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 1 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 130 102 196
Rank change year-on-year -28 +94 -6
Permanent jobs citing Validation 1,352 1,263 1,454
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.50% 2.99% 1.52%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.01% 3.21% 1.77%
Number of salaries quoted 763 420 781
10th Percentile £34,500 £40,000 £35,500
25th Percentile £43,000 £46,188 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £57,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +3.64% -12.00%
75th Percentile £77,500 £71,250 £72,433
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £85,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £52,500 £54,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -2.78% +2.86% -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 67,199 39,303 82,062
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 74.71% 92.91% 85.63%
Number of salaries quoted 41,762 22,588 59,681
10th Percentile £30,000 £30,750 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,946 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -3.42% +9.09% -10.57%
75th Percentile £78,500 £80,000 £72,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £102,500 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +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 1 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 1 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 -26 1,201 £60,000 +7.14% 806
UK excluding London -53 881 £52,500 -2.78% 612
Work from Home +95 406 £60,000 +4.35% 353
London +54 355 £77,500 +10.71% 300
South East -22 280 £55,000 +7.84% 203
North of England +24 216 £55,000 +15.35% 113
Midlands -72 148 £38,750 -29.55% 92
North West +26 132 £58,000 +21.64% 65
West Midlands -15 96 £44,000 -32.31% 57
East of England -69 96 £60,000 +5.26% 79
South West -50 87 £55,000 - 87
Yorkshire -27 54 £60,000 +26.32% 36
East Midlands -92 50 £30,000 -41.18% 35
Scotland -32 41 £42,000 -27.63% 34
North East -10 30 £52,500 -7.49% 14
Wales -27 13 £44,000 -15.47% 15
Northern Ireland -42 2 - - 11

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 (3.40%) Apache Airflow
2 28 (2.07%) Apache Spark
3 25 (1.85%) Apache
4 24 (1.78%) Confluence
5 21 (1.55%) ArcGIS
6 17 (1.26%) Microsoft Exchange
7 12 (0.89%) Appian
8 11 (0.81%) CMS
9 8 (0.59%) SharePoint
10 6 (0.44%) Kinematics
11 3 (0.22%) Headless CMS
11 3 (0.22%) Jupyter
12 2 (0.15%) IIS
13 1 (0.074%) Anypoint
13 1 (0.074%) Artix
13 1 (0.074%) Palantir Foundry
13 1 (0.074%) SAS
13 1 (0.074%) WordPress
Applications
1 90 (6.66%) Microsoft Excel
2 64 (4.73%) Microsoft Office
3 21 (1.55%) MS Visio
4 15 (1.11%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 7 (0.52%) Simulink
6 6 (0.44%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 6 (0.44%) Microsoft Project
6 6 (0.44%) Spreadsheet
7 4 (0.30%) CANalyzer
7 4 (0.30%) Fusion 360
8 3 (0.22%) Solid Edge
8 3 (0.22%) SOLIDWORKS
9 2 (0.15%) AutoCAD
9 2 (0.15%) CATIA
9 2 (0.15%) Oracle Smart View
10 1 (0.074%) Adobe XD
10 1 (0.074%) Elementor
10 1 (0.074%) Navisworks
10 1 (0.074%) Photoshop
10 1 (0.074%) Sketch
Business Applications
1 34 (2.51%) SAP S/4HANA
2 19 (1.41%) Dynamics CRM
3 9 (0.67%) Oracle ERP
3 9 (0.67%) SAP ERP
4 7 (0.52%) Workday HCM
5 6 (0.44%) Elite 3E
5 6 (0.44%) Loan IQ
5 6 (0.44%) SAP MDG
6 4 (0.30%) Markit EDM
6 4 (0.30%) SAP MDG-BP
7 3 (0.22%) iTrent
7 3 (0.22%) Oracle Applications
7 3 (0.22%) Oracle EBS
8 2 (0.15%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
8 2 (0.15%) SAP FSCM
8 2 (0.15%) SAP PSCD
9 1 (0.074%) Magento
9 1 (0.074%) SAP Business ByDesign
9 1 (0.074%) SAP EHS
9 1 (0.074%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 203 (15.01%) Azure
2 134 (9.91%) AWS
3 118 (8.73%) Power Platform
4 55 (4.07%) SaaS
5 53 (3.92%) GCP
6 45 (3.33%) Azure DevOps
7 36 (2.66%) Dynamics 365
8 35 (2.59%) Azure Data Factory
9 31 (2.29%) Serverless
10 30 (2.22%) Snowflake
11 27 (2.00%) Amazon S3
11 27 (2.00%) GitHub
11 27 (2.00%) Microsoft 365
12 26 (1.92%) Power Automate
13 25 (1.85%) dbt
14 24 (1.78%) Entra ID
15 16 (1.18%) OpenShift
16 15 (1.11%) Anthropic Claude
16 15 (1.11%) Azure AI
17 12 (0.89%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 35 (2.59%) Broadband
2 29 (2.14%) CHAP
2 29 (2.14%) Firewall
3 21 (1.55%) DNS
3 21 (1.55%) WAN
4 18 (1.33%) TCP/IP
4 18 (1.33%) Wireless
5 17 (1.26%) SD-WAN
6 13 (0.96%) 5G
7 11 (0.81%) HTTP
8 10 (0.74%) LAN
9 9 (0.67%) Modbus
9 9 (0.67%) Multicast
9 9 (0.67%) Wireshark
10 8 (0.59%) NAS
10 8 (0.59%) VPN
11 7 (0.52%) Ethernet
11 7 (0.52%) MQTT
11 7 (0.52%) Network Security
12 6 (0.44%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 111 (8.21%) Power BI
2 48 (3.55%) SQL Server
3 45 (3.33%) Tableau
4 35 (2.59%) Data Warehouse
5 34 (2.51%) Metadata
5 34 (2.51%) PostgreSQL
6 33 (2.44%) Relational Database
7 25 (1.85%) QGIS
8 23 (1.70%) GIS
9 22 (1.63%) Data Lake
10 20 (1.48%) Spatial Data
11 18 (1.33%) Oracle Reports
12 17 (1.26%) Spark SQL
13 16 (1.18%) Azure SQL Database
14 15 (1.11%) Oracle Database
15 14 (1.04%) MongoDB
15 14 (1.04%) MySQL
15 14 (1.04%) Parquet
15 14 (1.04%) Semantic Layer
16 13 (0.96%) Apache Hive
Development Applications
1 66 (4.88%) Git
2 62 (4.59%) JIRA
3 39 (2.88%) Rational DOORS
4 27 (2.00%) Jenkins
5 20 (1.48%) GitLab
6 17 (1.26%) LabVIEW
6 17 (1.26%) Postman
7 16 (1.18%) Snyk
8 15 (1.11%) MLflow
8 15 (1.11%) Selenium
9 13 (0.96%) IBM UrbanCode
10 12 (0.89%) JMeter
11 11 (0.81%) Cucumber
11 11 (0.81%) TestRail
12 10 (0.74%) Eclipse
13 7 (0.52%) LoadRunner
14 5 (0.37%) Cypress.io
14 5 (0.37%) SpecFlow
14 5 (0.37%) Subversion
14 5 (0.37%) Visual Studio
General
1 447 (33.06%) Social Skills
2 372 (27.51%) Finance
3 292 (21.60%) Analytical Skills
4 106 (7.84%) Manufacturing
5 99 (7.32%) Aerospace
6 88 (6.51%) Banking
7 87 (6.43%) Electronics
8 69 (5.10%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 60 (4.44%) Legal
10 51 (3.77%) Public Sector
11 44 (3.25%) Retail
12 43 (3.18%) Law
13 40 (2.96%) Financial Institution
14 39 (2.88%) Marketing
14 39 (2.88%) Pharmaceutical
15 37 (2.74%) Presentation Skills
16 30 (2.22%) Organisational Skills
17 29 (2.14%) Automotive
18 25 (1.85%) Games
19 24 (1.78%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 224 (16.57%) Senior
2 219 (16.20%) Analyst
3 157 (11.61%) Systems Engineer
4 94 (6.95%) Lead
5 91 (6.73%) Test Engineer
6 83 (6.14%) Architect
6 83 (6.14%) Business Analyst
7 81 (5.99%) Validation Engineer
8 64 (4.73%) Consultant
9 57 (4.22%) Data Analyst
10 52 (3.85%) Integration Engineer
11 50 (3.70%) Data Engineer
12 47 (3.48%) Developer
13 45 (3.33%) Junior
14 44 (3.25%) Senior Systems Engineer
15 42 (3.11%) Principal Engineer
16 38 (2.81%) Verification Engineer
17 36 (2.66%) Software Validation Engineer
17 36 (2.66%) Systems Integration Engineer
18 32 (2.37%) Auditor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 54 (3.99%) REST
2 38 (2.81%) PyTorch
3 35 (2.59%) JSON
3 35 (2.59%) Pandas
4 30 (2.22%) Middleware
5 26 (1.92%) pytest
6 23 (1.70%) XML
7 22 (1.63%) PySpark
7 22 (1.63%) RESTful
8 20 (1.48%) OAuth
9 19 (1.41%) .NET
9 19 (1.41%) Swagger
10 18 (1.33%) JWT
10 18 (1.33%) TensorFlow
11 16 (1.18%) Kafka
11 16 (1.18%) NumPy
11 16 (1.18%) Playwright
12 15 (1.11%) React
13 14 (1.04%) Oracle Fusion
13 14 (1.04%) scikit-learn
Miscellaneous
1 81 (5.99%) Management Information System
2 56 (4.14%) Onboarding
3 51 (3.77%) Data Structures
4 39 (2.88%) Low-Code
5 37 (2.74%) Algorithms
6 36 (2.66%) Product Ownership
6 36 (2.66%) Self-Motivation
7 35 (2.59%) Cloud Native
8 34 (2.51%) Legacy Systems
9 27 (2.00%) Analytical Mindset
10 26 (1.92%) Data Centre
10 26 (1.92%) Life Science
11 23 (1.70%) Embedded Systems
12 20 (1.48%) Enterprise Software
13 18 (1.33%) SCADA
14 17 (1.26%) Robotics
15 16 (1.18%) Driving Licence
16 15 (1.11%) Blockchain
17 14 (1.04%) IoT
17 14 (1.04%) Reinsurance
Operating Systems
1 76 (5.62%) Linux
2 63 (4.66%) Windows
3 20 (1.48%) Unix
4 19 (1.41%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 19 (1.41%) Windows Server
5 12 (0.89%) Android
6 4 (0.30%) Apple iOS
6 4 (0.30%) CentOS
6 4 (0.30%) FreeRTOS
6 4 (0.30%) 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 (0.074%) Embedded Linux
9 1 (0.074%) Rocky
9 1 (0.074%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.074%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 302 (22.34%) Problem-Solving
2 285 (21.08%) Agile
3 255 (18.86%) Continuous Improvement
4 210 (15.53%) Verification and Validation
5 206 (15.24%) Analytics
6 193 (14.28%) AI
7 175 (12.94%) CI/CD
7 175 (12.94%) Test Automation
8 167 (12.35%) Data Validation
9 149 (11.02%) Migration
10 140 (10.36%) Business Intelligence
10 140 (10.36%) Data Modelling
11 136 (10.06%) Stakeholder Management
12 133 (9.84%) User Acceptance Testing
13 132 (9.76%) Decision-Making
14 129 (9.54%) Systems Engineering
15 127 (9.39%) Mentoring
16 126 (9.32%) Data Governance
17 121 (8.95%) DevOps
18 120 (8.88%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 298 (22.04%) Python
2 269 (19.90%) SQL
3 48 (3.55%) C++
4 47 (3.48%) Java
5 39 (2.88%) C
6 37 (2.74%) PowerShell
7 27 (2.00%) JavaScript
8 26 (1.92%) Bash
8 26 (1.92%) Go
9 24 (1.78%) C#
10 21 (1.55%) MATLAB
11 18 (1.33%) T-SQL
12 14 (1.04%) TypeScript
13 12 (0.89%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 11 (0.81%) Embedded C
15 9 (0.67%) R
15 9 (0.67%) VBA
16 7 (0.52%) ABAP
16 7 (0.52%) Apex Code
16 7 (0.52%) VB
Qualifications
1 305 (22.56%) Degree
2 162 (11.98%) Security Cleared
3 131 (9.69%) BPSS Clearance
4 65 (4.81%) Master's Degree
5 60 (4.44%) SC Cleared
6 41 (3.03%) Computer Science Degree
7 39 (2.88%) CISSP
8 38 (2.81%) CISA
9 36 (2.66%) Chartered Engineer
9 36 (2.66%) CISM
10 35 (2.59%) DV Cleared
11 33 (2.44%) SANS
12 29 (2.14%) CGEIT
12 29 (2.14%) FFIEC
13 28 (2.07%) HNC
14 24 (1.78%) HND
15 23 (1.70%) PMI Certification
16 20 (1.48%) PMP
17 12 (0.89%) ISTQB
18 10 (0.74%) ACCA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 187 (13.83%) Data Quality
2 147 (10.87%) QA
3 65 (4.81%) GDPR
4 60 (4.44%) Accessibility
5 37 (2.74%) ISO/IEC 15288
6 34 (2.51%) GRC
7 31 (2.29%) NIST
8 29 (2.14%) COBIT
9 21 (1.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 18 (1.33%) IEC 61508
10 18 (1.33%) IFRS
11 15 (1.11%) SLA
12 13 (0.96%) ISO 9001
13 12 (0.89%) GAAP
14 11 (0.81%) GMP
15 10 (0.74%) Good Clinical Practice
15 10 (0.74%) PMO
15 10 (0.74%) WCAG
16 9 (0.67%) 21 CFR Part 11
16 9 (0.67%) ISO/IEC 12207
System Software
1 64 (4.73%) Docker
2 34 (2.51%) Active Directory
3 27 (2.00%) Firmware
4 17 (1.26%) Virtual Machines
5 15 (1.11%) VMware Infrastructure
6 13 (0.96%) vSphere
7 6 (0.44%) Hyper-V
7 6 (0.44%) KVM
8 5 (0.37%) Embedded Firmware
9 3 (0.22%) VMware ESXi
10 2 (0.15%) Terminal Services
11 1 (0.074%) iptables
11 1 (0.074%) OpenAM
11 1 (0.074%) OpenDJ
11 1 (0.074%) OpenIDM
11 1 (0.074%) pfSense
Systems Management
1 65 (4.81%) Kubernetes
2 46 (3.40%) Terraform
3 32 (2.37%) Grafana
4 25 (1.85%) Ansible
5 17 (1.26%) Prometheus
6 14 (1.04%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
6 14 (1.04%) Functional Safety
7 10 (0.74%) Puppet
7 10 (0.74%) SCCM
8 7 (0.52%) Microsoft Intune
9 4 (0.30%) Argo
9 4 (0.30%) Cilium
9 4 (0.30%) Rancher
9 4 (0.30%) yum
10 3 (0.22%) HP Fortify
10 3 (0.22%) Kibana
11 2 (0.15%) BMC PATROL
11 2 (0.15%) Computer Incident Response Team
11 2 (0.15%) PowerCLI
12 1 (0.074%) Control-M
Vendors
1 176 (13.02%) Microsoft
2 74 (5.47%) Oracle
3 62 (4.59%) SAP
4 43 (3.18%) Salesforce
5 27 (2.00%) Red Hat
5 27 (2.00%) VMware
6 24 (1.78%) Databricks
7 22 (1.63%) Cisco
8 18 (1.33%) CrowdStrike
8 18 (1.33%) IBM
8 18 (1.33%) Palo Alto
9 17 (1.26%) Foundry
9 17 (1.26%) Google
10 16 (1.18%) OpenAI
10 16 (1.18%) ServiceNow
10 16 (1.18%) Tenable
11 15 (1.11%) Adobe
12 13 (0.96%) Citrix
13 12 (0.89%) Automation Anywhere
13 12 (0.89%) UiPath