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 16 April 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 1 4 1
Rank change year-on-year +3 -3 +2
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 372 114 370
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 35.87% 18.97% 30.83%
As % of the Qualifications category 81.76% 61.29% 70.08%
Number of daily rates quoted 202 68 229
10th Percentile £251 £405 £205
25th Percentile £361 £586 £455
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £650 £605
Median % change year-on-year -23.08% +7.44% +3.24%
75th Percentile £600 £700 £663
90th Percentile £725 £756 £713
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £578 £575
% change year-on-year -22.08% +0.43% -1.88%
Number of hourly rates quoted 101 2 40
10th Percentile £73.40 £63.30 £51.03
25th Percentile £80.75 £65.62 £56.44
Median hourly rate £84.00 £69.48 £63.29
Median % change year-on-year +20.91% +9.77% -2.63%
75th Percentile £88.00 £73.33 £87.46
90th Percentile £97.50 £75.65 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £83.58 £63.75 £63.00
% change year-on-year +31.11% +1.18% -2.59%

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 455 186 528
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading 43.88% 30.95% 44.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 252 98 271
10th Percentile £258 £394 £205
25th Percentile £384 £494 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £625 £575
Median % change year-on-year -20.00% +8.70% +0.88%
75th Percentile £625 £700 £650
90th Percentile £725 - £700
Berkshire median daily rate £466 £550 £535
% change year-on-year -15.27% +2.80% -2.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 109 5 42
10th Percentile £55.85 £65.06 £42.70
25th Percentile £80.75 - £53.74
Median hourly rate £84.00 £70.00 £62.90
Median % change year-on-year +20.00% +11.30% -3.24%
75th Percentile £88.00 - £87.01
90th Percentile £97.50 £74.31 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £83.00 £63.75 £61.60
% change year-on-year +30.21% +3.48% -4.75%

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 16 April 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 16 April 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 6 (1.61%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (1.08%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.81%) Confluence
4 1 (0.27%) Apache
4 1 (0.27%) Apache Spark
4 1 (0.27%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 13 (3.49%) Microsoft Excel
2 7 (1.88%) Microsoft Office
3 3 (0.81%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.54%) Lectora
5 1 (0.27%) CATIA
5 1 (0.27%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.27%) Siemens NX
5 1 (0.27%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 16 (4.30%) SAP S/4HANA
2 7 (1.88%) iTrent
3 3 (0.81%) SAP EWM
3 3 (0.81%) Teamcenter
4 1 (0.27%) Primavera
4 1 (0.27%) SAP QM
Cloud Services
1 46 (12.37%) Azure
2 34 (9.14%) AWS
3 17 (4.57%) Power Platform
4 16 (4.30%) GCP
5 14 (3.76%) Entra ID
6 7 (1.88%) Azure DevOps
6 7 (1.88%) Microsoft 365
6 7 (1.88%) SuccessFactors
7 6 (1.61%) Azure Sentinel
7 6 (1.61%) OneDrive
8 5 (1.34%) AWS CloudFormation
9 4 (1.08%) Power Automate
9 4 (1.08%) SaaS
9 4 (1.08%) Viva Engage
10 3 (0.81%) Azure AKS
10 3 (0.81%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 3 (0.81%) Azure Monitor
10 3 (0.81%) GitHub Actions
10 3 (0.81%) OpenShift
10 3 (0.81%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 25 (6.72%) Firewall
2 19 (5.11%) LAN
3 16 (4.30%) DNS
4 15 (4.03%) DHCP
5 14 (3.76%) BGP
5 14 (3.76%) Cisco ISE
5 14 (3.76%) OSPF
6 13 (3.49%) BIG-IP
6 13 (3.49%) VXLAN
6 13 (3.49%) WAN
7 11 (2.96%) Ethernet VPN
7 11 (2.96%) Junos
8 10 (2.69%) Unified Communications
9 8 (2.15%) Wireless
10 7 (1.88%) Cisco Nexus
10 7 (1.88%) Network Security
11 5 (1.34%) WLAN
12 3 (0.81%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
12 3 (0.81%) TCP/IP
12 3 (0.81%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (4.03%) Power BI
2 6 (1.61%) Data Warehouse
2 6 (1.61%) Tableau
3 4 (1.08%) Oracle Database
3 4 (1.08%) Oracle Database 12c
3 4 (1.08%) SQL Server
4 3 (0.81%) Oracle Reports
5 2 (0.54%) NoSQL
5 2 (0.54%) SAP Data Services
6 1 (0.27%) Big Data
6 1 (0.27%) Hadoop
6 1 (0.27%) MySQL
6 1 (0.27%) PostgreSQL
6 1 (0.27%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 37 (9.95%) Rational DOORS
2 5 (1.34%) Jenkins
3 4 (1.08%) Bitbucket
4 3 (0.81%) Android Studio
4 3 (0.81%) JIRA
4 3 (0.81%) Subversion
5 2 (0.54%) Burp Suite
5 2 (0.54%) Metasploit
6 1 (0.27%) Git
6 1 (0.27%) GitLab
6 1 (0.27%) JUnit
6 1 (0.27%) Liquibase
6 1 (0.27%) Mockito
6 1 (0.27%) TestDirector
General
1 85 (22.85%) Social Skills
2 79 (21.24%) Aerospace
3 41 (11.02%) Public Sector
4 21 (5.65%) Analytical Skills
5 20 (5.38%) Finance
6 13 (3.49%) Military
7 7 (1.88%) Advertising
7 7 (1.88%) Manufacturing
8 6 (1.61%) Legal
9 4 (1.08%) Influencing Skills
10 3 (0.81%) Telecoms
11 2 (0.54%) Local Government
12 1 (0.27%) Avionics
12 1 (0.27%) Billing
12 1 (0.27%) Documentation Skills
12 1 (0.27%) Marketing
12 1 (0.27%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 50 (13.44%) Consultant
2 42 (11.29%) Product Manager
3 41 (11.02%) Delivery Manager
3 41 (11.02%) Lead
4 38 (10.22%) Product Delivery Manager
5 36 (9.68%) Senior
6 34 (9.14%) Architect
7 24 (6.45%) Network Consultant
8 23 (6.18%) Network Engineer
9 22 (5.91%) Systems Delivery Manager
9 22 (5.91%) Systems Manager
10 21 (5.65%) Analyst
11 18 (4.84%) Systems Engineer
12 16 (4.30%) IT Manager
13 13 (3.49%) Data Analyst
14 12 (3.23%) Data Migration Lead
14 12 (3.23%) SIEM Engineer
15 11 (2.96%) Project Manager
16 10 (2.69%) Developer
16 10 (2.69%) Tester
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (3.23%) 802.1X
2 4 (1.08%) Elastic Stack
2 4 (1.08%) Oracle GoldenGate
3 3 (0.81%) ARM Templates
3 3 (0.81%) Loki
4 2 (0.54%) OAuth
4 2 (0.54%) OAuth2
4 2 (0.54%) OpenID
4 2 (0.54%) SAML
5 1 (0.27%) .NET
5 1 (0.27%) Apache NiFi
5 1 (0.27%) CSS
5 1 (0.27%) HTML
5 1 (0.27%) HTML5 Canvas
5 1 (0.27%) iOS SDK
5 1 (0.27%) LAMP
5 1 (0.27%) Middleware
5 1 (0.27%) React
5 1 (0.27%) REST
5 1 (0.27%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 33 (8.87%) Product Ownership
2 23 (6.18%) Data Structures
3 20 (5.38%) PKI
4 18 (4.84%) Data Centre
5 13 (3.49%) Onboarding
6 12 (3.23%) Management Information System
7 11 (2.96%) Clustering
7 11 (2.96%) Virtual Team
8 10 (2.69%) Greenfield Project
9 9 (2.42%) Cloud Native
10 8 (2.15%) PMI
11 6 (1.61%) Driving Licence
11 6 (1.61%) Self-Motivation
12 5 (1.34%) Handset
13 4 (1.08%) Data Protection Act
13 4 (1.08%) Security Operations Centre
14 3 (0.81%) Mobile App
14 3 (0.81%) Operational Technology
14 3 (0.81%) Security Posture
14 3 (0.81%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 37 (9.95%) Windows
2 24 (6.45%) Linux
3 8 (2.15%) Android
4 4 (1.08%) Mac OS
4 4 (1.08%) Unix
5 3 (0.81%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 3 (0.81%) Windows 10
6 2 (0.54%) Windows Server
7 1 (0.27%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (19.89%) Continuous Improvement
1 74 (19.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
2 68 (18.28%) Roadmaps
3 56 (15.05%) Migration
4 55 (14.78%) Agile
5 49 (13.17%) Systems Engineering
6 48 (12.90%) Computer Science
7 47 (12.63%) ITIL
7 47 (12.63%) Scaled Agile Framework
8 42 (11.29%) Cybersecurity
9 41 (11.02%) Service Management
10 39 (10.48%) CI/CD
10 39 (10.48%) ITSM
11 38 (10.22%) Configuration Management
11 38 (10.22%) PRINCE2
12 36 (9.68%) Change Control
13 35 (9.41%) Stakeholder Management
14 33 (8.87%) Model-Based Systems Engineering
14 33 (8.87%) Programme Management
15 31 (8.33%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 30 (8.06%) Python
2 25 (6.72%) PowerShell
3 11 (2.96%) Kusto Query Language
4 10 (2.69%) SQL
5 7 (1.88%) Bash
6 5 (1.34%) Bicep
7 4 (1.08%) Korn
7 4 (1.08%) Shell Script
8 3 (0.81%) C++
9 2 (0.54%) C#
9 2 (0.54%) JavaScript
9 2 (0.54%) PHP
10 1 (0.27%) Perl
10 1 (0.27%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 250 (67.20%) SC Cleared
2 63 (16.94%) DV Cleared
3 62 (16.67%) Degree
4 14 (3.76%) AWS Certification
4 14 (3.76%) PMP
5 13 (3.49%) PMI Certification
6 12 (3.23%) Cisco Certification
7 11 (2.96%) Azure Certification
8 10 (2.69%) CISSP
9 9 (2.42%) BPSS Clearance
10 8 (2.15%) MAPM
10 8 (2.15%) TOGAF Certification
11 6 (1.61%) APMP
12 4 (1.08%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
12 4 (1.08%) Chartered Engineer
12 4 (1.08%) GIAC
12 4 (1.08%) JNCIA
12 4 (1.08%) JNCIP
12 4 (1.08%) JNCIS
13 3 (0.81%) CEH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (6.45%) NIST
2 23 (6.18%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 14 (3.76%) NCSC
4 12 (3.23%) NIST 800
5 10 (2.69%) Data Quality
6 6 (1.61%) PMO
6 6 (1.61%) QA
7 5 (1.34%) GDPR
8 4 (1.08%) Accessibility
9 3 (0.81%) DO-254
9 3 (0.81%) IEC 61508
9 3 (0.81%) ISO 26262
9 3 (0.81%) JSP 440
9 3 (0.81%) SLA
10 2 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.54%) Def Stans
10 2 (0.54%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.27%) HIPAA
System Software
1 17 (4.57%) Active Directory
2 7 (1.88%) Docker
3 6 (1.61%) VMware Infrastructure
4 4 (1.08%) Oracle RAC
5 3 (0.81%) Hyper-V
5 3 (0.81%) vSphere
6 2 (0.54%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.27%) Terminal Services
7 1 (0.27%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 12 (3.23%) FortiGate
1 12 (3.23%) Terraform
2 10 (2.69%) Kubernetes
3 5 (1.34%) Microsoft Intune
3 5 (1.34%) Single Sign-On
4 4 (1.08%) Ansible
4 4 (1.08%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
4 4 (1.08%) Oracle RMAN
4 4 (1.08%) SCCM
5 3 (0.81%) Argo
5 3 (0.81%) Grafana
5 3 (0.81%) Kustomize
5 3 (0.81%) Nessus
5 3 (0.81%) Prometheus
5 3 (0.81%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
6 2 (0.54%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 2 (0.54%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
6 2 (0.54%) Kibana
6 2 (0.54%) Nmap
7 1 (0.27%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 56 (15.05%) Cisco
2 39 (10.48%) Microsoft
3 30 (8.06%) SAP
4 28 (7.53%) IBM
5 24 (6.45%) Aruba
6 20 (5.38%) Juniper
7 17 (4.57%) ServiceNow
8 16 (4.30%) F5
9 14 (3.76%) Google
9 14 (3.76%) Splunk
10 12 (3.23%) Oracle
11 11 (2.96%) SolarWinds
11 11 (2.96%) VMware
12 10 (2.69%) Extreme Networks
13 7 (1.88%) Workday
14 5 (1.34%) LogRhythm
14 5 (1.34%) Tanium
15 4 (1.08%) Siemens
16 3 (0.81%) Palo Alto
16 3 (0.81%) Red Hat