NVQ Level 3 Job Trends

National Vocational Qualification Level 3 (NVQ Level 3)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies with a requirement for NVQ Level 3 qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 23 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 399 144 663
Rank change year-on-year -255 +519 +374
Permanent jobs citing NVQ Level 3 258 1,112 38
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 0.44% 1.98% 0.078%
As % of the Qualifications category 1.31% 5.68% 0.25%
Number of salaries quoted 50 8 9
10th Percentile £29,000 £29,906 -
25th Percentile £38,875 £34,969 £25,878
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £47,750 £41,427 £27,659
Median % change year-on-year +15.26% +49.78% -8.59%
75th Percentile £54,000 £53,375 £28,549
90th Percentile £60,000 £57,500 -
UK excluding London median annual salary £47,000 £44,604 £27,659
% change year-on-year +5.37% +61.27% -8.59%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
UK

NVQ Level 3 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 19,620 19,587 15,172
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 33.13% 34.95% 31.25%
Number of salaries quoted 7,881 7,956 10,481
10th Percentile £28,250 £32,625 £30,500
25th Percentile £36,250 £45,000 £41,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £59,199 £57,500
Median % change year-on-year -7.09% +2.95% -
75th Percentile £75,900 £77,313 £75,000
90th Percentile £91,250 £92,500 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £48,000 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -12.73% +4.76% +5.00%

NVQ Level 3
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing NVQ Level 3 relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

NVQ Level 3 job vacancy trend in the UK

NVQ Level 3
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NVQ Level 3.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing NVQ Level 3

NVQ Level 3
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing NVQ Level 3 over the 6 months to 23 December 2025.

Salary histogram for NVQ Level 3 in the UK

NVQ Level 3
Top 15 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing NVQ Level 3 within the UK over the 6 months to 23 December 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
England -241 246 £51,300 +23.83% 40
UK excluding London -188 231 £47,000 +5.37% 33
Midlands +52 188 £43,750 -20.45% 14
West Midlands +51 187 £57,500 +85.48% 3
London -119 20 £54,000 +80.75% 8
South East -188 19 £51,300 +15.01% 4
Work from Home - 16 £30,000 - 3
East of England -101 7 £47,000 - 2
South West -2 5 £53,000 - 5
North of England -122 5 £38,000 -0.65% 10
Yorkshire -18 4 - - 3
Scotland -25 4 - - 1
Northern Ireland - 3 £38,000 -
East Midlands -8 1 £30,000 -45.45% 11
North West -88 1 £38,000 -26.92% 7

NVQ Level 3
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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:

Applications
1 4 (1.55%) Microsoft Excel
1 4 (1.55%) Spreadsheet
Cloud Services
1 2 (0.78%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 4 (1.55%) Structured Cabling
2 2 (0.78%) VPN
3 1 (0.39%) 4G
Database & Business Intelligence
1 1 (0.39%) Electronic Patient Records
Development Applications
1 2 (0.78%) JIRA
General
1 203 (78.68%) Finance
2 199 (77.13%) Inclusion and Diversity
3 24 (9.30%) Social Skills
4 10 (3.88%) Legal
5 6 (2.33%) Analytical Skills
5 6 (2.33%) Telecoms
6 5 (1.94%) Manufacturing
7 4 (1.55%) Presentation Skills
7 4 (1.55%) Retail
8 3 (1.16%) Public Sector
9 2 (0.78%) Electronics
9 2 (0.78%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 197 (76.36%) Facilities Engineer
1 197 (76.36%) Systems Engineer
2 8 (3.10%) Field Engineer
2 8 (3.10%) Field Service Engineer
3 6 (2.33%) Support Engineer
4 5 (1.94%) Electrical Engineer
4 5 (1.94%) Junior
4 5 (1.94%) Network Technician
5 4 (1.55%) Installations Engineer
5 4 (1.55%) IT Support
5 4 (1.55%) Technical Engineer
5 4 (1.55%) Technical Support
5 4 (1.55%) Technical Support Engineer
6 3 (1.16%) Auditor
6 3 (1.16%) Test Engineer
7 2 (0.78%) Facilities Administrator
7 2 (0.78%) IT Support Analyst
7 2 (0.78%) IT Support Engineer
7 2 (0.78%) Mechanical Engineer
7 2 (0.78%) Technical Trainer
Miscellaneous
1 14 (5.43%) SCADA
2 13 (5.04%) Renewable Energy
3 7 (2.71%) Driving Licence
4 4 (1.55%) Data Centre
4 4 (1.55%) Onboarding
5 3 (1.16%) Analytical Mindset
5 3 (1.16%) Robotics
6 2 (0.78%) Self-Motivation
7 1 (0.39%) Smart Energy
7 1 (0.39%) Smart Home
7 1 (0.39%) Solar Energy
Operating Systems
1 2 (0.78%) Android
1 2 (0.78%) Apple iOS
1 2 (0.78%) Windows
Processes & Methodologies
1 217 (84.11%) Preventative Maintenance
2 201 (77.91%) Inventory Management
3 198 (76.74%) Mentoring
4 12 (4.65%) Continuous Improvement
5 9 (3.49%) Logistics
6 6 (2.33%) Problem-Solving
7 4 (1.55%) Business Development
8 3 (1.16%) Customer Service
8 3 (1.16%) Data Entry
8 3 (1.16%) E-Commerce
8 3 (1.16%) Predictive Maintenance
8 3 (1.16%) Regulatory Compliance
8 3 (1.16%) Technology Strategy
8 3 (1.16%) Technology Transformation
8 3 (1.16%) Time Management
9 2 (0.78%) Coaching
9 2 (0.78%) Cybersecurity
9 2 (0.78%) Data Centre Operations
9 2 (0.78%) Kalman Filter
9 2 (0.78%) Proactive Maintenance
Qualifications
1 213 (82.56%) City & Guilds
2 197 (76.36%) Postgraduate
3 10 (3.88%) HNC
3 10 (3.88%) Security Cleared
4 6 (2.33%) SC Cleared
5 5 (1.94%) DV Cleared
6 3 (1.16%) Degree
6 3 (1.16%) HND
7 2 (0.78%) A+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 199 (77.13%) COSHH
2 3 (1.16%) GRC
2 3 (1.16%) ISO 14001
2 3 (1.16%) ISO 9001
2 3 (1.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 3 (1.16%) NEBOSH
System Software
1 8 (3.10%) Firmware
2 4 (1.55%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 4 (1.55%) Progress Chef
2 1 (0.39%) Microsoft Intune
Vendors
1 3 (1.16%) Allen-Bradley
1 3 (1.16%) Facebook
1 3 (1.16%) Siemens
2 2 (0.78%) Google
3 1 (0.39%) Microsoft