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

6 months to
27 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 24 11 11
Rank change year-on-year -13 0 +7
Permanent jobs citing Security Cleared 683 813 1,628
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 5.36% 12.23% 10.81%
As % of the Qualifications category 20.75% 25.34% 31.78%
Number of salaries quoted 451 597 1,289
10th Percentile £40,000 £41,750 £31,250
25th Percentile £51,250 £47,500 £42,200
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £58,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +12.07% +5.45% +14.29%
75th Percentile £78,750 £77,500 £67,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £85,000 £77,750
England median annual salary £65,000 £60,250 £57,500
% change year-on-year +7.88% +4.78% +1.50%

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 3,291 3,208 5,122
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 25.82% 48.26% 34.02%
Number of salaries quoted 1,462 1,497 3,475
10th Percentile £29,000 £32,500 £29,000
25th Percentile £38,750 £42,500 £37,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £55,000 £52,000
Median % change year-on-year - +5.77% +4.00%
75th Percentile £71,250 £72,500 £67,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £85,000 £82,500
England median annual salary £57,500 £59,415 £55,000
% change year-on-year -3.22% +8.03% -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 27 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 27 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 -2 350 £67,500 +17.39% 149
Thames Valley +11 221 £60,000 - 170
Berkshire +12 140 £65,000 +4.00% 96
Surrey -22 61 £57,500 -1.63% 44
Buckinghamshire -2 57 £60,000 +4.04% 57
Oxfordshire +7 24 £65,000 +30.00% 20
West Sussex -1 22 £35,000 -10.26% 13
Kent -25 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 35 (5.12%) SharePoint
2 32 (4.69%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (3.37%) Exchange Server 2003
4 4 (0.59%) WordPress
5 3 (0.44%) Confluence
6 2 (0.29%) Apache
6 2 (0.29%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.15%) Apache Qpid
7 1 (0.15%) Appian
7 1 (0.15%) Camunda
7 1 (0.15%) IIS
7 1 (0.15%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.15%) SAS
Applications
1 27 (3.95%) Microsoft Excel
2 26 (3.81%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (0.73%) 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 (0.15%) CATIA
5 1 (0.15%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.15%) OrCAD
5 1 (0.15%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 3 (0.44%) SAP S/4HANA
2 1 (0.15%) Primavera
2 1 (0.15%) Q-Pulse
2 1 (0.15%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
2 1 (0.15%) SAP GTS
2 1 (0.15%) SAP HR
2 1 (0.15%) SAP Payroll
2 1 (0.15%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
2 1 (0.15%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 74 (10.83%) Azure
2 57 (8.35%) AWS
3 37 (5.42%) Microsoft 365
4 26 (3.81%) Azure DevOps
5 25 (3.66%) Power Platform
6 22 (3.22%) GCP
7 17 (2.49%) Dynamics 365
8 16 (2.34%) PowerApps
9 10 (1.46%) Amazon EKS
10 9 (1.32%) GitHub
10 9 (1.32%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
10 9 (1.32%) Salesforce Service Cloud
11 8 (1.17%) OpenShift
12 6 (0.88%) Amazon EC2
12 6 (0.88%) GitHub Actions
12 6 (0.88%) Serverless
13 5 (0.73%) Amazon ECS
13 5 (0.73%) AWS CloudFormation
13 5 (0.73%) Figma
14 4 (0.59%) SaaS
Communications & Networking
1 60 (8.78%) DNS
1 60 (8.78%) Firewall
2 33 (4.83%) DHCP
3 21 (3.07%) Structured Cabling
4 16 (2.34%) Cisco Firepower
4 16 (2.34%) WAN
5 14 (2.05%) VPN
6 13 (1.90%) Cisco ISE
7 12 (1.76%) BGP
7 12 (1.76%) Junos
8 10 (1.46%) Cisco IOS
8 10 (1.46%) Network Security
9 9 (1.32%) LAN
9 9 (1.32%) NX-OS
10 7 (1.02%) MPLS
10 7 (1.02%) NetScaler
10 7 (1.02%) SNMP
10 7 (1.02%) TCP/IP
10 7 (1.02%) Wi-Fi
11 6 (0.88%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (3.66%) Oracle Database
2 24 (3.51%) Oracle Database 10g
3 19 (2.78%) Power BI
4 10 (1.46%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (1.32%) SQL Server
6 7 (1.02%) Relational Database
7 5 (0.73%) RDBMS
8 3 (0.44%) Data Mining
9 2 (0.29%) Big Data
9 2 (0.29%) Metadata
9 2 (0.29%) MySQL
10 1 (0.15%) Airbyte
10 1 (0.15%) Data Warehouse
10 1 (0.15%) MongoDB
10 1 (0.15%) NoSQL
10 1 (0.15%) Pinecone
10 1 (0.15%) Redis
10 1 (0.15%) SAP Data Services
10 1 (0.15%) Tableau
10 1 (0.15%) Weaviate
Development Applications
1 29 (4.25%) Git
2 27 (3.95%) GitLab
3 20 (2.93%) Jenkins
4 19 (2.78%) Selenium
5 17 (2.49%) Robot Framework
6 16 (2.34%) JIRA
7 15 (2.20%) Snyk
8 7 (1.02%) JUnit
9 6 (0.88%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 6 (0.88%) Mockito
9 6 (0.88%) Subversion
10 5 (0.73%) Axure RP
10 5 (0.73%) Balsamiq
10 5 (0.73%) JMeter
11 3 (0.44%) Cypress.io
11 3 (0.44%) Rational DOORS
12 2 (0.29%) Artifactory
12 2 (0.29%) TestRail
12 2 (0.29%) Visual Studio
12 2 (0.29%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 176 (25.77%) Social Skills
2 86 (12.59%) Analytical Skills
3 63 (9.22%) Public Sector
4 56 (8.20%) Finance
5 29 (4.25%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 28 (4.10%) Aeronautics
7 27 (3.95%) Law
8 23 (3.37%) Manufacturing
9 19 (2.78%) Aerospace
10 15 (2.20%) Telecoms
11 14 (2.05%) Electronics
12 13 (1.90%) Military
13 11 (1.61%) Documentation Skills
14 10 (1.46%) Banking
15 9 (1.32%) Marketing
15 9 (1.32%) Organisational Skills
16 8 (1.17%) Games
16 8 (1.17%) Legal
17 7 (1.02%) Aviation
17 7 (1.02%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 99 (14.49%) Architect
2 83 (12.15%) Senior
3 62 (9.08%) Lead
4 48 (7.03%) Developer
5 36 (5.27%) Consultant
5 36 (5.27%) Systems Engineer
6 34 (4.98%) Analyst
7 33 (4.83%) Software Engineer
8 31 (4.54%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 29 (4.25%) Business Manager
9 29 (4.25%) Network Engineer
10 28 (4.10%) Systems Support
11 27 (3.95%) Business Systems Manager
11 27 (3.95%) Systems Manager
12 26 (3.81%) Support Engineer
13 24 (3.51%) 3rd Line Support
14 22 (3.22%) Data Engineer
15 20 (2.93%) Applications Architect
16 18 (2.64%) Cloud Engineer
17 17 (2.49%) IT Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 19 (2.78%) REST
2 18 (2.64%) .NET
3 13 (1.90%) HTML
3 13 (1.90%) SOAP
4 12 (1.76%) XML
5 11 (1.61%) JSON
6 10 (1.46%) Middleware
7 9 (1.32%) Lightning Web Components
7 9 (1.32%) React
7 9 (1.32%) Spring
7 9 (1.32%) Visualforce
8 8 (1.17%) Kafka
8 8 (1.17%) Regular Expression
9 7 (1.02%) Spring Boot
9 7 (1.02%) Web Services
10 6 (0.88%) Hibernate
10 6 (0.88%) LDAP
11 5 (0.73%) ActiveMQ
11 5 (0.73%) Apache Camel
11 5 (0.73%) jQuery
Miscellaneous
1 29 (4.25%) Robotics
2 28 (4.10%) Product Ownership
3 26 (3.81%) PKI
4 17 (2.49%) Data Centre
5 14 (2.05%) Cloud Native
5 14 (2.05%) Security Posture
6 10 (1.46%) Onboarding
7 9 (1.32%) Distributed Systems
7 9 (1.32%) Driving Licence
7 9 (1.32%) Self-Motivation
8 8 (1.17%) Security Operations Centre
9 7 (1.02%) Fibre Optics
9 7 (1.02%) FPGA
10 6 (0.88%) Embedded Systems
10 6 (0.88%) Enterprise Software
10 6 (0.88%) Management Information System
11 5 (0.73%) Algorithms
11 5 (0.73%) Cloud Security Posture
12 4 (0.59%) Cyber Defence
12 4 (0.59%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 117 (17.13%) Windows
2 74 (10.83%) Linux
3 59 (8.64%) Windows Server
4 26 (3.81%) Unix
5 24 (3.51%) HPUX
5 24 (3.51%) Solaris
6 23 (3.37%) Windows 7
6 23 (3.37%) Windows Server 2003
7 22 (3.22%) Windows Server 2008
8 14 (2.05%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 11 (1.61%) Windows Server 2016
10 7 (1.02%) Ubuntu
11 6 (0.88%) Android
11 6 (0.88%) CentOS
12 4 (0.59%) Windows 10
12 4 (0.59%) Windows Server 2019
13 2 (0.29%) Apple iOS
14 1 (0.15%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 124 (18.16%) Agile
2 80 (11.71%) Problem-Solving
3 76 (11.13%) Software Engineering
4 72 (10.54%) Continuous Improvement
5 70 (10.25%) CI/CD
6 69 (10.10%) DevOps
7 61 (8.93%) Project Management
8 49 (7.17%) Mentoring
9 44 (6.44%) AI
10 41 (6.00%) Cybersecurity
11 40 (5.86%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 39 (5.71%) Risk Management
13 37 (5.42%) Decision-Making
13 37 (5.42%) Process Improvement
13 37 (5.42%) Scrum
14 36 (5.27%) Test Automation
15 34 (4.98%) Technical Leadership
16 32 (4.69%) Infrastructure as Code
17 31 (4.54%) Service Management
18 30 (4.39%) Technology Strategy
Programming Languages
1 67 (9.81%) Python
2 39 (5.71%) PowerShell
3 36 (5.27%) Java
4 30 (4.39%) JavaScript
5 25 (3.66%) SQL
6 22 (3.22%) Perl
7 19 (2.78%) C++
8 16 (2.34%) VBA
9 15 (2.20%) C
10 13 (1.90%) Rust
11 12 (1.76%) C#
12 10 (1.46%) Bash
13 9 (1.32%) Apex Code
13 9 (1.32%) Shell Script
14 5 (0.73%) Ladder Logic
14 5 (0.73%) PL/SQL
15 4 (0.59%) TypeScript
16 3 (0.44%) Pascal
17 2 (0.29%) Go
17 2 (0.29%) MATLAB
Qualifications
1 415 (60.76%) SC Cleared
2 278 (40.70%) DV Cleared
3 108 (15.81%) Degree
4 22 (3.22%) Master's Degree
5 16 (2.34%) HNC
6 14 (2.05%) APMP
6 14 (2.05%) MBA
7 12 (1.76%) CISSP
8 11 (1.61%) BPSS Clearance
9 10 (1.46%) Microsoft Certification
10 9 (1.32%) DBS Check
11 8 (1.17%) CISM
12 7 (1.02%) CCNP
12 7 (1.02%) Cisco Certification
12 7 (1.02%) Computer Science Degree
12 7 (1.02%) CRISC
12 7 (1.02%) ISTQB
13 6 (0.88%) Azure Certification
14 5 (0.73%) CCNA
14 5 (0.73%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (4.54%) SLA
2 21 (3.07%) GDPR
3 19 (2.78%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 13 (1.90%) NCSC
4 13 (1.90%) NIST
5 11 (1.61%) Accessibility
5 11 (1.61%) QA
6 10 (1.46%) GRC
7 7 (1.02%) PMO
8 5 (0.73%) WCAG
9 4 (0.59%) ISO 9001
9 4 (0.59%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.44%) ISO/IEC 15288
10 3 (0.44%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 3 (0.44%) JSP 440
10 3 (0.44%) NIST 800
11 2 (0.29%) Data Quality
11 2 (0.29%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 2 (0.29%) RMADS
12 1 (0.15%) P3O
System Software
1 67 (9.81%) Active Directory
2 27 (3.95%) Docker
3 24 (3.51%) VMware NSX
4 20 (2.93%) VMware Infrastructure
5 19 (2.78%) Firmware
6 18 (2.64%) vSphere
7 3 (0.44%) Hyper-V
7 3 (0.44%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.29%) Terminal Server
8 2 (0.29%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.15%) Apache ZooKeeper
9 1 (0.15%) Oracle RAC
9 1 (0.15%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 37 (5.42%) Terraform
2 35 (5.12%) Kubernetes
3 33 (4.83%) Ansible
4 18 (2.64%) vCenter Server
5 10 (1.46%) SCCM
5 10 (1.46%) SCOM
6 9 (1.32%) Grafana
6 9 (1.32%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.32%) vRealize
7 8 (1.17%) Nessus
8 7 (1.02%) Endace
9 5 (0.73%) Kibana
10 4 (0.59%) WSUS
10 4 (0.59%) ZABBIX
11 3 (0.44%) Nagios
12 2 (0.29%) OpenView
12 2 (0.29%) SCSM
12 2 (0.29%) Sysdig
12 2 (0.29%) Tivoli
12 2 (0.29%) WMI
Vendors
1 92 (13.47%) Microsoft
2 72 (10.54%) VMware
3 43 (6.30%) Cisco
4 37 (5.42%) Oracle
5 31 (4.54%) Juniper
6 18 (2.64%) Salesforce
6 18 (2.64%) Splunk
7 15 (2.20%) Black Duck
7 15 (2.20%) Coverity
7 15 (2.20%) SolarWinds
8 13 (1.90%) Google
9 11 (1.61%) CheckPoint
9 11 (1.61%) SAP
10 10 (1.46%) Red Hat
10 10 (1.46%) ServiceNow
11 9 (1.32%) Broadcom
11 9 (1.32%) McAfee
11 9 (1.32%) Palo Alto
12 8 (1.17%) F5
12 8 (1.17%) LogRhythm