Validation Job Trends in the Midlands

Validation
England > Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the Midlands requiring Validation skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 4 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 89 51 170
Rank change year-on-year -38 +119 -54
Permanent jobs citing Validation 232 272 119
As % of all permanent jobs in the Midlands 1.56% 4.79% 1.16%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 2.23% 5.67% 1.49%
Number of salaries quoted 143 56 47
10th Percentile £30,000 £38,750 £34,000
25th Percentile £37,750 £41,250 £38,125
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £47,500 £55,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -13.64% +10.00% -4.12%
75th Percentile £67,750 £64,375 £57,500
90th Percentile £78,600 £74,200 £62,800
England median annual salary £57,500 £55,000 £58,750
% change year-on-year +4.55% -6.38% -9.62%

All Process & Methodology Skills
Midlands

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 in the Midlands.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 10,384 4,798 7,970
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the Midlands 69.74% 84.55% 77.61%
Number of salaries quoted 7,423 2,857 4,423
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,000 £28,145
25th Percentile £40,000 £32,000 £35,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £47,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% -5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £65,000 £63,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £76,250
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -8.00%

Validation
Job Vacancy Trend in the Midlands

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

Validation job vacancy trend in the Midlands

Validation
Salary Trend in the Midlands

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Midlands citing Validation.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Midlands citing Validation

Validation
Salary Histogram in the Midlands

Salary distribution for jobs citing Validation in the Midlands over the 6 months to 4 September 2026.

Salary histogram for Validation in the Midlands

Validation
Job Locations in the Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Validation within the Midlands region over the 6 months to 4 September 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
West Midlands +35 132 £47,500 -13.64% 183
East Midlands -59 99 £46,743 +9.98% 91
Validation
England

Validation
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the Midlands 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 3 (1.29%) Oracle SOA Suite
2 1 (0.43%) Apache
2 1 (0.43%) Apache Airflow
2 1 (0.43%) Confluence
2 1 (0.43%) FactoryTalk
Applications
1 10 (4.31%) Microsoft Excel
2 8 (3.45%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (3.45%) SOLIDWORKS
3 6 (2.59%) Simulink
4 3 (1.29%) Microsoft Project
4 3 (1.29%) OrCAD
5 2 (0.86%) Solid Edge
6 1 (0.43%) CATIA
6 1 (0.43%) PTC Creo
6 1 (0.43%) Siemens NX
6 1 (0.43%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 6 (2.59%) Dynamics CRM
2 3 (1.29%) Infor M3
2 3 (1.29%) Oracle Applications
3 2 (0.86%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.43%) NetSuite
4 1 (0.43%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.43%) Oracle Payables
4 1 (0.43%) Oracle Receivables
4 1 (0.43%) SAP CO
4 1 (0.43%) SAP FI
4 1 (0.43%) SAP FI/CO
4 1 (0.43%) SAP MM
Cloud Services
1 24 (10.34%) Power Platform
2 16 (6.90%) Azure
3 12 (5.17%) Azure DevOps
4 10 (4.31%) AWS
4 10 (4.31%) Serverless
5 6 (2.59%) Dynamics 365
5 6 (2.59%) GCP
5 6 (2.59%) Microsoft 365
6 5 (2.16%) Microsoft Copilot
6 5 (2.16%) Tricentis Tosca
7 4 (1.72%) GitHub
8 3 (1.29%) Oracle CX
9 2 (0.86%) Amazon EMR
9 2 (0.86%) Amazon Kinesis
9 2 (0.86%) Amazon MSK
9 2 (0.86%) Amazon S3
9 2 (0.86%) AWS IoT
9 2 (0.86%) GitHub Actions
9 2 (0.86%) SaaS
10 1 (0.43%) dbt
Communications & Networking
1 17 (7.33%) Modbus
2 10 (4.31%) TCP/IP
2 10 (4.31%) VLAN
3 9 (3.88%) Ethernet
3 9 (3.88%) OSPF
4 7 (3.02%) Wireless
5 6 (2.59%) MQTT
5 6 (2.59%) VPN
5 6 (2.59%) Wi-Fi
5 6 (2.59%) Wireshark
5 6 (2.59%) ZigBee
6 5 (2.16%) Cisco IOS
6 5 (2.16%) DMZ
6 5 (2.16%) IPv4
6 5 (2.16%) LAN
6 5 (2.16%) WAN
7 4 (1.72%) BGP
7 4 (1.72%) Bluetooth
7 4 (1.72%) Cisco Nexus
7 4 (1.72%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (10.34%) Power BI
2 12 (5.17%) Tableau
3 7 (3.02%) Oracle Reports
4 5 (2.16%) Metadata
5 4 (1.72%) Crystal Reports
5 4 (1.72%) GIS
5 4 (1.72%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 3 (1.29%) Amazon Redshift
6 3 (1.29%) DTS
6 3 (1.29%) MySQL
6 3 (1.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
7 2 (0.86%) Amazon Athena
7 2 (0.86%) Amazon RDS
7 2 (0.86%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.86%) PostgreSQL
7 2 (0.86%) Relational Database
8 1 (0.43%) BigQuery
8 1 (0.43%) Delta Lake
8 1 (0.43%) Parquet
8 1 (0.43%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 15 (6.47%) Git
2 13 (5.60%) Jenkins
3 12 (5.17%) GitLab
4 10 (4.31%) Snyk
5 9 (3.88%) Selenium
6 7 (3.02%) Cucumber
6 7 (3.02%) JMeter
7 6 (2.59%) Eclipse
7 6 (2.59%) GDB
7 6 (2.59%) JIRA
8 5 (2.16%) Cypress.io
8 5 (2.16%) LabVIEW
8 5 (2.16%) LoadRunner
8 5 (2.16%) Postman
8 5 (2.16%) REST Assured
8 5 (2.16%) SonarQube
9 4 (1.72%) Burp Suite
9 4 (1.72%) Gatling
9 4 (1.72%) HP UFT
9 4 (1.72%) Robot Framework
General
1 57 (24.57%) Social Skills
2 53 (22.84%) Analytical Skills
3 38 (16.38%) Finance
4 35 (15.09%) Electronics
5 34 (14.66%) Manufacturing
6 27 (11.64%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 20 (8.62%) Banking
8 17 (7.33%) Retail
9 16 (6.90%) Organisational Skills
10 14 (6.03%) Public Sector
11 13 (5.60%) Pharmaceutical
12 11 (4.74%) Telecoms
13 5 (2.16%) Law
13 5 (2.16%) Military
14 4 (1.72%) Aerospace
14 4 (1.72%) Games
14 4 (1.72%) iGaming
14 4 (1.72%) Marketing
14 4 (1.72%) Presentation Skills
14 4 (1.72%) Social Housing
Job Titles
1 40 (17.24%) Senior
2 28 (12.07%) Lead
3 19 (8.19%) Analyst
3 19 (8.19%) Automation Engineer
4 18 (7.76%) Developer
5 17 (7.33%) Data Scientist
6 14 (6.03%) Embedded Engineer
6 14 (6.03%) Statistician
7 13 (5.60%) QA Specialist
7 13 (5.60%) Validation Specialist
8 12 (5.17%) Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Cloud Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Cloud Security Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Performance Manager
9 10 (4.31%) Security Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Senior Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Senior Cloud Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Senior Security Architect
9 10 (4.31%) Software Engineer
10 9 (3.88%) Principal Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (4.31%) XML
2 7 (3.02%) Playwright
3 6 (2.59%) Yocto
4 5 (2.16%) Oracle Fusion
5 4 (1.72%) EDI
5 4 (1.72%) pytest
5 4 (1.72%) Terraform
5 4 (1.72%) Unity DI Container
6 3 (1.29%) .NET
6 3 (1.29%) RESTful
7 2 (0.86%) Blazor
7 2 (0.86%) Django
7 2 (0.86%) Matplotlib
7 2 (0.86%) PyTorch
7 2 (0.86%) REST
7 2 (0.86%) scikit-learn
7 2 (0.86%) Seaborn
7 2 (0.86%) TensorFlow
7 2 (0.86%) YAML
8 1 (0.43%) PySpark
Miscellaneous
1 25 (10.78%) Management Information System
2 22 (9.48%) SCADA
3 16 (6.90%) Data Centre
4 11 (4.74%) IoT
5 10 (4.31%) Embedded Systems
5 10 (4.31%) NHS
6 9 (3.88%) Analytical Mindset
7 8 (3.45%) ARM Cortex
7 8 (3.45%) Enterprise Software
7 8 (3.45%) Robotics
8 7 (3.02%) Client/Server
8 7 (3.02%) Driving Licence
9 6 (2.59%) Data Structures
9 6 (2.59%) Device Driver
10 4 (1.72%) FMCG
11 3 (1.29%) Analogue Electronics
11 3 (1.29%) Cloud Native
11 3 (1.29%) Distributed Systems
11 3 (1.29%) Onboarding
12 2 (0.86%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 17 (7.33%) Linux
2 6 (2.59%) Android
2 6 (2.59%) Windows
3 4 (1.72%) Kali Linux
4 2 (0.86%) Embedded Linux
4 2 (0.86%) FreeRTOS
5 1 (0.43%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 62 (26.72%) Problem-Solving
2 57 (24.57%) Continuous Improvement
3 41 (17.67%) Cybersecurity
4 39 (16.81%) AI
5 38 (16.38%) Test Automation
6 37 (15.95%) Computer Science
7 35 (15.09%) Business Intelligence
8 33 (14.22%) Agile
9 32 (13.79%) CI/CD
10 28 (12.07%) Risk Management
11 27 (11.64%) Customer Requirements
11 27 (11.64%) Decision-Making
12 25 (10.78%) Software Testing
13 24 (10.34%) Data Science
14 22 (9.48%) Data Management
15 21 (9.05%) Actionable Insight
15 21 (9.05%) Analytics
15 21 (9.05%) ERP
15 21 (9.05%) Machine Learning
15 21 (9.05%) Process Improvement
Programming Languages
1 47 (20.26%) Python
2 44 (18.97%) SQL
3 19 (8.19%) C
4 16 (6.90%) Java
5 11 (4.74%) C++
6 8 (3.45%) Embedded C
6 8 (3.45%) MATLAB
7 4 (1.72%) Bash
8 3 (1.29%) PL/SQL
9 2 (0.86%) C#
10 1 (0.43%) Apex Code
10 1 (0.43%) JavaScript
10 1 (0.43%) PowerShell
10 1 (0.43%) R
10 1 (0.43%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 80 (34.48%) Degree
2 28 (12.07%) Security Cleared
3 24 (10.34%) SC Cleared
4 18 (7.76%) Master's Degree
5 14 (6.03%) Computer Science Degree
6 4 (1.72%) HND
6 4 (1.72%) PMI Certification
7 3 (1.29%) CISA
7 3 (1.29%) HNC
7 3 (1.29%) Oracle Certification
7 3 (1.29%) PMP
8 2 (0.86%) BPSS Clearance
8 2 (0.86%) DV Cleared
8 2 (0.86%) SAP Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (11.64%) QA
2 23 (9.91%) Data Quality
3 10 (4.31%) GRC
4 6 (2.59%) GDPR
4 6 (2.59%) ISO 9001
4 6 (2.59%) JTAG
5 4 (1.72%) Accessibility
6 3 (1.29%) IEC 61508
6 3 (1.29%) ISO/IEC 17025
6 3 (1.29%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 2 (0.86%) ISO 26262
7 2 (0.86%) MISRA
7 2 (0.86%) MISRA C
8 1 (0.43%) Actionable Recommendations
8 1 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials
8 1 (0.43%) ISO 14001
8 1 (0.43%) NIST
8 1 (0.43%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.43%) PSD2
8 1 (0.43%) WCAG
System Software
1 22 (9.48%) Firmware
2 15 (6.47%) Embedded Firmware
3 10 (4.31%) Virtual Machines
4 4 (1.72%) Docker
Systems Management
1 5 (2.16%) Grafana
2 4 (1.72%) HP Fortify
2 4 (1.72%) Kubernetes
3 3 (1.29%) Functional Safety
4 2 (0.86%) Ansible
5 1 (0.43%) FortiGate
5 1 (0.43%) Microsoft Intune
5 1 (0.43%) SCCM
Vendors
1 22 (9.48%) Microsoft
2 12 (5.17%) Oracle
3 11 (4.74%) Cisco
4 10 (4.31%) CrowdStrike
4 10 (4.31%) Palo Alto
4 10 (4.31%) Tenable
5 7 (3.02%) SAP
6 5 (2.16%) EMC
7 4 (1.72%) Google
7 4 (1.72%) Salesforce
7 4 (1.72%) Veracode
8 3 (1.29%) Infor
8 3 (1.29%) ServiceNow
9 1 (0.43%) Allen-Bradley
9 1 (0.43%) ANSYS
9 1 (0.43%) Apple
9 1 (0.43%) Fortinet
9 1 (0.43%) HubSpot
9 1 (0.43%) Meraki
9 1 (0.43%) NCR