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 22 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
22 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 1 7 1
Rank change year-on-year +6 -6 +2
Contract jobs citing Security Cleared 293 135 357
As % of all contract jobs in Reading 33.22% 17.33% 30.86%
As % of the Qualifications category 80.27% 57.20% 70.97%
Number of daily rates quoted 204 70 221
10th Percentile £255 £400 £205
25th Percentile £313 £483 £213
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £613 £575
Median % change year-on-year -18.37% +6.52% -0.86%
75th Percentile £588 £663 £620
90th Percentile £684 £700 £688
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £550 £543
% change year-on-year -18.18% +1.38% -7.42%
Number of hourly rates quoted 44 3 29
10th Percentile £66.50 £61.61 £49.40
25th Percentile £80.50 £61.67 £56.50
Median hourly rate £83.00 £63.15 £61.65
Median % change year-on-year +31.43% +2.44% -5.16%
75th Percentile £95.00 £70.96 £84.40
90th Percentile £105.60 £74.70 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £82.50 £61.78 £62.75
% change year-on-year +33.55% -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 365 236 503
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in Reading 41.38% 30.30% 43.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 244 119 290
10th Percentile £255 £300 £205
25th Percentile £360 £425 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £600 £550
Median % change year-on-year -16.67% +9.09% -3.51%
75th Percentile £588 £663 £618
90th Percentile £675 £690 £688
Berkshire median daily rate £450 £525 £513
% change year-on-year -14.29% +2.44% -6.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 3 31
10th Percentile £68.50 £61.61 £42.00
25th Percentile £80.69 £61.67 £54.58
Median hourly rate £83.25 £63.15 £61.60
Median % change year-on-year +31.83% +2.52% -5.23%
75th Percentile £95.00 £70.96 £78.07
90th Percentile £106.60 £74.70 £87.53
Berkshire median hourly rate £81.75 £61.63 £61.60
% change year-on-year +32.65% +0.04% -5.23%

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 22 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 22 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 (2.73%) Microsoft Exchange
2 6 (2.05%) SharePoint
3 3 (1.02%) Confluence
4 1 (0.34%) Apache
4 1 (0.34%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 6 (2.05%) Microsoft Excel
1 6 (2.05%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (1.02%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.68%) Lectora
4 1 (0.34%) CATIA
4 1 (0.34%) MS Visio
4 1 (0.34%) Siemens NX
Business Applications
1 5 (1.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.68%) SAP HCM
2 2 (0.68%) SAP PS
2 2 (0.68%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 49 (16.72%) Azure
2 37 (12.63%) AWS
3 20 (6.83%) Entra ID
4 17 (5.80%) OneDrive
5 14 (4.78%) GCP
6 13 (4.44%) Microsoft 365
7 10 (3.41%) Power Platform
8 6 (2.05%) Azure DevOps
8 6 (2.05%) Azure Sentinel
8 6 (2.05%) Power Automate
9 5 (1.71%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (1.37%) OpenShift
10 4 (1.37%) PowerApps
10 4 (1.37%) Viva Engage
11 3 (1.02%) Azure AKS
11 3 (1.02%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 3 (1.02%) Azure Monitor
11 3 (1.02%) GitHub
11 3 (1.02%) GitHub Actions
11 3 (1.02%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 17 (5.80%) Firewall
2 12 (4.10%) Unified Communications
3 10 (3.41%) DNS
3 10 (3.41%) LAN
4 9 (3.07%) 4G
4 9 (3.07%) DHCP
4 9 (3.07%) Wi-Fi
5 8 (2.73%) Wireless
6 7 (2.39%) Cisco ISE
7 6 (2.05%) BGP
7 6 (2.05%) Cisco Nexus
7 6 (2.05%) Network Security
7 6 (2.05%) OSPF
8 5 (1.71%) BIG-IP
8 5 (1.71%) VXLAN
8 5 (1.71%) WAN
8 5 (1.71%) WebEx
8 5 (1.71%) WLAN
9 4 (1.37%) Ethernet VPN
9 4 (1.37%) Junos
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (2.73%) Power BI
2 4 (1.37%) NoSQL
3 3 (1.02%) Data Warehouse
3 3 (1.02%) SQL Server
3 3 (1.02%) Tableau
4 2 (0.68%) Oracle Database
4 2 (0.68%) Oracle Database 12c
5 1 (0.34%) MySQL
5 1 (0.34%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 8 (2.73%) Rational DOORS
2 6 (2.05%) JIRA
3 5 (1.71%) Jenkins
4 3 (1.02%) Android Studio
4 3 (1.02%) Bitbucket
4 3 (1.02%) Subversion
5 2 (0.68%) Burp Suite
5 2 (0.68%) Metasploit
5 2 (0.68%) Visual Studio
6 1 (0.34%) Git
6 1 (0.34%) GitLab
General
1 78 (26.62%) Social Skills
2 52 (17.75%) Public Sector
3 31 (10.58%) Aerospace
4 17 (5.80%) Analytical Skills
5 14 (4.78%) Finance
6 11 (3.75%) Military
7 7 (2.39%) Legal
8 4 (1.37%) Advertising
9 3 (1.02%) Telecoms
10 2 (0.68%) Influencing Skills
10 2 (0.68%) Local Government
10 2 (0.68%) Manufacturing
11 1 (0.34%) Avionics
11 1 (0.34%) Billing
11 1 (0.34%) Documentation Skills
11 1 (0.34%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 52 (17.75%) Consultant
2 33 (11.26%) Network Consultant
3 30 (10.24%) Senior
4 27 (9.22%) Architect
5 23 (7.85%) Lead
6 19 (6.48%) Network Engineer
7 14 (4.78%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 13 (4.44%) IT Manager
9 12 (4.10%) Developer
10 11 (3.75%) Analyst
10 11 (3.75%) SIEM Engineer
10 11 (3.75%) Support Engineer
11 10 (3.41%) Cloud Engineer
11 10 (3.41%) Project Manager
11 10 (3.41%) Tester
12 9 (3.07%) Infrastructure Support
12 9 (3.07%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
12 9 (3.07%) Systems Engineer
13 8 (2.73%) Delivery Manager
13 8 (2.73%) Product Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (1.37%) 802.1X
1 4 (1.37%) Loki
2 3 (1.02%) ARM Templates
2 3 (1.02%) Elastic Stack
3 2 (0.68%) AngularJS
3 2 (0.68%) jQuery
3 2 (0.68%) Node.js
3 2 (0.68%) OAuth
3 2 (0.68%) OAuth2
3 2 (0.68%) OpenID
3 2 (0.68%) Oracle GoldenGate
3 2 (0.68%) React
3 2 (0.68%) SAML
3 2 (0.68%) Web Services
4 1 (0.34%) .NET
4 1 (0.34%) CSS
4 1 (0.34%) HTML
4 1 (0.34%) iOS SDK
4 1 (0.34%) LAMP
4 1 (0.34%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 14 (4.78%) PKI
2 13 (4.44%) Onboarding
3 12 (4.10%) Data Centre
4 10 (3.41%) Cloud Native
5 8 (2.73%) Management Information System
6 7 (2.39%) PMI
6 7 (2.39%) Self-Motivation
7 5 (1.71%) Driving Licence
7 5 (1.71%) Handset
7 5 (1.71%) Product Ownership
7 5 (1.71%) Security Operations Centre
7 5 (1.71%) Virtual Team
8 4 (1.37%) Clustering
9 3 (1.02%) Cyber Threat
9 3 (1.02%) Greenfield Project
9 3 (1.02%) Mobile App
9 3 (1.02%) Security Posture
9 3 (1.02%) Video Conferencing
10 2 (0.68%) Cyber Security Posture
10 2 (0.68%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 45 (15.36%) Windows
2 29 (9.90%) Linux
3 14 (4.78%) Windows 10
4 10 (3.41%) Android
5 4 (1.37%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.37%) Windows Server
6 3 (1.02%) Apple iOS
7 2 (0.68%) Unix
8 1 (0.34%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 70 (23.89%) Roadmaps
2 52 (17.75%) Stakeholder Engagement
3 44 (15.02%) Migration
4 39 (13.31%) CI/CD
4 39 (13.31%) Continuous Improvement
5 38 (12.97%) ITIL
6 35 (11.95%) ITSM
6 35 (11.95%) Service Management
7 33 (11.26%) Collaborative Working
8 30 (10.24%) Cybersecurity
9 26 (8.87%) Stakeholder Management
10 25 (8.53%) Agile
10 25 (8.53%) Problem-Solving
11 22 (7.51%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 21 (7.17%) SIEM
13 20 (6.83%) Change Management
13 20 (6.83%) Validation
14 17 (5.80%) Scaled Agile Framework
15 16 (5.46%) DevOps
15 16 (5.46%) Project Management
Programming Languages
1 34 (11.60%) Python
2 30 (10.24%) PowerShell
3 9 (3.07%) Bash
3 9 (3.07%) Kusto Query Language
4 7 (2.39%) SQL
5 5 (1.71%) Bicep
6 4 (1.37%) Java
6 4 (1.37%) JavaScript
7 3 (1.02%) C#
8 2 (0.68%) Ada
8 2 (0.68%) Assembly Language
8 2 (0.68%) C
8 2 (0.68%) Korn
8 2 (0.68%) MATLAB
8 2 (0.68%) PHP
8 2 (0.68%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.34%) Perl
Qualifications
1 222 (75.77%) SC Cleared
2 39 (13.31%) DV Cleared
3 22 (7.51%) Degree
4 17 (5.80%) AWS Certification
5 11 (3.75%) Azure Certification
5 11 (3.75%) PMP
6 10 (3.41%) PMI Certification
7 9 (3.07%) CISSP
8 7 (2.39%) Cisco Certification
8 7 (2.39%) MAPM
9 6 (2.05%) TOGAF Certification
10 5 (1.71%) APMP
10 5 (1.71%) BPSS Clearance
10 5 (1.71%) GIAC
11 4 (1.37%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
11 4 (1.37%) CCNP
12 3 (1.02%) CEH
12 3 (1.02%) GCFA
12 3 (1.02%) GCIA
12 3 (1.02%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (5.46%) NIST
2 15 (5.12%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 14 (4.78%) NCSC
4 7 (2.39%) QA
5 6 (2.05%) GDPR
6 5 (1.71%) NIST 800
7 4 (1.37%) Accessibility
7 4 (1.37%) PMO
7 4 (1.37%) SLA
8 3 (1.02%) Data Quality
8 3 (1.02%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.68%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.68%) Def Stans
9 2 (0.68%) DO-254
9 2 (0.68%) HIPAA
9 2 (0.68%) IEC 61508
9 2 (0.68%) ISO 26262
9 2 (0.68%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 32 (10.92%) Active Directory
2 7 (2.39%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (1.71%) Docker
4 4 (1.37%) vSphere
5 3 (1.02%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.68%) Oracle RAC
6 2 (0.68%) Virtual Desktop
7 1 (0.34%) Terminal Services
7 1 (0.34%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 13 (4.44%) Kubernetes
1 13 (4.44%) SCCM
2 12 (4.10%) Terraform
3 8 (2.73%) Single Sign-On
4 7 (2.39%) Microsoft Intune
5 4 (1.37%) Ansible
5 4 (1.37%) Argo
5 4 (1.37%) Cisco CUCM
5 4 (1.37%) FortiGate
5 4 (1.37%) Grafana
5 4 (1.37%) Kustomize
5 4 (1.37%) Prometheus
6 3 (1.02%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
6 3 (1.02%) Nessus
6 3 (1.02%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
7 2 (0.68%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 2 (0.68%) Kibana
7 2 (0.68%) Nmap
7 2 (0.68%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 2 (0.68%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 62 (21.16%) Cisco
2 52 (17.75%) Microsoft
3 34 (11.60%) Aruba
4 25 (8.53%) ServiceNow
5 12 (4.10%) Google
5 12 (4.10%) VMware
6 11 (3.75%) Juniper
7 8 (2.73%) Splunk
8 7 (2.39%) F5
9 6 (2.05%) LogRhythm
10 5 (1.71%) SAP
10 5 (1.71%) Tanium
11 4 (1.37%) IBM
11 4 (1.37%) Palo Alto
11 4 (1.37%) Red Hat
11 4 (1.37%) SolarWinds
12 3 (1.02%) ArcSight
12 3 (1.02%) Atlassian
12 3 (1.02%) Coverity
12 3 (1.02%) Thales