Security Cleared Contract Job Trends in Reading

Security Clearance
Berkshire > Reading

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in Reading with a requirement for Security Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered over the 6 months leading up to 19 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 1 6 1
Rank change year-on-year +5 -5 +2
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 282 135 351
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 32.49% 17.29% 30.90%
As % of the Qualifications category 79.21% 56.72% 71.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 199 70 219
10th Percentile £255 £399 £205
25th Percentile £349 £477 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £625 £575
Median % change year-on-year -20.00% +8.70% -0.86%
75th Percentile £588 £663 £619
90th Percentile £688 £700 £688
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £550 £543
% change year-on-year -18.18% +1.38% -7.42%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 3 29
10th Percentile £65.00 £61.61 £49.40
25th Percentile £80.00 £61.67 £56.50
Median hourly rate £84.00 £63.15 £61.65
Median % change year-on-year +33.02% +2.44% -4.92%
75th Percentile £97.50 £70.96 £84.40
90th Percentile £108.00 £74.70 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £81.50 £61.78 £62.75
% change year-on-year +31.93% -1.55% -2.98%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
Reading

Security Cleared falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in Reading.

Contract vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 356 238 494
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading 41.01% 30.47% 43.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 239 118 288
10th Percentile £255 £294 £205
25th Percentile £362 £418 £278
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £600 £545
Median % change year-on-year -16.67% +10.09% -4.39%
75th Percentile £588 £663 £617
90th Percentile £678 £691 £688
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £525 £513
% change year-on-year -14.29% +2.44% -6.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 3 31
10th Percentile £65.00 £61.61 £42.00
25th Percentile £80.50 £61.67 £54.58
Median hourly rate £84.00 £63.15 £61.60
Median % change year-on-year +33.02% +2.52% -5.23%
75th Percentile £97.50 £70.96 £78.07
90th Percentile £108.00 £74.70 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £81.50 £61.63 £61.60
% change year-on-year +32.25% +0.04% -4.99%

Security Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in Reading

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Security Cleared relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading.

Security Cleared job vacancy trend in Reading

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Trend in Reading

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Security Cleared.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Security Cleared

Security Cleared
Daily Rate Histogram in Reading

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Security Cleared in Reading over the 6 months to 19 February 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Security Cleared in Reading

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Trend in Reading

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Security Cleared.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in Reading citing Security Cleared

Security Cleared
Hourly Rate Histogram in Reading

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Security Cleared in Reading over the 6 months to 19 February 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Security Cleared in Reading

Security Cleared
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Reading 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:

Application Platforms
1 8 (2.84%) Microsoft Exchange
2 6 (2.13%) SharePoint
3 3 (1.06%) Confluence
4 1 (0.35%) Apache
4 1 (0.35%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 5 (1.77%) Microsoft Excel
1 5 (1.77%) Microsoft Office
2 2 (0.71%) Lectora
2 2 (0.71%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.35%) CATIA
3 1 (0.35%) MS Visio
3 1 (0.35%) Siemens NX
Business Applications
1 5 (1.77%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.71%) SAP HCM
2 2 (0.71%) SAP PS
2 2 (0.71%) Teamcenter
3 1 (0.35%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 49 (17.38%) Azure
2 37 (13.12%) AWS
3 20 (7.09%) Entra ID
4 17 (6.03%) OneDrive
5 14 (4.96%) GCP
6 13 (4.61%) Microsoft 365
7 9 (3.19%) Power Platform
8 6 (2.13%) Azure DevOps
8 6 (2.13%) Azure Sentinel
8 6 (2.13%) Power Automate
9 5 (1.77%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (1.42%) OpenShift
10 4 (1.42%) PowerApps
10 4 (1.42%) Viva Engage
11 3 (1.06%) Azure AKS
11 3 (1.06%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 3 (1.06%) Azure Monitor
11 3 (1.06%) GitHub
11 3 (1.06%) GitHub Actions
11 3 (1.06%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 16 (5.67%) Firewall
2 12 (4.26%) Unified Communications
3 10 (3.55%) DNS
3 10 (3.55%) LAN
4 9 (3.19%) 4G
4 9 (3.19%) DHCP
4 9 (3.19%) Wi-Fi
5 8 (2.84%) Wireless
6 7 (2.48%) Cisco ISE
7 6 (2.13%) Network Security
8 5 (1.77%) BGP
8 5 (1.77%) BIG-IP
8 5 (1.77%) Cisco Nexus
8 5 (1.77%) OSPF
8 5 (1.77%) WAN
8 5 (1.77%) WebEx
8 5 (1.77%) WLAN
9 4 (1.42%) Ethernet VPN
9 4 (1.42%) Junos
9 4 (1.42%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (2.48%) Power BI
2 4 (1.42%) NoSQL
3 2 (0.71%) Data Warehouse
3 2 (0.71%) Tableau
4 1 (0.35%) MySQL
4 1 (0.35%) SAP Data Services
4 1 (0.35%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 6 (2.13%) JIRA
2 5 (1.77%) Jenkins
3 4 (1.42%) Rational DOORS
4 3 (1.06%) Android Studio
4 3 (1.06%) Bitbucket
4 3 (1.06%) Subversion
5 2 (0.71%) Burp Suite
5 2 (0.71%) Metasploit
5 2 (0.71%) Visual Studio
6 1 (0.35%) Git
6 1 (0.35%) GitLab
General
1 75 (26.60%) Social Skills
2 51 (18.09%) Public Sector
3 26 (9.22%) Aerospace
4 17 (6.03%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (4.96%) Finance
6 11 (3.90%) Military
7 7 (2.48%) Legal
8 3 (1.06%) Telecoms
9 2 (0.71%) Advertising
9 2 (0.71%) Influencing Skills
9 2 (0.71%) Local Government
9 2 (0.71%) Manufacturing
10 1 (0.35%) Avionics
10 1 (0.35%) Billing
Job Titles
1 52 (18.44%) Consultant
2 33 (11.70%) Network Consultant
3 29 (10.28%) Senior
4 27 (9.57%) Architect
5 23 (8.16%) Lead
6 17 (6.03%) Network Engineer
7 14 (4.96%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 13 (4.61%) IT Manager
9 12 (4.26%) Developer
10 11 (3.90%) SIEM Engineer
11 10 (3.55%) Analyst
11 10 (3.55%) Cloud Engineer
11 10 (3.55%) Project Manager
11 10 (3.55%) Tester
12 9 (3.19%) Infrastructure Support
12 9 (3.19%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
12 9 (3.19%) Support Engineer
13 8 (2.84%) Delivery Manager
13 8 (2.84%) Platform Engineer
14 7 (2.48%) Product Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (1.42%) 802.1X
1 4 (1.42%) Loki
2 3 (1.06%) ARM Templates
2 3 (1.06%) Elastic Stack
3 2 (0.71%) AngularJS
3 2 (0.71%) jQuery
3 2 (0.71%) Node.js
3 2 (0.71%) OAuth
3 2 (0.71%) OAuth2
3 2 (0.71%) OpenID
3 2 (0.71%) React
3 2 (0.71%) SAML
3 2 (0.71%) Web Services
4 1 (0.35%) .NET
4 1 (0.35%) .NET Core
4 1 (0.35%) GraphQL
4 1 (0.35%) LAMP
4 1 (0.35%) MERN Stack
4 1 (0.35%) REST
4 1 (0.35%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 14 (4.96%) PKI
2 12 (4.26%) Data Centre
2 12 (4.26%) Onboarding
3 10 (3.55%) Cloud Native
4 8 (2.84%) Management Information System
5 7 (2.48%) PMI
5 7 (2.48%) Self-Motivation
6 5 (1.77%) Driving Licence
6 5 (1.77%) Handset
6 5 (1.77%) Security Operations Centre
6 5 (1.77%) Virtual Team
7 4 (1.42%) Clustering
7 4 (1.42%) Product Ownership
8 3 (1.06%) Cyber Threat
8 3 (1.06%) Greenfield Project
8 3 (1.06%) Mobile App
8 3 (1.06%) Security Posture
8 3 (1.06%) Video Conferencing
9 2 (0.71%) e-Learning
9 2 (0.71%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 45 (15.96%) Windows
2 29 (10.28%) Linux
3 14 (4.96%) Windows 10
4 9 (3.19%) Android
5 4 (1.42%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.42%) Windows Server
6 2 (0.71%) Apple iOS
7 1 (0.35%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 67 (23.76%) Roadmaps
2 52 (18.44%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 43 (15.25%) Migration
4 38 (13.48%) CI/CD
5 37 (13.12%) Continuous Improvement
6 34 (12.06%) ITIL
6 34 (12.06%) ITSM
6 34 (12.06%) Service Management
7 33 (11.70%) Collaborative Working
8 30 (10.64%) Cybersecurity
9 27 (9.57%) Stakeholder Management
10 25 (8.87%) Problem-Solving
11 23 (8.16%) Agile
12 22 (7.80%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 21 (7.45%) SIEM
14 18 (6.38%) Change Management
15 16 (5.67%) Validation
16 15 (5.32%) DevOps
16 15 (5.32%) Project Management
16 15 (5.32%) Risk Management
Programming Languages
1 34 (12.06%) Python
2 30 (10.64%) PowerShell
3 9 (3.19%) Bash
3 9 (3.19%) Kusto Query Language
4 6 (2.13%) SQL
5 5 (1.77%) Bicep
6 4 (1.42%) Java
6 4 (1.42%) JavaScript
7 3 (1.06%) C#
8 2 (0.71%) Ada
8 2 (0.71%) Assembly Language
8 2 (0.71%) C
8 2 (0.71%) MATLAB
8 2 (0.71%) PHP
9 1 (0.35%) Perl
Qualifications
1 213 (75.53%) SC Cleared
2 39 (13.83%) DV Cleared
3 19 (6.74%) Degree
4 17 (6.03%) AWS Certification
5 11 (3.90%) Azure Certification
6 10 (3.55%) PMP
7 9 (3.19%) CISSP
7 9 (3.19%) PMI Certification
8 7 (2.48%) Cisco Certification
8 7 (2.48%) MAPM
9 6 (2.13%) TOGAF Certification
10 5 (1.77%) APMP
10 5 (1.77%) BPSS Clearance
10 5 (1.77%) GIAC
11 4 (1.42%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
11 4 (1.42%) CCNP
12 3 (1.06%) CEH
12 3 (1.06%) GCFA
12 3 (1.06%) GCIA
12 3 (1.06%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (5.32%) NIST
2 14 (4.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 14 (4.96%) NCSC
3 6 (2.13%) QA
4 5 (1.77%) GDPR
4 5 (1.77%) NIST 800
5 4 (1.42%) Accessibility
5 4 (1.42%) PMO
5 4 (1.42%) SLA
6 3 (1.06%) JSP 440
7 2 (0.71%) Cyber Essentials
7 2 (0.71%) Data Quality
7 2 (0.71%) Def Stans
7 2 (0.71%) HIPAA
7 2 (0.71%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 32 (11.35%) Active Directory
2 7 (2.48%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (1.77%) Docker
4 4 (1.42%) vSphere
5 3 (1.06%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.71%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.35%) Terminal Services
7 1 (0.35%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 13 (4.61%) Kubernetes
1 13 (4.61%) SCCM
2 12 (4.26%) Terraform
3 8 (2.84%) Single Sign-On
4 7 (2.48%) Microsoft Intune
5 4 (1.42%) Ansible
5 4 (1.42%) Argo
5 4 (1.42%) Cisco CUCM
5 4 (1.42%) FortiGate
5 4 (1.42%) Grafana
5 4 (1.42%) Kustomize
5 4 (1.42%) Prometheus
6 3 (1.06%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
6 3 (1.06%) Nessus
6 3 (1.06%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
7 2 (0.71%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 2 (0.71%) Kibana
7 2 (0.71%) Nmap
8 1 (0.35%) Jamf Pro
8 1 (0.35%) OpenVAS
Vendors
1 61 (21.63%) Cisco
2 51 (18.09%) Microsoft
3 34 (12.06%) Aruba
4 24 (8.51%) ServiceNow
5 12 (4.26%) Google
5 12 (4.26%) VMware
6 9 (3.19%) Juniper
7 8 (2.84%) Splunk
8 6 (2.13%) F5
8 6 (2.13%) LogRhythm
9 5 (1.77%) SAP
9 5 (1.77%) Tanium
10 4 (1.42%) Red Hat
10 4 (1.42%) SolarWinds
11 3 (1.06%) ArcSight
11 3 (1.06%) Atlassian
11 3 (1.06%) Coverity
11 3 (1.06%) Extreme Networks
11 3 (1.06%) IBM
11 3 (1.06%) Palo Alto