (12.98%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 14 (1.05%) EPLAN
6 6 (0.45%) Windchill
7 4 (0.30%) Adobe Illustrator
7 4 (0.30%) Photoshop
7 4 (0.30%) QuarkXPress
8 2 (0.15%) Microsoft Project
9 1 (0.075%) MS Visio
9 1 (0.075%) Revit
Business Applications
1 213 (15.98%) Teamcenter
2 2 (0.15%) SAP ERP
Cloud Services
1 14 (1.05%) Google Workspace
2 7 (0.53%) Microsoft 365
Communications & Networking
1 17 (1.28%) Firewall
1 17 (1.28%) TCP/IP
2 16 (1.20%) Ethernet
3 14 (1.05%) BGP
3 14 (1.05%) DHCP
3 14 (1.05%) DNS
3 14 (1.05%) Modbus
3 14 (1.05%) OSPF
3 14 (1.05%) Profibus
3 14 (1.05%) RS-485
3 14 (1.05%) VLAN
3 14 (1.05%) WLAN
4 2 (0.15%) NAS
4 2 (0.15%) Network Security
4 2 (0.15%) SAN
4 2 (0.15%) Wi-Fi
5 1 (0.075%) DVB
5 1 (0.075%) LTE
5 1 (0.075%) VoIP
5 1 (0.075%) VSAT
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (0.075%) MySQL
Development Applications
1 108 (8.10%) LabVIEW
2 40 (3.00%) Rational DOORS
3 17 (1.28%) JIRA
4 5 (0.38%) ClearCase
4 5 (0.38%) Git
General
1 306 (22.96%) Social Skills
2 222 (16.65%) Automotive
3 218 (16.35%) Aerospace
4 102 (7.65%) Manufacturing
5 69 (5.18%) Finance
6 67 (5.03%) Influencing Skills
7 62 (4.65%) Avionics
8 51 (3.83%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 45 (3.38%) Analytical Skills
10 42 (3.15%) Retail
11 21 (1.58%) Pharmaceutical
12 16 (1.20%) Presentation Skills
13 11 (0.83%) Military
14 9 (0.68%) Electronics
15 6 (0.45%) Fire and Rescue
15 6 (0.45%) Local Government
16 4 (0.30%) Marketing
17 3 (0.23%) Advertising
17 3 (0.23%) Organisational Skills
17 3 (0.23%) Public Sector
Job Titles
1 862 (64.67%) Systems Engineer
2 335 (25.13%) Senior
3 191 (14.33%) Senior Systems Engineer
4 108 (8.10%) Senior Electrical Engineer
5 67 (5.03%) Project Manager
6 59 (4.43%) Lead
7 57 (4.28%) Integration Engineer
7 57 (4.28%) Systems Integration Engineer
8 49 (3.68%) Principal Engineer
9 40 (3.00%) Principal Systems Engineer
9 40 (3.00%) Requirements Engineer
10 39 (2.93%) Automation Engineer
11 36 (2.70%) Senior Integration Engineer
12 30 (2.25%) Infrastructure Manager
12 30 (2.25%) Infrastructure Project Manager
13 29 (2.18%) Test Engineer
14 27 (2.03%) Electronics Engineer
14 27 (2.03%) Senior Manager
15 24 (1.80%) Project Leader
15 24 (1.80%) Senior Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (0.38%) XML
1 5 (0.38%) XSD
2 2 (0.15%) Leaflet
Miscellaneous
1 41 (3.08%) Management Information System
2 34 (2.55%) SCADA
3 25 (1.88%) FMCG
4 24 (1.80%) Manufacturing Execution System
4 24 (1.80%) Operational Technology
5 16 (1.20%) Satnav
6 14 (1.05%) Smartphone
7 7 (0.53%) CCTV
7 7 (0.53%) NHS
8 6 (0.45%) Driving Licence
9 5 (0.38%) Renewable Energy
9 5 (0.38%) Robotics
10 4 (0.30%) Animation
10 4 (0.30%) Graphic Design
10 4 (0.30%) Self-Motivation
10 4 (0.30%) Social Media
11 2 (0.15%) Analytical Mindset
11 2 (0.15%) Fibre Optics
11 2 (0.15%) Optoelectronics
11 2 (0.15%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 31 (2.33%) Linux
2 23 (1.73%) Windows
3 18 (1.35%) Windows Server
4 17 (1.28%) Windows 10
5 16 (1.20%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (1.13%) Ubuntu
7 14 (1.05%) Mac OS X
7 14 (1.05%) Windows Server 2016
8 1 (0.075%) CentOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 903 (67.74%) Systems Engineering
2 557 (41.79%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
3 496 (37.21%) Validation
4 474 (35.56%) Mathematics
5 470 (35.26%) Verification and Validation
6 468 (35.11%) Software Engineering
7 461 (34.58%) Digital Twin
7 461 (34.58%) SysML
8 213 (15.98%) PLM
9 120 (9.00%) Business Case
10 109 (8.18%) Workflow
11 108 (8.10%) Experiential Learning
11 108 (8.10%) Resource Management
11 108 (8.10%) Workflow Management
12 107 (8.03%) Coaching
13 104 (7.80%) Requirements Management
14 98 (7.35%) Continuous Improvement
15 94 (7.05%) Customer Requirements
16 92 (6.90%) Problem-Solving
17 86 (6.45%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 668 (50.11%) MATLAB
2 19 (1.43%) SQL
3 14 (1.05%) PowerShell
4 1 (0.075%) Ada
4 1 (0.075%) C
4 1 (0.075%) C#
4 1 (0.075%) C++
4 1 (0.075%) Java
4 1 (0.075%) VB
Qualifications
1 1,112 (83.42%) Degree
2 1,063 (79.74%) HND
3 538 (40.36%) BPSS Clearance
4 25 (1.88%) Six Sigma Green Belt
5 24 (1.80%) Six Sigma Black Belt
6 20 (1.50%) Security Cleared
7 15 (1.13%) SC Cleared
8 14 (1.05%) Computer Science Degree
8 14 (1.05%) MCSE
8 14 (1.05%) Microsoft Certification
9 11 (0.83%) DBS Check
10 10 (0.75%) Master's Degree
11 6 (0.45%) MOS
12 5 (0.38%) DV Cleared
13 3 (0.23%) NVQ Level 3
14 2 (0.15%) CISM
14 2 (0.15%) CISSP
15 1 (0.075%) A+ Certification
15 1 (0.075%) CTC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 109 (8.18%) ISO 9001
2 108 (8.10%) ISO/IEC 17025
3 33 (2.48%) NEBOSH
4 3 (0.23%) IEC 61131
5 2 (0.15%) Data Quality
6 1 (0.075%) Accessibility
6 1 (0.075%) GDPR
6 1 (0.075%) QA
System Software
1 15 (1.13%) Active Directory
2 2 (0.15%) VMware Infrastructure
Systems Management
1 14 (1.05%) Wonderware InTouch
2 1 (0.075%) Functional Safety
Vendors
1 207 (15.53%) ANSYS
1 207 (15.53%) Microsoft
2 39 (2.93%) Siemens
3 34 (2.55%) Google
4 24 (1.80%) Rockwell
5 18 (1.35%) SAP
6 16 (1.20%) Salesforce
7 14 (1.05%) Allen-Bradley
7 14 (1.05%) Apple
7 14 (1.05%) Cisco
7 14 (1.05%) Dell
7 14 (1.05%) Fortinet
7 14 (1.05%) Ubiquiti
7 14 (1.05%) Wonderware
8 5 (0.38%) NEC
8 5 (0.38%) Oracle
9 4 (0.30%) Adobe
9 4 (0.30%) VMware
10 3 (0.23%) Facebook
10 3 (0.23%) YouTube