QA Contracts in the UK excluding London

Quality Assurance (QA)
UK > UK excluding London

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London with a requirement for QA skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited QA over the 6 months to 16 May 2024 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
16 May 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 64 95 79
Rank change year-on-year +31 -16 +13
Contract jobs citing QA 602 606 960
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 2.97% 2.63% 3.16%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 20.27% 17.85% 21.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 405 419 665
10th Percentile £277 £263 £313
25th Percentile £400 £363 £385
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +5.56% +5.88%
75th Percentile £581 £550 £538
90th Percentile £694 £613 £613
UK median daily rate £509 £500 £510
% change year-on-year +1.75% -1.96% +7.37%
Number of hourly rates quoted 62 17 25
10th Percentile £10.82 - £18.15
25th Percentile £12.24 £10.92 £25.50
Median hourly rate £13.52 £13.00 £49.00
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -73.47% +157.89%
75th Percentile £20.22 £22.41 £56.00
90th Percentile £67.45 £46.18 £65.25
UK median hourly rate £14.00 £22.49 £48.00
% change year-on-year -37.74% -53.16% +149.35%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK excluding London

QA is in the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies advertised in the UK excluding London with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 2,970 3,395 4,406
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 14.64% 14.76% 14.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,751 2,261 3,030
10th Percentile £250 £223 £205
25th Percentile £363 £363 £338
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £484 £480 £450
Median % change year-on-year +0.83% +6.56% +5.88%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £569
90th Percentile £680 £675 £650
UK median daily rate £510 £525 £513
% change year-on-year -2.86% +2.31% +8.03%
Number of hourly rates quoted 308 188 207
10th Percentile £10.95 £13.16 £11.44
25th Percentile £12.75 £18.09 £15.78
Median hourly rate £18.27 £32.94 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year -44.54% +46.41% +7.14%
75th Percentile £45.00 £62.00 £49.00
90th Percentile £68.75 £77.50 £69.05
UK median hourly rate £21.06 £35.00 £32.50
% change year-on-year -39.84% +7.69% +54.76%

QA
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Job postings citing QA as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Job vacancy trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Daily rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 16 May 2024.

Daily rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London.

Hourly rate trend for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing QA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 16 May 2024.

Hourly rate histogram for QA in the UK excluding London

QA
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing QA within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 16 May 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
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
North of England +18 157 £500 - 246
South East +41 151 £488 +2.63% 209
South West +36 100 £550 +18.28% 141
North West +6 80 £500 +11.11% 127
Midlands +3 80 £450 +8.43% 190
Yorkshire +20 70 £550 +4.76% 86
Scotland +23 56 £450 -5.26% 57
West Midlands +2 56 £525 +23.53% 119
Wales +26 26 £533 -6.54% 36
East Midlands +1 22 £255 -27.14% 71
East of England -16 22 £375 -17.58% 105
Northern Ireland +12 12 £325 -12.75% 11
North East -2 7 £410 -17.17% 36
Isle of Man - 2 - -
QA
UK

QA
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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 22 (3.65%) Confluence
2 20 (3.32%) SharePoint
3 7 (1.16%) Apache
3 7 (1.16%) SAS
4 4 (0.66%) Apache Solr
4 4 (0.66%) nginx
5 3 (0.50%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 3 (0.50%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.50%) CMS
5 3 (0.50%) Drupal
6 1 (0.17%) Alfresco
6 1 (0.17%) GeoServer
Applications
1 53 (8.80%) Microsoft Excel
2 18 (2.99%) Microsoft Office
3 12 (1.99%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 6 (1.00%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (0.83%) Simulink
6 3 (0.50%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.17%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.17%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.17%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.17%) InVision
Business Applications
1 8 (1.33%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
2 7 (1.16%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (1.00%) Oracle EBS
4 5 (0.83%) SAP S/4HANA
5 4 (0.66%) TrackWise
6 3 (0.50%) Adobe Campaign
6 3 (0.50%) Primavera
7 2 (0.33%) NEC Housing
7 2 (0.33%) NetSuite
7 2 (0.33%) Oracle ERP
8 1 (0.17%) Dynamics AX
8 1 (0.17%) PeopleSoft HRMS
8 1 (0.17%) SAP CO
8 1 (0.17%) SAP EWM
8 1 (0.17%) SAP Hybris
8 1 (0.17%) SAP Payroll
8 1 (0.17%) SAP WM
Cloud Services
1 121 (20.10%) Azure
2 54 (8.97%) AWS
3 42 (6.98%) GitHub
4 38 (6.31%) Power Platform
5 35 (5.81%) Azure DevOps
6 20 (3.32%) GCP
7 16 (2.66%) Dynamics 365
7 16 (2.66%) Entra ID
8 15 (2.49%) Azure Data Factory
8 15 (2.49%) GitHub Actions
9 14 (2.33%) Amazon EC2
9 14 (2.33%) Amazon S3
10 12 (1.99%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 12 (1.99%) Snowflake
11 10 (1.66%) SaaS
12 9 (1.50%) Apigee
12 9 (1.50%) Kong
13 8 (1.33%) Amazon ECR
13 8 (1.33%) Amazon EKS
13 8 (1.33%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 24 (3.99%) TCP/IP
2 20 (3.32%) DNS
2 20 (3.32%) Firewall
3 18 (2.99%) VPN
4 16 (2.66%) WAN
5 13 (2.16%) LAN
6 9 (1.50%) HTTP
6 9 (1.50%) SSL
7 5 (0.83%) Internet
7 5 (0.83%) IPsec
7 5 (0.83%) MPLS
8 4 (0.66%) ADSL
8 4 (0.66%) Ethernet
8 4 (0.66%) HTTPS
8 4 (0.66%) Wi-Fi
9 3 (0.50%) BIG-IP
9 3 (0.50%) DHCP
9 3 (0.50%) PSTN
9 3 (0.50%) Radio Access Network
9 3 (0.50%) Reverse Proxy
Database & Business Intelligence
1 42 (6.98%) SQL Server
2 36 (5.98%) Relational Database
3 31 (5.15%) Power BI
4 29 (4.82%) MySQL
5 17 (2.82%) Elasticsearch
6 14 (2.33%) Microsoft Analysis Services
6 14 (2.33%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 14 (2.33%) Tableau
7 13 (2.16%) NoSQL
7 13 (2.16%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 12 (1.99%) Data Lake
9 8 (1.33%) Data Mining
10 7 (1.16%) Ataccama
10 7 (1.16%) PostgreSQL
10 7 (1.16%) Qlik Sense
11 4 (0.66%) Couchbase
11 4 (0.66%) EDMS
11 4 (0.66%) Metadata
11 4 (0.66%) RDBMS
12 3 (0.50%) Data Warehouse
Development Applications
1 49 (8.14%) JIRA
2 36 (5.98%) GitLab
3 29 (4.82%) Git
3 29 (4.82%) Jenkins
4 23 (3.82%) Selenium
5 21 (3.49%) Cypress.io
6 20 (3.32%) Postman
7 14 (2.33%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 11 (1.83%) Visual Studio
9 10 (1.66%) CircleCI
10 9 (1.50%) Atlassian Bamboo
10 9 (1.50%) Cucumber
10 9 (1.50%) JUnit
10 9 (1.50%) Travis CI
11 8 (1.33%) webpack
12 7 (1.16%) Artifactory
12 7 (1.16%) SonarQube
13 6 (1.00%) JMeter
13 6 (1.00%) Maven
13 6 (1.00%) TestRail
General
1 231 (38.37%) Social Skills
2 81 (13.46%) Finance
3 72 (11.96%) Analytical Skills
4 34 (5.65%) Public Sector
5 32 (5.32%) Telecoms
6 26 (4.32%) Banking
7 23 (3.82%) Pharmaceutical
8 21 (3.49%) Organisational Skills
9 15 (2.49%) Legal
9 15 (2.49%) Manufacturing
10 13 (2.16%) Influencing Skills
11 12 (1.99%) Marketing
11 12 (1.99%) Presentation Skills
12 10 (1.66%) Automotive
13 9 (1.50%) Aerospace
14 8 (1.33%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 8 (1.33%) Retail
15 6 (1.00%) Games
16 5 (0.83%) Documentation Skills
16 5 (0.83%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 79 (13.12%) Analyst
2 71 (11.79%) Developer
3 43 (7.14%) Architect
4 42 (6.98%) Lead
5 34 (5.65%) Senior
6 32 (5.32%) Project Manager
7 29 (4.82%) QA Analyst
8 24 (3.99%) Administrator
8 24 (3.99%) Test Analyst
9 22 (3.65%) Full Stack Developer
9 22 (3.65%) QA Engineer
10 21 (3.49%) DevOps Engineer
11 20 (3.32%) Build Engineer
12 19 (3.16%) Test Engineer
12 19 (3.16%) Tester
12 19 (3.16%) Windows Build Engineer
12 19 (3.16%) Windows Engineer
13 17 (2.82%) Data Analyst
13 17 (2.82%) Solutions Architect
14 16 (2.66%) Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (6.15%) React
2 27 (4.49%) .NET
3 22 (3.65%) AngularJS
4 20 (3.32%) Node.js
5 18 (2.99%) Elastic Stack
5 18 (2.99%) JSON
6 17 (2.82%) HTML
6 17 (2.82%) REST
6 17 (2.82%) XML
7 16 (2.66%) Playwright
7 16 (2.66%) SailPoint
8 14 (2.33%) RESTful
9 13 (2.16%) CSS
9 13 (2.16%) YAML
10 12 (1.99%) Redux
10 12 (1.99%) Spring
10 12 (1.99%) Vue
11 11 (1.83%) Gherkin
11 11 (1.83%) Laravel
12 10 (1.66%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 52 (8.64%) Product Ownership
2 20 (3.32%) Public Cloud
3 19 (3.16%) Management Information System
4 16 (2.66%) Mobile App
4 16 (2.66%) Onboarding
5 14 (2.33%) Data Structures
6 11 (1.83%) Legacy Systems
6 11 (1.83%) Life Science
7 9 (1.50%) NHS
8 8 (1.33%) Cloud Native
8 8 (1.33%) Data Protection Act
8 8 (1.33%) Self-Motivation
9 7 (1.16%) Enterprise Software
10 6 (1.00%) Analytical Mindset
10 6 (1.00%) CMDB
10 6 (1.00%) Digital Media
10 6 (1.00%) Driving Licence
10 6 (1.00%) Freedom of Information
10 6 (1.00%) Team-Oriented Environment
11 5 (0.83%) Data Centre
Operating Systems
1 59 (9.80%) Windows
2 38 (6.31%) Linux
3 24 (3.99%) Windows 10
3 24 (3.99%) Windows Server
4 20 (3.32%) Windows Server 2016
5 19 (3.16%) Windows NT
5 19 (3.16%) Windows Server 2012
5 19 (3.16%) Windows Server 2019
6 10 (1.66%) Android
7 8 (1.33%) Apple iOS
8 4 (0.66%) CentOS
8 4 (0.66%) Mac OS
9 3 (0.50%) Unix
9 3 (0.50%) Windows 7
10 1 (0.17%) Solaris
10 1 (0.17%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 183 (30.40%) Agile
2 115 (19.10%) Problem-Solving
3 112 (18.60%) Test Automation
4 110 (18.27%) DevOps
5 103 (17.11%) Project Management
6 70 (11.63%) CI/CD
6 70 (11.63%) Continuous Improvement
7 66 (10.96%) Scrum
8 59 (9.80%) Stakeholder Management
9 56 (9.30%) User Acceptance Testing
10 51 (8.47%) ITIL
11 43 (7.14%) Continuous Integration
12 42 (6.98%) Change Management
13 40 (6.64%) SDLC
13 40 (6.64%) Test Strategy
14 37 (6.15%) Translating Business Requirements
14 37 (6.15%) Unit Testing
15 35 (5.81%) Full Stack Development
16 34 (5.65%) Risk Management
16 34 (5.65%) Software Testing
Programming Languages
1 67 (11.13%) SQL
2 58 (9.63%) Python
3 49 (8.14%) Java
4 36 (5.98%) JavaScript
5 35 (5.81%) C#
6 29 (4.82%) PowerShell
7 19 (3.16%) TypeScript
8 17 (2.82%) Bash
9 15 (2.49%) PHP
10 14 (2.33%) C
11 12 (1.99%) T-SQL
12 7 (1.16%) VB
13 5 (0.83%) Bicep
13 5 (0.83%) MATLAB
14 4 (0.66%) F#
14 4 (0.66%) Kotlin
14 4 (0.66%) VB6
15 3 (0.50%) ActionScript
15 3 (0.50%) Shell Script
15 3 (0.50%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 108 (17.94%) Security Cleared
2 70 (11.63%) Degree
3 61 (10.13%) SC Cleared
4 44 (7.31%) DV Cleared
5 23 (3.82%) ISTQB
6 17 (2.82%) Computer Science Degree
7 15 (2.49%) HNC
8 13 (2.16%) BPSS Clearance
9 11 (1.83%) NVQ Level 3
10 10 (1.66%) HND
11 8 (1.33%) Cisco Certification
12 7 (1.16%) CCNA
12 7 (1.16%) PMP
13 6 (1.00%) Master's Degree
14 5 (0.83%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
14 5 (0.83%) PMI Certification
14 5 (0.83%) PRINCE2 Certification
15 4 (0.66%) A+ Certification
15 4 (0.66%) BC Cleared
15 4 (0.66%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (5.65%) Data Quality
2 15 (2.49%) SLA
3 12 (1.99%) Accessibility
4 9 (1.50%) GDPR
5 8 (1.33%) ISO 9001
6 7 (1.16%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (1.00%) PMO
8 5 (0.83%) Disclosure Scotland
8 5 (0.83%) GMP
8 5 (0.83%) ISO/IEC 17025
8 5 (0.83%) ISO17020
9 4 (0.66%) HIPAA
9 4 (0.66%) NIST
10 3 (0.50%) Software Quality Assurance
10 3 (0.50%) WCAG
11 2 (0.33%) HL7
11 2 (0.33%) ISO 14001
11 2 (0.33%) ISO 22301
12 1 (0.17%) California Consumer Privacy Act
12 1 (0.17%) GRC
System Software
1 39 (6.48%) Active Directory
2 21 (3.49%) Docker
2 21 (3.49%) Firmware
3 6 (1.00%) Virtual Machines
4 4 (0.66%) Hyper-V
4 4 (0.66%) VMware Infrastructure
5 3 (0.50%) KVM
5 3 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
5 3 (0.50%) VMware Workstation
6 1 (0.17%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.17%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 38 (6.31%) Kubernetes
2 36 (5.98%) Ansible
3 29 (4.82%) Terraform
4 21 (3.49%) SCCM
5 20 (3.32%) Grafana
6 19 (3.16%) Sysprep
6 19 (3.16%) WSUS
7 18 (2.99%) Prometheus
8 14 (2.33%) Progress Chef
8 14 (2.33%) Puppet
9 12 (1.99%) Kibana
10 9 (1.50%) Docker Swarm
10 9 (1.50%) Graylog
10 9 (1.50%) logstash
11 7 (1.16%) HP Fortify
12 6 (1.00%) Nagios
13 5 (0.83%) Nessus
13 5 (0.83%) WebInspect
14 3 (0.50%) HP Quality Center
14 3 (0.50%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 94 (15.61%) Microsoft
2 30 (4.98%) Oracle
2 30 (4.98%) SAP
3 21 (3.49%) Splunk
4 17 (2.82%) Salesforce
5 16 (2.66%) CyberArk
6 15 (2.49%) ServiceNow
7 13 (2.16%) Adobe
8 8 (1.33%) Google
9 7 (1.16%) Alteryx
9 7 (1.16%) BT
9 7 (1.16%) Cisco
9 7 (1.16%) Dataiku
9 7 (1.16%) Red Hat
9 7 (1.16%) Trillium
10 6 (1.00%) Databricks
11 5 (0.83%) Checkmarx
11 5 (0.83%) Pega
11 5 (0.83%) Veracode
12 4 (0.66%) Infragistics