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

6 months to
23 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 136 169 200
Rank change year-on-year +33 +31 -18
Permanent jobs citing Validation 1,305 814 1,430
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK 1.48% 1.94% 1.51%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.97% 2.09% 1.76%
Number of salaries quoted 740 408 794
10th Percentile £34,500 £40,000 £35,500
25th Percentile £43,688 £46,188 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £57,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% +3.64% -11.41%
75th Percentile £77,500 £71,250 £72,433
90th Percentile £95,000 £95,000 £85,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year - +4.76% -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 66,205 38,927 81,426
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 75.18% 92.83% 85.82%
Number of salaries quoted 40,871 22,769 59,504
10th Percentile £30,000 £31,250 £29,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £42,500 £39,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £57,500 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% -10.57%
75th Percentile £77,500 £80,000 £72,500
90th Percentile £97,500 £102,500 £92,500
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -8.90%

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 23 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 23 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 +30 1,156 £60,000 +7.14% 780
UK excluding London +15 847 £55,000 - 653
Work from Home +107 387 £60,000 +5.26% 394
London +70 346 £77,500 +10.71% 253
South East +27 261 £55,000 +7.84% 223
North of England +28 205 £57,050 +19.64% 109
Midlands -24 143 £37,500 -34.78% 98
North West +30 127 £59,000 +23.73% 58
East of England -3 98 £60,000 +5.26% 95
West Midlands -10 90 £44,000 -34.81% 60
South West -41 86 £55,000 +0.92% 86
Yorkshire -21 53 £60,000 +26.32% 35
East Midlands -43 51 £32,000 -37.25% 38
Scotland -20 41 £42,000 -27.63% 36
North East -23 25 £51,500 -9.25% 17
Wales -21 13 £44,000 -15.47% 11
Northern Ireland -42 2 - - 10

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 44 (3.37%) Apache Airflow
2 27 (2.07%) Apache Spark
3 24 (1.84%) Confluence
4 23 (1.76%) Apache
5 20 (1.53%) ArcGIS
6 17 (1.30%) Microsoft Exchange
7 12 (0.92%) Appian
7 12 (0.92%) CMS
8 8 (0.61%) SharePoint
9 6 (0.46%) Kinematics
10 4 (0.31%) Headless CMS
11 2 (0.15%) IIS
11 2 (0.15%) WordPress
12 1 (0.077%) Anypoint
12 1 (0.077%) Jupyter
12 1 (0.077%) Palantir Foundry
12 1 (0.077%) SAS
Applications
1 91 (6.97%) Microsoft Excel
2 63 (4.83%) Microsoft Office
3 20 (1.53%) MS Visio
4 16 (1.23%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 7 (0.54%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 6 (0.46%) Simulink
7 5 (0.38%) Microsoft Project
7 5 (0.38%) 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 (0.15%) Adobe After Effects
10 2 (0.15%) Adobe Captivate
10 2 (0.15%) Adobe Illustrator
10 2 (0.15%) Adobe Premiere
10 2 (0.15%) CATIA
10 2 (0.15%) Elementor
10 2 (0.15%) Oracle Smart View
10 2 (0.15%) Photoshop
Business Applications
1 29 (2.22%) SAP S/4HANA
2 19 (1.46%) Dynamics CRM
3 9 (0.69%) Oracle ERP
4 8 (0.61%) SAP ERP
5 7 (0.54%) Workday HCM
6 6 (0.46%) Elite 3E
7 5 (0.38%) Loan IQ
7 5 (0.38%) SAP MDG
8 4 (0.31%) Markit EDM
9 3 (0.23%) Oracle Applications
9 3 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
9 3 (0.23%) SAP MDG-BP
10 2 (0.15%) iTrent
10 2 (0.15%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
10 2 (0.15%) SAP CX
10 2 (0.15%) SAP FSCM
11 1 (0.077%) NetSuite
11 1 (0.077%) Oracle Receivables
11 1 (0.077%) Raiser’s Edge
11 1 (0.077%) SAP BRIM
Cloud Services
1 196 (15.02%) Azure
2 122 (9.35%) AWS
3 119 (9.12%) Power Platform
4 54 (4.14%) SaaS
5 47 (3.60%) GCP
6 44 (3.37%) Azure DevOps
7 36 (2.76%) Dynamics 365
8 34 (2.61%) Azure Data Factory
9 30 (2.30%) Snowflake
10 27 (2.07%) GitHub
10 27 (2.07%) Power Automate
10 27 (2.07%) Serverless
11 26 (1.99%) Microsoft 365
12 25 (1.92%) Amazon S3
12 25 (1.92%) dbt
13 24 (1.84%) Entra ID
14 16 (1.23%) OpenShift
15 15 (1.15%) Azure AI
16 14 (1.07%) Anthropic Claude
17 12 (0.92%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 28 (2.15%) CHAP
2 26 (1.99%) Broadband
3 24 (1.84%) Firewall
4 20 (1.53%) WAN
5 17 (1.30%) DNS
5 17 (1.30%) SD-WAN
5 17 (1.30%) Wireless
6 16 (1.23%) TCP/IP
7 12 (0.92%) 5G
8 10 (0.77%) LAN
9 9 (0.69%) HTTP
9 9 (0.69%) Modbus
9 9 (0.69%) Multicast
10 8 (0.61%) Wireshark
11 7 (0.54%) MQTT
11 7 (0.54%) NAS
12 6 (0.46%) Cisco ISE
12 6 (0.46%) Network Security
12 6 (0.46%) tcpdump
12 6 (0.46%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 112 (8.58%) Power BI
2 45 (3.45%) SQL Server
3 44 (3.37%) Tableau
4 34 (2.61%) Data Warehouse
4 34 (2.61%) Metadata
5 32 (2.45%) Relational Database
6 29 (2.22%) PostgreSQL
7 24 (1.84%) QGIS
8 23 (1.76%) GIS
9 20 (1.53%) Spatial Data
10 19 (1.46%) Data Lake
11 18 (1.38%) Oracle Reports
12 17 (1.30%) Spark SQL
13 15 (1.15%) Azure SQL Database
13 15 (1.15%) Oracle Database
14 14 (1.07%) Parquet
15 13 (1.00%) Apache Hive
15 13 (1.00%) Impala
15 13 (1.00%) MySQL
15 13 (1.00%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 67 (5.13%) Git
2 64 (4.90%) JIRA
3 38 (2.91%) Rational DOORS
4 22 (1.69%) Jenkins
5 18 (1.38%) Postman
6 17 (1.30%) GitLab
7 16 (1.23%) LabVIEW
8 15 (1.15%) MLflow
8 15 (1.15%) Selenium
9 13 (1.00%) IBM UrbanCode
9 13 (1.00%) Snyk
10 12 (0.92%) JMeter
11 11 (0.84%) Cucumber
11 11 (0.84%) TestRail
12 10 (0.77%) Eclipse
13 7 (0.54%) LoadRunner
14 6 (0.46%) SoapUI
14 6 (0.46%) Subversion
15 5 (0.38%) SpecFlow
15 5 (0.38%) Visual Studio
General
1 442 (33.87%) Social Skills
2 357 (27.36%) Finance
3 288 (22.07%) Analytical Skills
4 96 (7.36%) Manufacturing
5 87 (6.67%) Aerospace
5 87 (6.67%) Banking
6 81 (6.21%) Electronics
7 60 (4.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 60 (4.60%) Legal
8 49 (3.75%) Public Sector
9 44 (3.37%) Retail
10 43 (3.30%) Law
11 41 (3.14%) Marketing
12 39 (2.99%) Financial Institution
13 36 (2.76%) Pharmaceutical
13 36 (2.76%) Presentation Skills
14 30 (2.30%) Organisational Skills
15 27 (2.07%) Automotive
16 24 (1.84%) Aviation
17 22 (1.69%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 219 (16.78%) Analyst
2 210 (16.09%) Senior
3 157 (12.03%) Systems Engineer
4 94 (7.20%) Lead
5 82 (6.28%) Test Engineer
6 81 (6.21%) Business Analyst
7 78 (5.98%) Validation Engineer
8 77 (5.90%) Architect
9 63 (4.83%) Consultant
10 58 (4.44%) Data Analyst
11 53 (4.06%) Integration Engineer
12 46 (3.52%) Data Engineer
12 46 (3.52%) Developer
13 45 (3.45%) Junior
13 45 (3.45%) Senior Systems Engineer
14 37 (2.84%) Verification Engineer
15 36 (2.76%) Principal Engineer
15 36 (2.76%) Software Validation Engineer
15 36 (2.76%) Systems Integration Engineer
16 31 (2.38%) Auditor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 58 (4.44%) REST
2 39 (2.99%) PyTorch
3 36 (2.76%) JSON
4 35 (2.68%) Pandas
5 31 (2.38%) Middleware
6 26 (1.99%) pytest
7 25 (1.92%) XML
8 22 (1.69%) PySpark
9 20 (1.53%) OAuth
10 19 (1.46%) .NET
10 19 (1.46%) Swagger
11 18 (1.38%) JWT
11 18 (1.38%) TensorFlow
12 17 (1.30%) RESTful
13 16 (1.23%) Kafka
13 16 (1.23%) NumPy
13 16 (1.23%) React
14 15 (1.15%) CSS
14 15 (1.15%) Playwright
14 15 (1.15%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 79 (6.05%) Management Information System
2 55 (4.21%) Onboarding
3 48 (3.68%) Data Structures
4 36 (2.76%) Algorithms
4 36 (2.76%) Product Ownership
4 36 (2.76%) Self-Motivation
5 35 (2.68%) Low-Code
6 33 (2.53%) Legacy Systems
7 26 (1.99%) Analytical Mindset
8 25 (1.92%) Life Science
9 24 (1.84%) Cloud Native
10 22 (1.69%) Data Centre
11 21 (1.61%) Embedded Systems
12 20 (1.53%) Enterprise Software
13 18 (1.38%) SCADA
14 17 (1.30%) Robotics
15 15 (1.15%) Blockchain
15 15 (1.15%) IoT
16 13 (1.00%) Driving Licence
16 13 (1.00%) Reinsurance
Operating Systems
1 68 (5.21%) Linux
2 58 (4.44%) Windows
3 19 (1.46%) Unix
4 17 (1.30%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 17 (1.30%) Windows Server
5 12 (0.92%) Android
6 4 (0.31%) Apple iOS
6 4 (0.31%) CentOS
6 4 (0.31%) FreeRTOS
6 4 (0.31%) Mac OS X
7 3 (0.23%) AIX
7 3 (0.23%) Robot Operating System
8 2 (0.15%) Kali Linux
8 2 (0.15%) ThreadX
8 2 (0.15%) VxWorks
9 1 (0.077%) Embedded Linux
9 1 (0.077%) Rocky
9 1 (0.077%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.077%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 292 (22.38%) Problem-Solving
2 280 (21.46%) Agile
3 248 (19.00%) Continuous Improvement
4 204 (15.63%) Analytics
5 202 (15.48%) Verification and Validation
6 180 (13.79%) AI
7 162 (12.41%) Data Validation
8 158 (12.11%) CI/CD
9 156 (11.95%) Test Automation
10 143 (10.96%) Migration
11 140 (10.73%) Business Intelligence
12 135 (10.34%) Stakeholder Management
13 132 (10.11%) Data Modelling
14 131 (10.04%) Systems Engineering
14 131 (10.04%) User Acceptance Testing
15 126 (9.66%) Decision-Making
16 125 (9.58%) Data Governance
17 121 (9.27%) DevOps
18 120 (9.20%) Mentoring
19 116 (8.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 277 (21.23%) Python
2 263 (20.15%) SQL
3 43 (3.30%) C++
3 43 (3.30%) Java
4 37 (2.84%) PowerShell
5 34 (2.61%) C
6 29 (2.22%) JavaScript
7 24 (1.84%) Bash
8 22 (1.69%) Go
9 21 (1.61%) C#
10 18 (1.38%) T-SQL
11 17 (1.30%) MATLAB
12 15 (1.15%) TypeScript
13 11 (0.84%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 10 (0.77%) Embedded C
14 10 (0.77%) R
15 9 (0.69%) VBA
16 7 (0.54%) Apex Code
16 7 (0.54%) VB
17 6 (0.46%) ABAP
Qualifications
1 295 (22.61%) Degree
2 154 (11.80%) Security Cleared
3 123 (9.43%) BPSS Clearance
4 61 (4.67%) Master's Degree
5 52 (3.98%) SC Cleared
6 43 (3.30%) Computer Science Degree
7 38 (2.91%) CISSP
8 36 (2.76%) CISA
9 35 (2.68%) CISM
10 34 (2.61%) DV Cleared
11 30 (2.30%) Chartered Engineer
11 30 (2.30%) SANS
12 28 (2.15%) CGEIT
12 28 (2.15%) FFIEC
13 25 (1.92%) HNC
14 22 (1.69%) HND
14 22 (1.69%) PMI Certification
15 19 (1.46%) PMP
16 14 (1.07%) ISTQB
17 9 (0.69%) ACCA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 175 (13.41%) Data Quality
2 142 (10.88%) QA
3 65 (4.98%) GDPR
4 61 (4.67%) Accessibility
5 38 (2.91%) ISO/IEC 15288
6 31 (2.38%) GRC
7 30 (2.30%) NIST
8 28 (2.15%) COBIT
9 20 (1.53%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 17 (1.30%) IFRS
11 16 (1.23%) IEC 61508
12 15 (1.15%) SLA
13 13 (1.00%) ISO 9001
14 12 (0.92%) GAAP
15 10 (0.77%) GMP
15 10 (0.77%) Good Clinical Practice
15 10 (0.77%) WCAG
16 9 (0.69%) 21 CFR Part 11
16 9 (0.69%) PMO
17 7 (0.54%) GxP
System Software
1 63 (4.83%) Docker
2 32 (2.45%) Active Directory
3 25 (1.92%) Firmware
4 15 (1.15%) VMware Infrastructure
5 14 (1.07%) Virtual Machines
6 11 (0.84%) vSphere
7 6 (0.46%) Hyper-V
7 6 (0.46%) KVM
8 5 (0.38%) Embedded Firmware
9 3 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
10 2 (0.15%) Terminal Services
11 1 (0.077%) iptables
11 1 (0.077%) OpenAM
11 1 (0.077%) OpenDJ
11 1 (0.077%) OpenIDM
11 1 (0.077%) pfSense
Systems Management
1 65 (4.98%) Kubernetes
2 45 (3.45%) Terraform
3 28 (2.15%) Grafana
4 23 (1.76%) Ansible
5 16 (1.23%) Prometheus
6 14 (1.07%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
7 12 (0.92%) Functional Safety
8 10 (0.77%) SCCM
9 9 (0.69%) Puppet
10 7 (0.54%) Microsoft Intune
11 5 (0.38%) Argo
11 5 (0.38%) Rancher
11 5 (0.38%) yum
12 4 (0.31%) Cilium
13 2 (0.15%) BMC PATROL
13 2 (0.15%) Computer Incident Response Team
13 2 (0.15%) HP Fortify
13 2 (0.15%) PowerCLI
14 1 (0.077%) FortiGate
14 1 (0.077%) Kibana
Vendors
1 172 (13.18%) Microsoft
2 72 (5.52%) Oracle
3 61 (4.67%) SAP
4 46 (3.52%) Salesforce
5 25 (1.92%) Red Hat
5 25 (1.92%) VMware
6 23 (1.76%) Databricks
7 22 (1.69%) Cisco
8 18 (1.38%) IBM
9 17 (1.30%) Foundry
9 17 (1.30%) Google
10 16 (1.23%) Adobe
10 16 (1.23%) OpenAI
11 15 (1.15%) ServiceNow
12 14 (1.07%) Palo Alto
13 13 (1.00%) CrowdStrike
13 13 (1.00%) Tenable
14 12 (0.92%) Automation Anywhere
14 12 (0.92%) UiPath
14 12 (0.92%) Workday