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 15 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 136 162 195
Rank change year-on-year +26 +33 -22
Permanent jobs citing Validation 1,288 791 1,422
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.51% 1.92% 1.52%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.00% 2.07% 1.77%
Number of salaries quoted 732 397 796
10th Percentile £35,000 £40,000 £35,375
25th Percentile £43,046 £46,000 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £56,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +7.14% +1.82% -8.33%
75th Percentile £77,500 £71,250 £72,433
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £85,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £53,500 £54,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year -1.83% +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 64,523 38,250 80,347
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 75.56% 92.93% 86.07%
Number of salaries quoted 39,734 22,522 59,066
10th Percentile £30,000 £31,250 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% -10.54%
75th Percentile £77,500 £80,000 £72,500
90th Percentile £97,500 £102,500 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £53,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -5.66% +6.00% -8.26%

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 15 April 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 15 April 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 +31 1,133 £60,000 +7.14% 732
UK excluding London +4 830 £53,500 -1.83% 617
Work from Home +97 373 £60,000 +5.26% 309
London +62 347 £76,250 +8.93% 208
South East +27 258 £55,000 +8.91% 199
North of England +14 191 £58,000 +21.64% 110
Midlands -20 142 £37,500 -31.82% 115
North West +25 119 £59,000 +23.73% 57
East of England +1 95 £57,500 +2.68% 80
West Midlands -7 89 £44,360 -31.75% 76
South West -40 86 £55,000 - 88
East Midlands -40 51 £32,000 -37.25% 39
Yorkshire -34 49 £60,000 +26.32% 40
Scotland -21 42 £42,000 -27.63% 24
North East -10 23 £51,500 -9.25% 15
Wales -21 15 £55,000 +12.01% 9
Northern Ireland -42 3 - - 4

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 43 (3.34%) Apache Airflow
2 27 (2.10%) Apache Spark
3 25 (1.94%) Confluence
4 23 (1.79%) Apache
5 20 (1.55%) ArcGIS
6 16 (1.24%) Microsoft Exchange
7 12 (0.93%) Appian
7 12 (0.93%) CMS
8 9 (0.70%) SharePoint
9 6 (0.47%) Kinematics
10 4 (0.31%) Headless CMS
11 2 (0.16%) IIS
11 2 (0.16%) WordPress
12 1 (0.078%) Anypoint
12 1 (0.078%) Jupyter
12 1 (0.078%) Palantir Foundry
12 1 (0.078%) SAS
Applications
1 89 (6.91%) Microsoft Excel
2 62 (4.81%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (1.55%) MS Visio
4 16 (1.24%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 7 (0.54%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 6 (0.47%) Simulink
7 5 (0.39%) Microsoft Project
7 5 (0.39%) Spreadsheet
8 4 (0.31%) CANalyzer
8 4 (0.31%) Fusion 360
9 3 (0.23%) Solid Edge
9 3 (0.23%) SOLIDWORKS
10 2 (0.16%) Adobe After Effects
10 2 (0.16%) Adobe Captivate
10 2 (0.16%) Adobe Illustrator
10 2 (0.16%) Adobe Premiere
10 2 (0.16%) CATIA
10 2 (0.16%) Oracle Smart View
10 2 (0.16%) Photoshop
10 2 (0.16%) Weka
Business Applications
1 23 (1.79%) SAP S/4HANA
2 18 (1.40%) Dynamics CRM
3 9 (0.70%) Oracle ERP
4 7 (0.54%) Workday HCM
5 6 (0.47%) Elite 3E
6 5 (0.39%) Loan IQ
6 5 (0.39%) SAP ERP
7 4 (0.31%) Markit EDM
7 4 (0.31%) SAP MDG
8 2 (0.16%) IBM Planning Analytics
8 2 (0.16%) Oracle Applications
8 2 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
8 2 (0.16%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
8 2 (0.16%) SAP CX
8 2 (0.16%) SAP FSCM
8 2 (0.16%) SAP MDG-BP
9 1 (0.078%) Endur
9 1 (0.078%) Oracle Financials
9 1 (0.078%) Oracle Receivables
9 1 (0.078%) Primavera
Cloud Services
1 193 (14.98%) Azure
2 126 (9.78%) AWS
3 113 (8.77%) Power Platform
4 60 (4.66%) SaaS
5 47 (3.65%) GCP
6 43 (3.34%) Azure DevOps
7 33 (2.56%) Dynamics 365
8 32 (2.48%) Azure Data Factory
9 31 (2.41%) dbt
10 29 (2.25%) Snowflake
11 27 (2.10%) Power Automate
12 25 (1.94%) GitHub
13 24 (1.86%) Amazon S3
13 24 (1.86%) Entra ID
13 24 (1.86%) Microsoft 365
13 24 (1.86%) Serverless
14 18 (1.40%) Datadog
15 16 (1.24%) OpenShift
16 15 (1.16%) Azure AI
17 14 (1.09%) Anthropic Claude
Communications & Networking
1 27 (2.10%) CHAP
2 23 (1.79%) Broadband
3 19 (1.48%) Firewall
4 18 (1.40%) WAN
5 16 (1.24%) TCP/IP
5 16 (1.24%) Wireless
6 15 (1.16%) DNS
6 15 (1.16%) SD-WAN
7 12 (0.93%) 5G
8 9 (0.70%) HTTP
8 9 (0.70%) Modbus
8 9 (0.70%) Multicast
9 8 (0.62%) LAN
10 7 (0.54%) MQTT
10 7 (0.54%) Wireshark
11 6 (0.47%) ATM
11 6 (0.47%) NAS
11 6 (0.47%) tcpdump
11 6 (0.47%) VPN
11 6 (0.47%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 106 (8.23%) Power BI
2 44 (3.42%) SQL Server
3 43 (3.34%) Tableau
4 32 (2.48%) Data Warehouse
4 32 (2.48%) Relational Database
5 30 (2.33%) Metadata
6 29 (2.25%) PostgreSQL
7 24 (1.86%) GIS
7 24 (1.86%) QGIS
8 20 (1.55%) Spatial Data
9 18 (1.40%) Oracle Reports
10 16 (1.24%) Spark SQL
11 15 (1.16%) Data Lake
11 15 (1.16%) Oracle Database
12 14 (1.09%) Azure SQL Database
12 14 (1.09%) Parquet
13 13 (1.01%) Apache Hive
13 13 (1.01%) Impala
13 13 (1.01%) MySQL
13 13 (1.01%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 68 (5.28%) Git
1 68 (5.28%) JIRA
2 37 (2.87%) Rational DOORS
3 23 (1.79%) Jenkins
4 18 (1.40%) JMeter
5 17 (1.32%) Cucumber
5 17 (1.32%) Postman
6 16 (1.24%) GitLab
6 16 (1.24%) LabVIEW
7 15 (1.16%) MLflow
7 15 (1.16%) Selenium
8 14 (1.09%) TestRail
9 13 (1.01%) IBM UrbanCode
10 12 (0.93%) Locust
11 11 (0.85%) Eclipse
11 11 (0.85%) Snyk
12 6 (0.47%) LoadRunner
12 6 (0.47%) SoapUI
12 6 (0.47%) Subversion
13 5 (0.39%) SpecFlow
General
1 452 (35.09%) Social Skills
2 346 (26.86%) Finance
3 287 (22.28%) Analytical Skills
4 92 (7.14%) Manufacturing
5 87 (6.75%) Banking
6 79 (6.13%) Aerospace
6 79 (6.13%) Electronics
7 61 (4.74%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 59 (4.58%) Legal
9 47 (3.65%) Public Sector
10 45 (3.49%) Law
10 45 (3.49%) Retail
11 41 (3.18%) Financial Institution
11 41 (3.18%) Marketing
12 39 (3.03%) Presentation Skills
13 32 (2.48%) Pharmaceutical
14 30 (2.33%) Organisational Skills
15 25 (1.94%) Automotive
16 24 (1.86%) Telecoms
17 23 (1.79%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 217 (16.85%) Analyst
2 209 (16.23%) Senior
3 151 (11.72%) Systems Engineer
4 97 (7.53%) Lead
5 82 (6.37%) Business Analyst
6 75 (5.82%) Validation Engineer
7 72 (5.59%) Test Engineer
8 70 (5.43%) Architect
9 62 (4.81%) Consultant
10 55 (4.27%) Data Analyst
10 55 (4.27%) Integration Engineer
11 45 (3.49%) Developer
11 45 (3.49%) Senior Systems Engineer
12 44 (3.42%) Junior
13 42 (3.26%) Data Engineer
14 39 (3.03%) Systems Integration Engineer
15 37 (2.87%) Principal Engineer
16 36 (2.80%) Software Validation Engineer
16 36 (2.80%) Verification Engineer
17 30 (2.33%) Auditor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 58 (4.50%) REST
2 40 (3.11%) PyTorch
3 37 (2.87%) Pandas
4 34 (2.64%) JSON
5 31 (2.41%) Middleware
6 26 (2.02%) pytest
7 23 (1.79%) XML
8 21 (1.63%) PySpark
9 20 (1.55%) OAuth
10 19 (1.48%) JWT
10 19 (1.48%) Swagger
10 19 (1.48%) TensorFlow
11 18 (1.40%) .NET
11 18 (1.40%) NumPy
12 17 (1.32%) RESTful
13 16 (1.24%) Kafka
13 16 (1.24%) React
14 15 (1.16%) CSS
14 15 (1.16%) scikit-learn
14 15 (1.16%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 77 (5.98%) Management Information System
2 56 (4.35%) Onboarding
3 48 (3.73%) Data Structures
4 38 (2.95%) Product Ownership
5 37 (2.87%) Algorithms
6 36 (2.80%) Low-Code
7 35 (2.72%) Self-Motivation
8 34 (2.64%) Legacy Systems
9 27 (2.10%) Analytical Mindset
10 24 (1.86%) Life Science
11 22 (1.71%) Cloud Native
11 22 (1.71%) Data Centre
12 21 (1.63%) Embedded Systems
13 19 (1.48%) Enterprise Software
14 18 (1.40%) SCADA
15 17 (1.32%) Robotics
16 15 (1.16%) Blockchain
16 15 (1.16%) IoT
17 13 (1.01%) Reinsurance
18 11 (0.85%) Driving Licence
Operating Systems
1 67 (5.20%) Linux
2 59 (4.58%) Windows
3 18 (1.40%) Unix
4 16 (1.24%) Windows Server
5 15 (1.16%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 12 (0.93%) Android
7 4 (0.31%) Apple iOS
7 4 (0.31%) CentOS
7 4 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
7 4 (0.31%) Mac OS X
8 3 (0.23%) AIX
8 3 (0.23%) Robot Operating System
9 2 (0.16%) Mac OS
9 2 (0.16%) ThreadX
9 2 (0.16%) VxWorks
10 1 (0.078%) Embedded Linux
10 1 (0.078%) Kali Linux
10 1 (0.078%) Rocky
10 1 (0.078%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.078%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 293 (22.75%) Agile
2 291 (22.59%) Problem-Solving
3 254 (19.72%) Continuous Improvement
4 201 (15.61%) Analytics
4 201 (15.61%) Verification and Validation
5 180 (13.98%) AI
6 163 (12.66%) Data Validation
7 158 (12.27%) CI/CD
8 157 (12.19%) Test Automation
9 138 (10.71%) Migration
9 138 (10.71%) Stakeholder Management
10 136 (10.56%) Business Intelligence
11 135 (10.48%) Systems Engineering
12 128 (9.94%) Data Modelling
13 126 (9.78%) DevOps
13 126 (9.78%) User Acceptance Testing
14 123 (9.55%) Decision-Making
15 120 (9.32%) Mentoring
16 116 (9.01%) Data Governance
17 115 (8.93%) ETL
Programming Languages
1 282 (21.89%) Python
2 261 (20.26%) SQL
3 51 (3.96%) Java
4 42 (3.26%) C++
5 37 (2.87%) PowerShell
6 36 (2.80%) C
7 31 (2.41%) JavaScript
8 26 (2.02%) Bash
9 20 (1.55%) C#
9 20 (1.55%) Go
10 18 (1.40%) MATLAB
10 18 (1.40%) T-SQL
11 15 (1.16%) TypeScript
12 11 (0.85%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 11 (0.85%) R
13 10 (0.78%) Embedded C
14 9 (0.70%) VBA
15 7 (0.54%) Apex Code
15 7 (0.54%) VB
16 6 (0.47%) PHP
Qualifications
1 292 (22.67%) Degree
2 161 (12.50%) Security Cleared
3 124 (9.63%) BPSS Clearance
4 62 (4.81%) SC Cleared
5 60 (4.66%) Master's Degree
6 44 (3.42%) Computer Science Degree
7 35 (2.72%) CISA
8 34 (2.64%) CISSP
9 33 (2.56%) CISM
9 33 (2.56%) DV Cleared
10 28 (2.17%) Chartered Engineer
11 27 (2.10%) CGEIT
11 27 (2.10%) FFIEC
11 27 (2.10%) SANS
12 25 (1.94%) HNC
13 22 (1.71%) PMI Certification
14 21 (1.63%) HND
15 19 (1.48%) PMP
16 18 (1.40%) ISTQB
17 9 (0.70%) PhD
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 167 (12.97%) Data Quality
2 150 (11.65%) QA
3 67 (5.20%) GDPR
4 66 (5.12%) Accessibility
5 37 (2.87%) ISO/IEC 15288
6 28 (2.17%) GRC
6 28 (2.17%) NIST
7 27 (2.10%) COBIT
8 20 (1.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 19 (1.48%) SLA
10 17 (1.32%) IFRS
10 17 (1.32%) WCAG
11 15 (1.16%) IEC 61508
12 13 (1.01%) ISO 9001
13 11 (0.85%) GAAP
14 10 (0.78%) Good Clinical Practice
15 9 (0.70%) 21 CFR Part 11
16 8 (0.62%) GMP
16 8 (0.62%) PMO
16 8 (0.62%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 74 (5.75%) Docker
2 29 (2.25%) Active Directory
3 27 (2.10%) Firmware
4 15 (1.16%) VMware Infrastructure
5 12 (0.93%) Virtual Machines
6 9 (0.70%) vSphere
7 6 (0.47%) Embedded Firmware
7 6 (0.47%) Hyper-V
7 6 (0.47%) KVM
8 3 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.16%) Ceph
9 2 (0.16%) Lustre
9 2 (0.16%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 2 (0.16%) Terminal Services
10 1 (0.078%) iptables
10 1 (0.078%) OpenAM
10 1 (0.078%) OpenDJ
10 1 (0.078%) OpenIDM
10 1 (0.078%) pfSense
10 1 (0.078%) vCloud
Systems Management
1 72 (5.59%) Kubernetes
2 51 (3.96%) Terraform
3 35 (2.72%) Grafana
4 25 (1.94%) Ansible
5 17 (1.32%) Prometheus
6 12 (0.93%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
7 11 (0.85%) Functional Safety
8 10 (0.78%) SCCM
9 8 (0.62%) Puppet
10 7 (0.54%) Microsoft Intune
11 5 (0.39%) Argo
11 5 (0.39%) Rancher
11 5 (0.39%) yum
12 3 (0.23%) Cilium
13 2 (0.16%) BMC PATROL
13 2 (0.16%) Nessus
13 2 (0.16%) PowerCLI
14 1 (0.078%) Control-M
14 1 (0.078%) FortiGate
14 1 (0.078%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 166 (12.89%) Microsoft
2 69 (5.36%) Oracle
3 56 (4.35%) SAP
4 47 (3.65%) Salesforce
5 23 (1.79%) Red Hat
5 23 (1.79%) VMware
6 20 (1.55%) Cisco
6 20 (1.55%) Databricks
7 18 (1.40%) Foundry
7 18 (1.40%) IBM
8 16 (1.24%) Adobe
8 16 (1.24%) Google
8 16 (1.24%) OpenAI
9 15 (1.16%) ServiceNow
10 13 (1.01%) Workday
11 12 (0.93%) Automation Anywhere
11 12 (0.93%) Palo Alto
11 12 (0.93%) UiPath
12 11 (0.85%) CrowdStrike
12 11 (0.85%) Tenable