Validation
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs requiring Validation skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 6 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 132 82 194
Rank change year-on-year -50 +112 +4
Permanent jobs citing Validation 1,377 1,591 1,457
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.51% 3.66% 1.52%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.02% 3.94% 1.78%
Number of salaries quoted 777 429 782
10th Percentile £34,500 £40,000 £35,500
25th Percentile £42,750 £46,250 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £56,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +7.14% +1.82% -12.00%
75th Percentile £77,500 £71,250 £72,325
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £85,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £54,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -3.67% +3.81% -4.55%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Validation falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 68,019 40,426 81,982
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 74.51% 93.00% 85.53%
Number of salaries quoted 42,516 22,659 59,588
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,580 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £39,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £59,500 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -0.83% +9.09% -10.57%
75th Percentile £78,750 £80,000 £72,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £102,500 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £51,500 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -1.90% +5.00% -9.09%

Validation
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Validation relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.

Validation job vacancy trend in the UK

Validation
Salary Trend

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Validation.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Validation

Validation
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Validation over the 6 months to 6 May 2026.

Salary histogram for Validation in the UK

Validation
Top 17 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Validation within the UK over the 6 months to 6 May 2026. 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England -51 1,224 £60,000 +7.14% 918
UK excluding London -71 900 £52,500 -3.67% 703
Work from Home +114 417 £60,000 +4.35% 396
London +53 358 £77,500 +10.71% 336
South East -45 289 £55,000 +7.84% 233
North of England +39 222 £55,000 +15.35% 133
Midlands -90 149 £40,000 -27.27% 98
North West +30 138 £58,000 +21.64% 77
East of England -79 97 £60,000 +5.26% 95
West Midlands -8 96 £44,000 -32.31% 58
South West -52 89 £53,750 -1.38% 99
Yorkshire -21 53 £59,000 +24.21% 43
East Midlands -102 51 £30,000 -41.18% 40
Scotland -22 41 £42,000 -27.63% 35
North East -2 31 £52,500 -7.49% 14
Wales -27 13 £44,000 -15.47% 17
Northern Ireland -38 2 - - 13

Validation
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 46 (3.34%) Apache Airflow
2 28 (2.03%) Apache Spark
3 26 (1.89%) Apache
4 23 (1.67%) Confluence
5 21 (1.53%) ArcGIS
6 16 (1.16%) Microsoft Exchange
7 12 (0.87%) Appian
8 11 (0.80%) CMS
9 8 (0.58%) SharePoint
10 6 (0.44%) Kinematics
11 3 (0.22%) Headless CMS
11 3 (0.22%) Jupyter
12 2 (0.15%) Artix
12 2 (0.15%) IIS
13 1 (0.073%) Adobe Experience Manager
13 1 (0.073%) Anypoint
13 1 (0.073%) Palantir Foundry
13 1 (0.073%) SAS
Applications
1 90 (6.54%) Microsoft Excel
2 62 (4.50%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (1.45%) MS Visio
4 15 (1.09%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 8 (0.58%) Microsoft Project
5 8 (0.58%) Simulink
6 6 (0.44%) Spreadsheet
7 5 (0.36%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 4 (0.29%) CANalyzer
8 4 (0.29%) Fusion 360
9 3 (0.22%) Solid Edge
9 3 (0.22%) SOLIDWORKS
10 2 (0.15%) Adobe XD
10 2 (0.15%) AutoCAD
10 2 (0.15%) CATIA
10 2 (0.15%) Oracle Smart View
10 2 (0.15%) Sketch
11 1 (0.073%) Autodesk Inventor
11 1 (0.073%) PTC Creo
11 1 (0.073%) Siemens NX
Business Applications
1 35 (2.54%) SAP S/4HANA
2 21 (1.53%) Dynamics CRM
3 10 (0.73%) SAP ERP
4 9 (0.65%) Oracle ERP
5 7 (0.51%) Workday HCM
6 6 (0.44%) Elite 3E
6 6 (0.44%) Loan IQ
6 6 (0.44%) SAP MDG
7 4 (0.29%) Markit EDM
7 4 (0.29%) SAP MDG-BP
8 3 (0.22%) iTrent
8 3 (0.22%) Oracle Applications
8 3 (0.22%) Oracle EBS
9 2 (0.15%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
9 2 (0.15%) SAP FSCM
9 2 (0.15%) SAP PSCD
10 1 (0.073%) Oracle Payables
10 1 (0.073%) Oracle Receivables
10 1 (0.073%) SAP BRIM
10 1 (0.073%) SAP Business ByDesign
Cloud Services
1 201 (14.60%) Azure
2 135 (9.80%) AWS
3 120 (8.71%) Power Platform
4 57 (4.14%) SaaS
5 54 (3.92%) GCP
6 44 (3.20%) Azure DevOps
7 35 (2.54%) Azure Data Factory
8 34 (2.47%) Dynamics 365
9 32 (2.32%) Serverless
10 30 (2.18%) Snowflake
11 28 (2.03%) GitHub
11 28 (2.03%) Microsoft 365
12 27 (1.96%) Amazon S3
13 25 (1.82%) Power Automate
14 24 (1.74%) dbt
14 24 (1.74%) Entra ID
15 16 (1.16%) OpenShift
16 15 (1.09%) Anthropic Claude
16 15 (1.09%) Azure AI
17 12 (0.87%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 36 (2.61%) Broadband
2 32 (2.32%) Firewall
3 29 (2.11%) CHAP
4 24 (1.74%) DNS
5 21 (1.53%) WAN
6 19 (1.38%) TCP/IP
7 18 (1.31%) Wireless
8 17 (1.23%) SD-WAN
9 13 (0.94%) 5G
10 12 (0.87%) HTTP
11 10 (0.73%) Wireshark
12 9 (0.65%) LAN
12 9 (0.65%) Modbus
12 9 (0.65%) NAS
12 9 (0.65%) VPN
13 8 (0.58%) Multicast
14 7 (0.51%) Ethernet
14 7 (0.51%) MQTT
14 7 (0.51%) Network Security
15 6 (0.44%) tcpdump
Database & Business Intelligence
1 113 (8.21%) Power BI
2 49 (3.56%) SQL Server
3 45 (3.27%) Tableau
4 35 (2.54%) Data Warehouse
4 35 (2.54%) PostgreSQL
5 34 (2.47%) Metadata
6 31 (2.25%) Relational Database
7 25 (1.82%) QGIS
8 23 (1.67%) GIS
9 21 (1.53%) Data Lake
10 20 (1.45%) Spatial Data
11 18 (1.31%) Oracle Reports
12 17 (1.23%) Spark SQL
13 16 (1.16%) Azure SQL Database
14 15 (1.09%) MongoDB
14 15 (1.09%) Oracle Database
15 14 (1.02%) BigQuery
15 14 (1.02%) MySQL
15 14 (1.02%) Parquet
15 14 (1.02%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 65 (4.72%) Git
2 63 (4.58%) JIRA
3 39 (2.83%) Rational DOORS
4 28 (2.03%) Jenkins
5 20 (1.45%) GitLab
6 17 (1.23%) LabVIEW
6 17 (1.23%) Postman
6 17 (1.23%) Snyk
7 15 (1.09%) MLflow
7 15 (1.09%) Selenium
8 13 (0.94%) IBM UrbanCode
9 12 (0.87%) Cucumber
9 12 (0.87%) JMeter
10 11 (0.80%) TestRail
11 10 (0.73%) Eclipse
12 7 (0.51%) LoadRunner
13 6 (0.44%) Cypress.io
14 5 (0.36%) SonarQube
14 5 (0.36%) Subversion
14 5 (0.36%) Visual Studio
General
1 453 (32.90%) Social Skills
2 374 (27.16%) Finance
3 293 (21.28%) Analytical Skills
4 109 (7.92%) Manufacturing
5 100 (7.26%) Aerospace
6 91 (6.61%) Electronics
7 86 (6.25%) Banking
8 70 (5.08%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 59 (4.28%) Legal
10 50 (3.63%) Public Sector
11 46 (3.34%) Retail
12 42 (3.05%) Law
12 42 (3.05%) Marketing
13 41 (2.98%) Financial Institution
14 40 (2.90%) Pharmaceutical
15 36 (2.61%) Presentation Skills
16 31 (2.25%) Organisational Skills
17 30 (2.18%) Automotive
18 26 (1.89%) Games
19 23 (1.67%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 226 (16.41%) Senior
2 221 (16.05%) Analyst
3 156 (11.33%) Systems Engineer
4 98 (7.12%) Lead
5 91 (6.61%) Test Engineer
6 86 (6.25%) Architect
7 84 (6.10%) Business Analyst
8 83 (6.03%) Validation Engineer
9 66 (4.79%) Consultant
10 59 (4.28%) Data Analyst
11 52 (3.78%) Integration Engineer
12 50 (3.63%) Data Engineer
13 45 (3.27%) Developer
14 44 (3.20%) Junior
14 44 (3.20%) Senior Systems Engineer
15 42 (3.05%) Principal Engineer
16 39 (2.83%) Verification Engineer
17 36 (2.61%) Software Validation Engineer
17 36 (2.61%) Systems Integration Engineer
18 32 (2.32%) Auditor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (3.85%) REST
2 37 (2.69%) PyTorch
3 34 (2.47%) JSON
3 34 (2.47%) Pandas
4 29 (2.11%) Middleware
5 26 (1.89%) pytest
6 23 (1.67%) RESTful
7 22 (1.60%) PySpark
7 22 (1.60%) XML
8 20 (1.45%) OAuth
9 19 (1.38%) .NET
9 19 (1.38%) Swagger
10 18 (1.31%) JWT
11 17 (1.23%) Kafka
11 17 (1.23%) NumPy
11 17 (1.23%) Playwright
11 17 (1.23%) TensorFlow
12 15 (1.09%) CSS
12 15 (1.09%) React
13 14 (1.02%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 80 (5.81%) Management Information System
2 57 (4.14%) Onboarding
3 50 (3.63%) Data Structures
4 39 (2.83%) Low-Code
5 37 (2.69%) Algorithms
5 37 (2.69%) Product Ownership
6 36 (2.61%) Cloud Native
6 36 (2.61%) Self-Motivation
7 34 (2.47%) Legacy Systems
8 28 (2.03%) Analytical Mindset
8 28 (2.03%) Life Science
9 27 (1.96%) Data Centre
10 23 (1.67%) Embedded Systems
11 22 (1.60%) Enterprise Software
12 18 (1.31%) SCADA
13 17 (1.23%) Driving Licence
13 17 (1.23%) Robotics
14 15 (1.09%) Blockchain
15 14 (1.02%) IoT
15 14 (1.02%) Reinsurance
Operating Systems
1 79 (5.74%) Linux
2 65 (4.72%) Windows
3 21 (1.53%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
3 21 (1.53%) Windows Server
4 20 (1.45%) Unix
5 12 (0.87%) Android
6 4 (0.29%) Apple iOS
6 4 (0.29%) CentOS
6 4 (0.29%) FreeRTOS
6 4 (0.29%) Mac OS X
7 3 (0.22%) AIX
7 3 (0.22%) Kali Linux
7 3 (0.22%) Robot Operating System
8 2 (0.15%) ThreadX
8 2 (0.15%) VxWorks
9 1 (0.073%) Embedded Linux
9 1 (0.073%) Rocky
9 1 (0.073%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.073%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 304 (22.08%) Problem-Solving
2 287 (20.84%) Agile
3 259 (18.81%) Continuous Improvement
4 211 (15.32%) Analytics
4 211 (15.32%) Verification and Validation
5 198 (14.38%) AI
6 178 (12.93%) Test Automation
7 177 (12.85%) CI/CD
8 165 (11.98%) Data Validation
9 152 (11.04%) Migration
10 142 (10.31%) Business Intelligence
11 141 (10.24%) Data Modelling
12 138 (10.02%) Stakeholder Management
13 135 (9.80%) Decision-Making
14 132 (9.59%) User Acceptance Testing
15 130 (9.44%) Systems Engineering
16 129 (9.37%) Data Governance
17 127 (9.22%) Mentoring
18 126 (9.15%) Stakeholder Engagement
19 122 (8.86%) DevOps
Programming Languages
1 300 (21.79%) Python
2 269 (19.54%) SQL
3 50 (3.63%) C++
4 48 (3.49%) Java
5 41 (2.98%) C
6 36 (2.61%) PowerShell
7 28 (2.03%) JavaScript
8 27 (1.96%) Go
9 26 (1.89%) Bash
10 24 (1.74%) C#
11 22 (1.60%) MATLAB
12 18 (1.31%) T-SQL
13 14 (1.02%) TypeScript
14 12 (0.87%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 12 (0.87%) Embedded C
15 9 (0.65%) VBA
16 8 (0.58%) R
17 7 (0.51%) ABAP
17 7 (0.51%) Apex Code
17 7 (0.51%) VB
Qualifications
1 304 (22.08%) Degree
2 166 (12.06%) Security Cleared
3 131 (9.51%) BPSS Clearance
4 64 (4.65%) Master's Degree
5 62 (4.50%) SC Cleared
6 39 (2.83%) CISSP
7 38 (2.76%) CISA
7 38 (2.76%) Computer Science Degree
7 38 (2.76%) DV Cleared
8 36 (2.61%) Chartered Engineer
8 36 (2.61%) CISM
9 34 (2.47%) SANS
10 29 (2.11%) CGEIT
10 29 (2.11%) FFIEC
11 28 (2.03%) HNC
12 24 (1.74%) HND
13 23 (1.67%) PMI Certification
14 20 (1.45%) PMP
15 12 (0.87%) ISTQB
16 10 (0.73%) ACCA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 192 (13.94%) Data Quality
2 147 (10.68%) QA
3 66 (4.79%) GDPR
4 59 (4.28%) Accessibility
5 37 (2.69%) ISO/IEC 15288
6 35 (2.54%) GRC
7 31 (2.25%) NIST
8 29 (2.11%) COBIT
9 21 (1.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 20 (1.45%) IFRS
11 19 (1.38%) IEC 61508
12 15 (1.09%) SLA
13 13 (0.94%) GAAP
13 13 (0.94%) ISO 9001
14 11 (0.80%) GMP
14 11 (0.80%) PMO
15 10 (0.73%) Good Clinical Practice
15 10 (0.73%) WCAG
16 9 (0.65%) 21 CFR Part 11
16 9 (0.65%) ISO/IEC 12207
System Software
1 61 (4.43%) Docker
2 36 (2.61%) Active Directory
3 29 (2.11%) Firmware
4 18 (1.31%) Virtual Machines
5 15 (1.09%) VMware Infrastructure
5 15 (1.09%) vSphere
6 6 (0.44%) Hyper-V
6 6 (0.44%) KVM
7 5 (0.36%) Embedded Firmware
8 3 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.15%) Terminal Services
10 1 (0.073%) iptables
10 1 (0.073%) OpenAM
10 1 (0.073%) OpenDJ
10 1 (0.073%) OpenIDM
10 1 (0.073%) pfSense
Systems Management
1 66 (4.79%) Kubernetes
2 46 (3.34%) Terraform
3 32 (2.32%) Grafana
4 25 (1.82%) Ansible
5 17 (1.23%) Prometheus
6 15 (1.09%) Functional Safety
7 14 (1.02%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
8 10 (0.73%) Puppet
8 10 (0.73%) SCCM
9 7 (0.51%) Microsoft Intune
10 4 (0.29%) Argo
10 4 (0.29%) Cilium
10 4 (0.29%) Rancher
10 4 (0.29%) yum
11 3 (0.22%) HP Fortify
11 3 (0.22%) Kibana
12 2 (0.15%) BMC PATROL
12 2 (0.15%) Computer Incident Response Team
12 2 (0.15%) PowerCLI
13 1 (0.073%) Nessus
Vendors
1 178 (12.93%) Microsoft
2 76 (5.52%) Oracle
3 67 (4.87%) SAP
4 46 (3.34%) Salesforce
5 29 (2.11%) Red Hat
5 29 (2.11%) VMware
6 25 (1.82%) Databricks
7 21 (1.53%) Cisco
8 20 (1.45%) CrowdStrike
9 19 (1.38%) Google
9 19 (1.38%) Palo Alto
10 18 (1.31%) IBM
10 18 (1.31%) ServiceNow
11 17 (1.23%) Foundry
11 17 (1.23%) Tenable
12 16 (1.16%) Adobe
12 16 (1.16%) OpenAI
13 14 (1.02%) Citrix
14 12 (0.87%) Automation Anywhere
14 12 (0.87%) UiPath