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 31 March 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 25 10 11
Rank change year-on-year -15 +1 +6
Permanent jobs citing Security Cleared 694 796 1,656
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.36% 11.85% 10.90%
As % of the Qualifications category 20.75% 24.78% 31.98%
Number of salaries quoted 461 589 1,310
10th Percentile £40,000 £41,650 £31,250
25th Percentile £51,250 £47,500 £42,200
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £57,670 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +12.71% +4.85% +14.58%
75th Percentile £80,000 £77,500 £67,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £85,000 £78,750
England median annual salary £65,000 £60,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +8.33% +4.35% -

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 3,345 3,212 5,178
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 25.86% 47.83% 34.08%
Number of salaries quoted 1,490 1,497 3,522
10th Percentile £28,500 £32,500 £29,000
25th Percentile £39,000 £42,500 £37,033
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £51,350
Median % change year-on-year - +7.11% +2.70%
75th Percentile £71,250 £72,500 £67,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £85,000 £82,500
England median annual salary £57,500 £58,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -0.86% +5.45% -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 31 March 2026.

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 31 March 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
Hampshire -2 358 £70,000 +21.74% 149
Thames Valley +9 224 £62,543 +4.24% 170
Berkshire +18 140 £65,000 +4.00% 96
Surrey -18 61 £57,500 +4.55% 44
Buckinghamshire +6 60 £60,000 +4.04% 57
Oxfordshire -1 24 £65,000 +30.00% 20
West Sussex -5 21 £35,000 -10.26% 13
Kent -24 16 £39,000 -33.62% 17
Sussex - 10 £85,000 - 4
Home Counties 0 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 36 (5.19%) SharePoint
2 32 (4.61%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (3.31%) Exchange Server 2003
4 4 (0.58%) WordPress
5 3 (0.43%) Confluence
6 2 (0.29%) Apache
6 2 (0.29%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.14%) Apache Qpid
7 1 (0.14%) Appian
7 1 (0.14%) Camunda
7 1 (0.14%) IIS
7 1 (0.14%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.14%) SAS
Applications
1 26 (3.75%) Microsoft Excel
2 24 (3.46%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (0.72%) Adobe XD
4 2 (0.29%) Adobe After Effects
4 2 (0.29%) Adobe Captivate
4 2 (0.29%) Adobe Creative Suite
4 2 (0.29%) Adobe Illustrator
4 2 (0.29%) Adobe Premiere
4 2 (0.29%) Elementor
4 2 (0.29%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.29%) Photoshop
5 1 (0.14%) CATIA
5 1 (0.14%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.14%) OrCAD
5 1 (0.14%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 3 (0.43%) SAP S/4HANA
2 1 (0.14%) Primavera
2 1 (0.14%) Q-Pulse
2 1 (0.14%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
2 1 (0.14%) SAP GTS
2 1 (0.14%) SAP HR
2 1 (0.14%) SAP Payroll
2 1 (0.14%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
2 1 (0.14%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 75 (10.81%) Azure
2 55 (7.93%) AWS
3 38 (5.48%) Microsoft 365
4 27 (3.89%) Azure DevOps
4 27 (3.89%) Power Platform
5 22 (3.17%) GCP
6 17 (2.45%) Dynamics 365
6 17 (2.45%) PowerApps
7 9 (1.30%) Amazon EKS
7 9 (1.30%) GitHub
7 9 (1.30%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
7 9 (1.30%) Salesforce Service Cloud
8 8 (1.15%) OpenShift
9 6 (0.86%) GitHub Actions
10 5 (0.72%) Amazon EC2
10 5 (0.72%) AWS CloudFormation
10 5 (0.72%) Figma
10 5 (0.72%) Serverless
11 4 (0.58%) Amazon ECS
11 4 (0.58%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 62 (8.93%) DNS
1 62 (8.93%) Firewall
2 33 (4.76%) DHCP
3 20 (2.88%) Structured Cabling
4 17 (2.45%) WAN
5 16 (2.31%) Cisco Firepower
6 14 (2.02%) VPN
7 13 (1.87%) Cisco ISE
8 12 (1.73%) BGP
8 12 (1.73%) Junos
9 10 (1.44%) Cisco IOS
9 10 (1.44%) LAN
9 10 (1.44%) Network Security
10 9 (1.30%) NX-OS
11 7 (1.01%) NetScaler
12 6 (0.86%) Cisco ASA
12 6 (0.86%) MPLS
12 6 (0.86%) SNMP
12 6 (0.86%) TCP/IP
12 6 (0.86%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (3.60%) Oracle Database
2 24 (3.46%) Oracle Database 10g
3 21 (3.03%) Power BI
4 10 (1.44%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (1.30%) SQL Server
6 7 (1.01%) Relational Database
7 4 (0.58%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.43%) Data Mining
9 2 (0.29%) Big Data
9 2 (0.29%) Metadata
9 2 (0.29%) MySQL
10 1 (0.14%) Airbyte
10 1 (0.14%) DynamoDB
10 1 (0.14%) MongoDB
10 1 (0.14%) NoSQL
10 1 (0.14%) Pinecone
10 1 (0.14%) Redis
10 1 (0.14%) SAP Data Services
10 1 (0.14%) Tableau
10 1 (0.14%) Weaviate
Development Applications
1 30 (4.32%) Git
2 27 (3.89%) GitLab
3 20 (2.88%) Selenium
4 19 (2.74%) Jenkins
5 17 (2.45%) Robot Framework
6 16 (2.31%) JIRA
7 15 (2.16%) Snyk
8 6 (0.86%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 6 (0.86%) JUnit
8 6 (0.86%) Subversion
9 5 (0.72%) Axure RP
9 5 (0.72%) Balsamiq
9 5 (0.72%) Mockito
10 4 (0.58%) JMeter
10 4 (0.58%) Rational DOORS
11 3 (0.43%) Cypress.io
12 2 (0.29%) Artifactory
12 2 (0.29%) TestRail
12 2 (0.29%) Visual Studio
12 2 (0.29%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 174 (25.07%) Social Skills
2 87 (12.54%) Analytical Skills
3 62 (8.93%) Public Sector
4 57 (8.21%) Finance
5 30 (4.32%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 28 (4.03%) Aeronautics
6 28 (4.03%) Law
7 23 (3.31%) Manufacturing
8 22 (3.17%) Aerospace
9 15 (2.16%) Electronics
9 15 (2.16%) Telecoms
10 13 (1.87%) Military
11 11 (1.59%) Documentation Skills
12 10 (1.44%) Banking
12 10 (1.44%) Organisational Skills
13 9 (1.30%) Marketing
14 8 (1.15%) Aviation
14 8 (1.15%) Games
15 7 (1.01%) Influencing Skills
15 7 (1.01%) Legal
Job Titles
1 101 (14.55%) Architect
2 86 (12.39%) Senior
3 64 (9.22%) Lead
4 50 (7.20%) Developer
5 37 (5.33%) Consultant
6 35 (5.04%) Analyst
6 35 (5.04%) Systems Engineer
7 34 (4.90%) Software Engineer
8 33 (4.76%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 30 (4.32%) Network Engineer
10 29 (4.18%) Business Manager
11 27 (3.89%) Business Systems Manager
11 27 (3.89%) Systems Manager
12 26 (3.75%) Systems Support
13 24 (3.46%) 3rd Line Support
13 24 (3.46%) Support Engineer
14 21 (3.03%) Applications Architect
14 21 (3.03%) Data Engineer
15 19 (2.74%) Security Architect
16 18 (2.59%) Cloud Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (2.88%) .NET
2 18 (2.59%) REST
3 13 (1.87%) SOAP
4 12 (1.73%) HTML
5 11 (1.59%) XML
6 10 (1.44%) JSON
6 10 (1.44%) Middleware
6 10 (1.44%) Regular Expression
7 9 (1.30%) Lightning Web Components
7 9 (1.30%) React
7 9 (1.30%) Visualforce
8 8 (1.15%) Kafka
8 8 (1.15%) LDAP
8 8 (1.15%) Spring
9 6 (0.86%) Spring Boot
9 6 (0.86%) Web Services
9 6 (0.86%) XMPP
10 5 (0.72%) Hibernate
11 4 (0.58%) ActiveMQ
11 4 (0.58%) CSS
Miscellaneous
1 29 (4.18%) Robotics
2 28 (4.03%) Product Ownership
3 26 (3.75%) PKI
4 16 (2.31%) Data Centre
5 14 (2.02%) Cloud Native
5 14 (2.02%) Security Posture
6 9 (1.30%) Onboarding
6 9 (1.30%) Self-Motivation
7 8 (1.15%) Distributed Systems
7 8 (1.15%) FPGA
8 7 (1.01%) Embedded Systems
8 7 (1.01%) Fibre Optics
8 7 (1.01%) Security Operations Centre
9 6 (0.86%) Driving Licence
9 6 (0.86%) Enterprise Software
9 6 (0.86%) Management Information System
10 5 (0.72%) Algorithms
10 5 (0.72%) Cloud Security Posture
11 4 (0.58%) Cyber Defence
11 4 (0.58%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 117 (16.86%) Windows
2 74 (10.66%) Linux
3 61 (8.79%) Windows Server
4 26 (3.75%) Unix
5 24 (3.46%) HPUX
5 24 (3.46%) Solaris
6 23 (3.31%) Windows 7
6 23 (3.31%) Windows Server 2003
7 22 (3.17%) Windows Server 2008
8 16 (2.31%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 11 (1.59%) Windows Server 2016
10 7 (1.01%) Ubuntu
11 6 (0.86%) Android
11 6 (0.86%) CentOS
12 4 (0.58%) Windows 10
12 4 (0.58%) Windows Server 2019
13 2 (0.29%) Apple iOS
14 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 125 (18.01%) Agile
2 80 (11.53%) Problem-Solving
2 80 (11.53%) Software Engineering
3 70 (10.09%) CI/CD
4 69 (9.94%) Continuous Improvement
4 69 (9.94%) DevOps
5 61 (8.79%) Project Management
6 46 (6.63%) Mentoring
7 45 (6.48%) AI
8 42 (6.05%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 41 (5.91%) Cybersecurity
10 39 (5.62%) Decision-Making
10 39 (5.62%) Risk Management
11 37 (5.33%) Process Improvement
11 37 (5.33%) Scrum
11 37 (5.33%) Test Automation
12 36 (5.19%) Technical Leadership
13 32 (4.61%) Infrastructure as Code
14 31 (4.47%) Service Management
14 31 (4.47%) Technology Strategy
Programming Languages
1 68 (9.80%) Python
2 39 (5.62%) PowerShell
3 35 (5.04%) Java
4 29 (4.18%) JavaScript
5 26 (3.75%) SQL
6 22 (3.17%) Perl
7 19 (2.74%) C++
8 17 (2.45%) VBA
9 15 (2.16%) C
10 13 (1.87%) C#
10 13 (1.87%) Rust
11 10 (1.44%) Bash
12 9 (1.30%) Apex Code
13 8 (1.15%) Shell Script
14 5 (0.72%) Ladder Logic
14 5 (0.72%) PL/SQL
14 5 (0.72%) TypeScript
15 3 (0.43%) Pascal
16 2 (0.29%) Go
16 2 (0.29%) MATLAB
Qualifications
1 425 (61.24%) SC Cleared
2 280 (40.35%) DV Cleared
3 109 (15.71%) Degree
4 23 (3.31%) Master's Degree
5 16 (2.31%) HNC
6 14 (2.02%) APMP
6 14 (2.02%) MBA
7 12 (1.73%) CISSP
8 11 (1.59%) BPSS Clearance
9 10 (1.44%) Microsoft Certification
10 9 (1.30%) DBS Check
11 8 (1.15%) CISM
12 7 (1.01%) Computer Science Degree
12 7 (1.01%) CRISC
12 7 (1.01%) ISTQB
13 6 (0.86%) Azure Certification
13 6 (0.86%) CCNP
13 6 (0.86%) Cisco Certification
14 5 (0.72%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
15 4 (0.58%) CHECK Team Member
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (4.47%) SLA
2 21 (3.03%) GDPR
3 19 (2.74%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 13 (1.87%) NCSC
4 13 (1.87%) NIST
5 12 (1.73%) Accessibility
5 12 (1.73%) QA
6 10 (1.44%) GRC
7 7 (1.01%) PMO
8 6 (0.86%) WCAG
9 4 (0.58%) ISO 9001
9 4 (0.58%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 15288
10 3 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 3 (0.43%) JSP 440
10 3 (0.43%) NIST 800
11 2 (0.29%) Data Quality
11 2 (0.29%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 2 (0.29%) RMADS
12 1 (0.14%) HIPAA
System Software
1 69 (9.94%) Active Directory
2 27 (3.89%) Docker
3 24 (3.46%) VMware NSX
4 20 (2.88%) VMware Infrastructure
4 20 (2.88%) vSphere
5 19 (2.74%) Firmware
6 3 (0.43%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.43%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.29%) Terminal Server
7 2 (0.29%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.14%) Apache ZooKeeper
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle RAC
8 1 (0.14%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 37 (5.33%) Terraform
2 34 (4.90%) Kubernetes
3 33 (4.76%) Ansible
4 18 (2.59%) vCenter Server
5 10 (1.44%) SCCM
5 10 (1.44%) SCOM
6 9 (1.30%) Grafana
6 9 (1.30%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.30%) vRealize
7 8 (1.15%) Nessus
8 7 (1.01%) Endace
9 4 (0.58%) Kibana
9 4 (0.58%) WSUS
10 3 (0.43%) Nagios
10 3 (0.43%) ZABBIX
11 2 (0.29%) QRadar
11 2 (0.29%) SCSM
11 2 (0.29%) Sysdig
11 2 (0.29%) WMI
12 1 (0.14%) Docker Swarm
Vendors
1 94 (13.54%) Microsoft
2 74 (10.66%) VMware
3 41 (5.91%) Cisco
4 39 (5.62%) Oracle
5 30 (4.32%) Juniper
6 18 (2.59%) Salesforce
7 16 (2.31%) Splunk
8 15 (2.16%) Black Duck
8 15 (2.16%) Coverity
8 15 (2.16%) SolarWinds
9 14 (2.02%) Google
10 12 (1.73%) Red Hat
11 11 (1.59%) CheckPoint
11 11 (1.59%) McAfee
12 10 (1.44%) ServiceNow
13 9 (1.30%) Broadcom
13 9 (1.30%) Palo Alto
13 9 (1.30%) SAP
14 8 (1.15%) Adobe
14 8 (1.15%) Citrix