Chapter 8
Every kind of work
Most CV advice is written for office and IT jobs. Most adverts are not. On our board, adverts for teaching, construction, trades, care and driving ask first for cards, registrations, licences and checks, and recruiters search for exactly those words.
How to read the figures. Our measurement ContractorUK jobs board, 22,518 adverts posted June to 13 September 2026, measured 26 September 2026 CUK1 CUK4 CUK6. "Names" counts adverts that mention a credential. The skills list used for this recorded measurement was IT-heavy: outside IT, 96.1% of adverts name fewer than three skills from it, against 26.6% in IT. Those historical figures describe that version of the list, not the current vocabulary or the quality of the adverts. The current Credentials check is described in chapter 9.
Everywhere below, the rule is the same: write the credential the way the advert writes it, with its level or category and whether it is current, and only if you hold it. Never put certificate, card, registration or licence numbers on a CV you send widely; give them at the compliance check Our view.
Education and childcare
Adverts: 5,467. Teaching assistant (1,535 contract adverts) and supply teacher (1,328) are the two biggest roles on the whole board. "Safeguarding" appears in 59.4% of education adverts, "SEN" in 32.0%, "QTS" in 30.9%. Names: DBS 3,158, QTS 1,786, Level 3 childcare 118 (DBS inflated by agency boilerplate).
On your CV: QTS, QTLS or EYTS status; the type of DBS check and whether it is on the Update Service GOV4; the key stages or age groups you have taught; SEN experience in plain words (for example "1:1 support for a pupil with autism"); safeguarding training and when Our view.
Health and social care
Adverts: 958. "Personal care" 14.0%, "care plans" 13.5%, "medication" 12.5% of healthcare adverts. Names: DBS 363, NMC 66, HCPC 50, CQC 44.
On your CV: your registration (NMC, HCPC, Social Work England or the equivalent) and that it is current; the settings you have worked in (residential, domiciliary, hospital ward, community); medication and moving-and-handling training; the Care Certificate if you hold it Our view.
Construction and engineering
Adverts: construction 5,521, engineering 3,291. "CSCS" appears in 45.4% of construction adverts and "CSCS card" in 28.6%. Names in construction: CSCS 2,585, SMSTS or SSSTS 947, CPCS 580, NPORS 471, IPAF 194, first aid 563. In construction and engineering together: NEBOSH 113, IOSH 123. Site manager (513 adverts) and site engineer (399) lead the roles.
On your CV: the CSCS card type and expiry; site safety tickets (SMSTS, SSSTS, first aid); plant categories exactly as the card shows them (CPCS or NPORS); the types and values of projects; the software you use for setting out or design, if any Our view.
Trades
Adverts: electrician (519), fitter (278), carpenter (251), groundworker (196), welder (126). Names, across the whole board: 18th Edition 199, JIB 267, Gas Safe 60, City & Guilds 229, NVQ 826. "ECS" appears in 406 adverts, though some of those are an agency's name.
On your CV: the qualification and level (for example "NVQ Level 3 Electrotechnical, 18th Edition, ECS Gold Card"); registrations such as Gas Safe; the kinds of installation or job; own tools and van if true Our view.
Logistics, driving and warehouse
Adverts: 1,073. "HGV class" appears in 31.5% of logistics adverts, "digital tachograph card" 27.2%, "C+E" 21.2%. Names: HGV or C+E 552, Driver CPC 384, forklift 152, ADR 26.
On your CV: licence categories exactly (C, C+E, C1); Driver CPC and digital tachograph card; forklift types (counterbalance, reach, VNA) and the accrediting body if you know it; ADR if held; multi-drop, trunking or night work experience Our view.
Manufacturing
Adverts: 819. "Production" 58.5%, "operative" 39.8%, "shift" 38.6%. Names: forklift 113, manual handling 84, food hygiene 47.
On your CV: the lines, machines or processes you have run; shift patterns you have worked; quality and safety training; forklift and food hygiene certificates where relevant Our view.
Finance and accountancy
Adverts: 602. "Reporting" 51.8%, "reconciliations" 26.9%. Names: ACCA 120, CIMA 108, ACA 102, AAT 24 (finance adverts).
On your CV: qualification status in plain words ("ACCA qualified, 2021" or "CIMA part-qualified, studying for the Strategic level"); the systems you use (for example SAP, Oracle, Sage, Xero, Excel) only if you use them; month-end, reconciliations, payroll or audit work in the advert's words Our view.
Legal
Adverts: 79, too few for firm figures. "Solicitor" 45.6%, "caseload" 32.9%.
On your CV: your qualification and year (for example solicitor, chartered legal executive, paralegal); your area of law; the size and type of caseload you have run Our view.
HR, admin and office
Adverts: business support 2,231; administrator is the biggest role (333). "Customer" 36.8%, "attention to detail" 27.7%, "records" 23.8%. Names: CIPD 108 (business support).
On your CV: CIPD level if held; the systems you have used (HR, finance, CRM, Microsoft 365); the volume you handled (for example "processed 150 invoices a week") where true Our view.
Sales and marketing
Adverts: marketing 128, too few for firm figures. "Content" 48.4%, "campaigns" 46.1%, "digital" 53.1%.
On your CV: channels and tools you have run; results with numbers (leads, conversion, revenue) where true; sector knowledge Our view.
Hospitality, retail and security
Adverts: our board has no separate hospitality or retail sector, so we cannot measure these yet Too few adverts. Across all sectors, food hygiene is named in 151 adverts and an SIA licence in 78.
On your CV: food hygiene level, SIA licence type (door supervisor, security guard, CCTV) if held, till and stock systems, and your availability for evenings and weekends Our view.
Public sector and defence
Adverts: 878. "Stakeholders" 38.7%, "IR35" 29.4%; 43 ask for SC or DV clearance. Housing officer is a large role (68 adverts).
On your CV: clearance level if held GOV3; the bodies you have worked for and their size; frameworks and methods named in the advert. Civil Service and NHS applications have their own formats (chapter 7) FP25 FP24.
Energy and utilities
Adverts: no separate sector on our board; these roles sit under engineering and construction Too few to separate. EUSR is named in 84 adverts and Gas Safe in 60.
On your CV: utility registrations and street-works cards (for example EUSR, NRSWA) with expiry; the networks or assets you have worked on; safety-critical authorisations if held Our view.
IT
Adverts: 1,471, only 6.5% of the board. IT adverts name a median of 5 skills from our list (mean 6.1); 26.6% name fewer than three. "IR35" appears in 52.7% of IT adverts, and 117 ask for SC or DV clearance.
On your CV: the named technologies in the advert's own spelling, with full and short forms (for example "Amazon Web Services (AWS)"), each tied to a role and dates so months of experience can be worked out PS13; clearance and availability at the top Our view.
What Fitread does with this today. Every reading compares the advert's skills and title with your CV and runs the same layout and recruiter checks for every kind of work. The Credentials check compares recognised cards, registrations and licences requested in the advert with your CV and links the issuer source. It does not verify that a credential is valid. A reading of an advert that names no recognised skill says so and never invents skills for the advert.