Security Cleared Job Trends in the South East

Security Clearance
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies advertised in the South East with a requirement for Security Cleared qualifications. It includes a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered over the 6 months leading up to 28 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 18 8 7
Rank change year-on-year -10 -1 +13
Permanent jobs citing Security Cleared 766 1,321 1,214
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 7.32% 14.26% 15.53%
As % of the Qualifications category 23.09% 33.59% 39.56%
Number of salaries quoted 437 825 863
10th Percentile £33,500 £40,013 £32,500
25th Percentile £46,250 £47,500 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £58,000 £60,000 £54,500
Median % change year-on-year -3.33% +10.09% +6.92%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £62,500
90th Percentile £88,650 £85,000 £76,200
England median annual salary £60,000 £60,000 £57,291
% change year-on-year - +4.73% +4.16%

All Academic and Professional Certifications
South East

Security Cleared falls under the Academic Qualifications and Professional Certifications category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications in the South East.

Permanent vacancies requiring academic qualifications or professional certifications 3,318 3,933 3,069
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 31.72% 42.45% 39.26%
Number of salaries quoted 1,424 1,812 1,971
10th Percentile £27,849 £35,000 £28,000
25th Percentile £36,438 £46,250 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £60,000 £53,260
Median % change year-on-year -12.50% +12.65% +2.42%
75th Percentile £67,500 £76,500 £67,500
90th Percentile £85,000 £85,000 £82,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% +4.35% -

Security Cleared
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Security Cleared relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Security Cleared job vacancy trend in the South East

Security Cleared
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Security Cleared.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Security Cleared

Security Cleared
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Security Cleared in the South East over the 6 months to 28 December 2025.

Salary histogram for Security Cleared in the South East

Security Cleared
Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Security Cleared within the South East region over the 6 months to 28 December 2025. 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
Hampshire -1 445 £60,000 - 288
Thames Valley -15 207 £57,500 +1.72% 323
Berkshire -26 112 £55,000 -6.98% 176
Buckinghamshire +33 81 £60,000 +6.67% 100
Surrey -15 80 £40,000 -33.33% 99
West Sussex +21 23 £34,000 -9.33% 36
Oxfordshire -5 14 £72,500 +60.77% 48
Kent -21 10 £39,000 -29.09% 90
Sussex - 2 £54,000 - 1
Security Cleared
England

Security Cleared
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 38 (4.96%) Microsoft Exchange
2 28 (3.66%) SharePoint
3 26 (3.39%) Exchange Server 2003
4 6 (0.78%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (0.78%) Appian
5 5 (0.65%) Apache
5 5 (0.65%) Confluence
5 5 (0.65%) WordPress
6 1 (0.13%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.13%) Camunda
6 1 (0.13%) IIS
Applications
1 48 (6.27%) Microsoft Office
2 37 (4.83%) Microsoft Excel
3 5 (0.65%) Adobe XD
3 5 (0.65%) Windchill
4 3 (0.39%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.26%) Adobe After Effects
5 2 (0.26%) Adobe Captivate
5 2 (0.26%) Adobe Creative Suite
5 2 (0.26%) Adobe Illustrator
5 2 (0.26%) Adobe Premiere
5 2 (0.26%) Elementor
5 2 (0.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.26%) Photoshop
6 1 (0.13%) CATIA
6 1 (0.13%) GNU Octave
6 1 (0.13%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.13%) OrCAD
Business Applications
1 22 (2.87%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
2 4 (0.52%) SAP S/4HANA
3 2 (0.26%) C-CURE
4 1 (0.13%) Q-Pulse
4 1 (0.13%) Salesforce CRM
4 1 (0.13%) SAP GTS
4 1 (0.13%) SAP HR
4 1 (0.13%) SAP Payroll
4 1 (0.13%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 79 (10.31%) Azure
2 72 (9.40%) AWS
3 27 (3.52%) Microsoft 365
4 25 (3.26%) Azure DevOps
5 23 (3.00%) Power Platform
6 16 (2.09%) Amazon EC2
6 16 (2.09%) Amazon EKS
7 14 (1.83%) Amazon ECS
7 14 (1.83%) Serverless
8 13 (1.70%) Dynamics 365
9 12 (1.57%) GCP
9 12 (1.57%) PowerApps
10 8 (1.04%) Entra ID
11 7 (0.91%) Amazon S3
11 7 (0.91%) GitHub
12 6 (0.78%) Figma
12 6 (0.78%) MinIO
13 5 (0.65%) AWS CloudFormation
13 5 (0.65%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
13 5 (0.65%) Salesforce Service Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 53 (6.92%) Firewall
2 50 (6.53%) DNS
3 28 (3.66%) VPN
4 27 (3.52%) DHCP
5 25 (3.26%) LAN
6 24 (3.13%) Junos
7 23 (3.00%) WAN
8 22 (2.87%) Software-Defined Radio
8 22 (2.87%) Wireless
9 21 (2.74%) Wi-Fi
10 18 (2.35%) Network Security
11 16 (2.09%) Cisco IOS
11 16 (2.09%) TCP/IP
12 14 (1.83%) Cisco ISE
12 14 (1.83%) VSAT
13 12 (1.57%) Cisco Firepower
14 10 (1.31%) Structured Cabling
15 9 (1.17%) BGP
15 9 (1.17%) NX-OS
16 7 (0.91%) IPsec
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (3.92%) Oracle Database
2 27 (3.52%) Oracle Database 10g
3 16 (2.09%) PostgreSQL
4 14 (1.83%) Relational Database
5 13 (1.70%) Power BI
5 13 (1.70%) RDBMS
6 5 (0.65%) Airbyte
6 5 (0.65%) SQL Server
7 3 (0.39%) Data Mining
8 2 (0.26%) Big Data
8 2 (0.26%) BigQuery
9 1 (0.13%) Amazon Aurora
9 1 (0.13%) Amazon RDS
9 1 (0.13%) DB2
9 1 (0.13%) DynamoDB
9 1 (0.13%) Elasticsearch
9 1 (0.13%) MongoDB
9 1 (0.13%) Neo4j
9 1 (0.13%) NoSQL
9 1 (0.13%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 54 (7.05%) Jenkins
2 50 (6.53%) Git
3 49 (6.40%) JIRA
4 27 (3.52%) Selenium
5 22 (2.87%) Robot Framework
6 20 (2.61%) Snyk
7 14 (1.83%) JUnit
7 14 (1.83%) Mockito
8 13 (1.70%) JMeter
9 11 (1.44%) GitLab
10 6 (0.78%) MSI
11 5 (0.65%) Axure RP
11 5 (0.65%) Balsamiq
11 5 (0.65%) Cypress.io
12 4 (0.52%) Subversion
13 3 (0.39%) Rational Rhapsody
13 3 (0.39%) WebDriver
14 2 (0.26%) Artifactory
14 2 (0.26%) SoapUI
14 2 (0.26%) TestRail
General
1 252 (32.90%) Social Skills
2 103 (13.45%) Analytical Skills
3 81 (10.57%) Finance
4 63 (8.22%) Public Sector
5 49 (6.40%) Organisational Skills
6 36 (4.70%) Manufacturing
7 34 (4.44%) Electronics
7 34 (4.44%) Telecoms
8 27 (3.52%) Aeronautics
8 27 (3.52%) Aerospace
8 27 (3.52%) Law
9 25 (3.26%) Aviation
10 22 (2.87%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 19 (2.48%) Marketing
12 14 (1.83%) Automotive
12 14 (1.83%) Documentation Skills
13 12 (1.57%) Military
14 11 (1.44%) Legal
15 9 (1.17%) Presentation Skills
16 8 (1.04%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 81 (10.57%) Systems Engineer
2 78 (10.18%) Senior
3 75 (9.79%) Lead
4 71 (9.27%) Support Engineer
5 70 (9.14%) Architect
6 50 (6.53%) Business Manager
6 50 (6.53%) Business Systems Manager
6 50 (6.53%) Systems Manager
7 46 (6.01%) Technical Support
8 43 (5.61%) Technical Engineer
8 43 (5.61%) Technical Support Engineer
9 40 (5.22%) Analyst
10 38 (4.96%) Network Engineer
11 37 (4.83%) Developer
11 37 (4.83%) Systems Support
12 36 (4.70%) Consultant
13 34 (4.44%) Software Engineer
14 27 (3.52%) Technical Manager
15 25 (3.26%) 3rd Line Support
15 25 (3.26%) Cloud Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (4.57%) REST
2 24 (3.13%) SOAP
3 20 (2.61%) HTML
4 16 (2.09%) Spring
4 16 (2.09%) XML
5 15 (1.96%) Spring Boot
6 14 (1.83%) Hibernate
6 14 (1.83%) Web Services
7 13 (1.70%) ActiveMQ
7 13 (1.70%) Apache Camel
7 13 (1.70%) jQuery
7 13 (1.70%) JSON
7 13 (1.70%) WireMock
8 9 (1.17%) Middleware
9 8 (1.04%) .NET
10 7 (0.91%) Kafka
10 7 (0.91%) React
11 6 (0.78%) Apache NiFi
12 5 (0.65%) 802.1X
12 5 (0.65%) ModSecurity
Miscellaneous
1 52 (6.79%) Robotics
2 40 (5.22%) e-Learning
3 31 (4.05%) Driving Licence
4 21 (2.74%) PKI
5 20 (2.61%) Cloud Native
5 20 (2.61%) Product Ownership
5 20 (2.61%) Self-Motivation
6 17 (2.22%) Embedded Systems
7 16 (2.09%) Distributed Systems
7 16 (2.09%) Security Operations Centre
8 15 (1.96%) Onboarding
9 13 (1.70%) MicroBlaze
9 13 (1.70%) RISC-V
9 13 (1.70%) Security Posture
10 12 (1.57%) Data Centre
11 11 (1.44%) FPGA
12 10 (1.31%) Management Information System
12 10 (1.31%) Renewable Energy
13 7 (0.91%) Low-Code
14 5 (0.65%) Fibre Optics
Operating Systems
1 119 (15.54%) Windows
2 68 (8.88%) Linux
3 40 (5.22%) Windows Server
4 33 (4.31%) Unix
5 27 (3.52%) Solaris
6 26 (3.39%) HPUX
6 26 (3.39%) Windows Server 2003
7 23 (3.00%) Windows 7
8 22 (2.87%) Windows Server 2008
9 13 (1.70%) Embedded Linux
10 8 (1.04%) Android
10 8 (1.04%) Windows Server 2016
11 7 (0.91%) Windows 10
11 7 (0.91%) Windows Server 2019
12 5 (0.65%) Apple iOS
13 3 (0.39%) AIX
14 1 (0.13%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
14 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 148 (19.32%) Agile
2 108 (14.10%) Continuous Improvement
3 99 (12.92%) Problem-Solving
3 99 (12.92%) Software Engineering
4 87 (11.36%) Project Management
5 82 (10.70%) Process Improvement
6 74 (9.66%) AI
7 66 (8.62%) Risk Management
8 64 (8.36%) CI/CD
9 57 (7.44%) DevOps
10 56 (7.31%) Technical Leadership
11 54 (7.05%) Data Analysis
11 54 (7.05%) IT Strategy
12 53 (6.92%) Innovative Thinking
12 53 (6.92%) Strategic Planning
13 52 (6.79%) Budget Management
14 51 (6.66%) Mentoring
14 51 (6.66%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 50 (6.53%) Contract Negotiation
16 46 (6.01%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 66 (8.62%) Python
2 60 (7.83%) PowerShell
3 43 (5.61%) SQL
4 36 (4.70%) Java
5 31 (4.05%) JavaScript
6 27 (3.52%) C++
7 24 (3.13%) C#
8 22 (2.87%) Perl
9 18 (2.35%) C
10 13 (1.70%) Shell Script
11 12 (1.57%) MATLAB
11 12 (1.57%) VBA
12 10 (1.31%) Bash
13 7 (0.91%) Rust
14 6 (0.78%) Go
15 5 (0.65%) Apex Code
16 4 (0.52%) Kusto Query Language
17 3 (0.39%) TypeScript
18 2 (0.26%) Kotlin
18 2 (0.26%) VB
Qualifications
1 473 (61.75%) SC Cleared
2 249 (32.51%) DV Cleared
3 130 (16.97%) Degree
4 36 (4.70%) Cisco Certification
5 35 (4.57%) CCNA
6 23 (3.00%) JNCIA
7 20 (2.61%) CCNP
8 18 (2.35%) Master's Degree
9 17 (2.22%) BPSS Clearance
10 11 (1.44%) APMP
11 10 (1.31%) Computer Science Degree
11 10 (1.31%) Microsoft Certification
12 8 (1.04%) CISSP
12 8 (1.04%) HND
12 8 (1.04%) JNCIS
13 6 (0.78%) CISM
13 6 (0.78%) DBS Check
13 6 (0.78%) HNC
13 6 (0.78%) ISTQB
13 6 (0.78%) MBA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (4.83%) QA
2 33 (4.31%) SLA
3 30 (3.92%) Def Stans
4 16 (2.09%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 14 (1.83%) Accessibility
6 13 (1.70%) GDPR
7 10 (1.31%) NIST
8 9 (1.17%) GRC
9 7 (0.91%) NCSC
10 6 (0.78%) ISO 9001
10 6 (0.78%) JSP 440
10 6 (0.78%) WCAG
11 5 (0.65%) ISO 13485
12 3 (0.39%) NIST 800
12 3 (0.39%) PCI DSS
12 3 (0.39%) PMO
12 3 (0.39%) RMADS
13 2 (0.26%) Data Quality
13 2 (0.26%) ISO/IEC 42001
14 1 (0.13%) DO-178B
System Software
1 65 (8.49%) Active Directory
2 38 (4.96%) Firmware
3 24 (3.13%) VMware Infrastructure
4 23 (3.00%) Docker
5 20 (2.61%) Embedded Firmware
6 18 (2.35%) VMware NSX
7 6 (0.78%) VMware ESXi
7 6 (0.78%) vSphere
8 4 (0.52%) Hyper-V
9 2 (0.26%) Terminal Server
9 2 (0.26%) Virtual Machines
10 1 (0.13%) Apache ZooKeeper
Systems Management
1 41 (5.35%) Kubernetes
2 32 (4.18%) Terraform
3 27 (3.52%) Ansible
4 22 (2.87%) vCenter Server
5 13 (1.70%) Kibana
6 12 (1.57%) SCCM
6 12 (1.57%) SCOM
7 7 (0.91%) Grafana
7 7 (0.91%) WMI
8 6 (0.78%) Prometheus
9 5 (0.65%) Endace
9 5 (0.65%) Nessus
9 5 (0.65%) vRealize
9 5 (0.65%) ZABBIX
10 4 (0.52%) Jamf Pro
11 3 (0.39%) Netcool
11 3 (0.39%) QRadar
11 3 (0.39%) WSUS
12 2 (0.26%) Argo
12 2 (0.26%) Sysdig
Vendors
1 120 (15.67%) Microsoft
2 68 (8.88%) VMware
3 59 (7.70%) Cisco
4 50 (6.53%) Juniper
5 35 (4.57%) Oracle
6 32 (4.18%) SAP
7 22 (2.87%) Sparx
8 20 (2.61%) Black Duck
9 19 (2.48%) Coverity
9 19 (2.48%) Splunk
10 18 (2.35%) SolarWinds
11 14 (1.83%) Salesforce
12 13 (1.70%) Dynatrace
13 9 (1.17%) Broadcom
14 8 (1.04%) Adobe
14 8 (1.04%) Fortinet
14 8 (1.04%) Google
15 7 (0.91%) Freshdesk
15 7 (0.91%) HP
15 7 (0.91%) Starlink