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 26 February 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
26 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 24 9 10
Rank change year-on-year -15 +1 +8
Permanent jobs citing Security Cleared 721 1,014 1,447
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 6.19% 13.01% 11.58%
As % of the Qualifications category 22.24% 27.21% 32.91%
Number of salaries quoted 452 647 1,143
10th Percentile £36,600 £41,750 £31,250
25th Percentile £50,000 £47,500 £42,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £60,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year - +9.09% +14.29%
75th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £66,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £85,000 £78,750
England median annual salary £62,500 £61,251 £57,500
% change year-on-year +2.04% +6.52% +3.41%

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 3,242 3,727 4,397
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 27.84% 47.81% 35.20%
Number of salaries quoted 1,437 1,558 2,995
10th Percentile £28,150 £32,750 £28,500
25th Percentile £37,750 £46,250 £36,625
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £57,500 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year -8.70% +9.52% +2.24%
75th Percentile £70,000 £75,000 £67,500
90th Percentile £85,000 £85,000 £82,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% +9.09% -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 26 February 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 26 February 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 -1 399 £65,000 +8.33% 184
Thames Valley -1 201 £60,000 +3.45% 185
Berkshire -1 120 £53,750 -10.42% 96
Surrey -18 72 £55,000 -18.52% 22
Buckinghamshire +15 59 £60,000 +4.35% 68
Oxfordshire 0 22 £65,000 +38.52% 29
West Sussex +5 21 £34,000 -9.33% 7
Kent -17 14 £39,000 -36.33% 21
Sussex - 10 £85,000 - 5
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 42 (5.83%) SharePoint
2 34 (4.72%) Microsoft Exchange
3 23 (3.19%) Exchange Server 2003
4 5 (0.69%) WordPress
5 4 (0.55%) Apache
5 4 (0.55%) Apache Airflow
5 4 (0.55%) Confluence
6 3 (0.42%) Appian
7 1 (0.14%) Apache Qpid
7 1 (0.14%) Camunda
7 1 (0.14%) IIS
7 1 (0.14%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.14%) SAS
Applications
1 34 (4.72%) Microsoft Office
2 32 (4.44%) Microsoft Excel
3 5 (0.69%) Adobe XD
4 2 (0.28%) Adobe After Effects
4 2 (0.28%) Adobe Captivate
4 2 (0.28%) Adobe Creative Suite
4 2 (0.28%) Adobe Illustrator
4 2 (0.28%) Adobe Premiere
4 2 (0.28%) Elementor
4 2 (0.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.28%) Microsoft Project
4 2 (0.28%) Photoshop
5 1 (0.14%) CATIA
5 1 (0.14%) GNU Octave
5 1 (0.14%) MS Visio
5 1 (0.14%) OrCAD
5 1 (0.14%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 3 (0.42%) SAP S/4HANA
2 2 (0.28%) C-CURE
3 1 (0.14%) Primavera
3 1 (0.14%) Q-Pulse
3 1 (0.14%) Remedy ITSM
3 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
3 1 (0.14%) SAP GTS
3 1 (0.14%) SAP HR
3 1 (0.14%) SAP Payroll
3 1 (0.14%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
3 1 (0.14%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 75 (10.40%) Azure
2 65 (9.02%) AWS
3 41 (5.69%) Microsoft 365
4 29 (4.02%) Power Platform
5 28 (3.88%) Azure DevOps
6 22 (3.05%) GCP
7 19 (2.64%) PowerApps
8 17 (2.36%) Dynamics 365
9 13 (1.80%) Amazon EKS
10 12 (1.66%) Amazon EC2
11 10 (1.39%) Serverless
12 9 (1.25%) Amazon ECS
12 9 (1.25%) GitHub
12 9 (1.25%) Salesforce Sales Cloud
12 9 (1.25%) Salesforce Service Cloud
13 7 (0.97%) OpenShift
14 6 (0.83%) Entra ID
14 6 (0.83%) GitHub Actions
15 5 (0.69%) Amazon S3
15 5 (0.69%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 61 (8.46%) Firewall
2 52 (7.21%) DNS
3 33 (4.58%) DHCP
4 26 (3.61%) Structured Cabling
5 19 (2.64%) VPN
6 17 (2.36%) Cisco Firepower
6 17 (2.36%) Junos
6 17 (2.36%) WAN
7 15 (2.08%) BGP
7 15 (2.08%) Cisco IOS
8 14 (1.94%) Cisco ISE
8 14 (1.94%) LAN
9 12 (1.66%) Wi-Fi
10 11 (1.53%) MPLS
10 11 (1.53%) Network Security
10 11 (1.53%) TCP/IP
11 10 (1.39%) NX-OS
12 7 (0.97%) SNMP
12 7 (0.97%) VSAT
13 6 (0.83%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 28 (3.88%) Oracle Database
2 24 (3.33%) Oracle Database 10g
3 21 (2.91%) Power BI
4 13 (1.80%) PostgreSQL
5 10 (1.39%) Relational Database
6 8 (1.11%) RDBMS
7 7 (0.97%) SQL Server
8 3 (0.42%) Airbyte
8 3 (0.42%) Big Data
8 3 (0.42%) Data Mining
9 2 (0.28%) BigQuery
9 2 (0.28%) MongoDB
9 2 (0.28%) MySQL
9 2 (0.28%) NoSQL
10 1 (0.14%) Amazon RDS
10 1 (0.14%) Data Warehouse
10 1 (0.14%) DB2
10 1 (0.14%) DynamoDB
10 1 (0.14%) Elasticsearch
10 1 (0.14%) Hadoop
Development Applications
1 29 (4.02%) Git
2 27 (3.74%) GitLab
3 24 (3.33%) Jenkins
3 24 (3.33%) Selenium
4 19 (2.64%) JIRA
4 19 (2.64%) Robot Framework
5 17 (2.36%) Snyk
6 10 (1.39%) JUnit
7 9 (1.25%) Mockito
8 8 (1.11%) JMeter
9 6 (0.83%) Atlassian Bamboo
9 6 (0.83%) Subversion
10 5 (0.69%) Axure RP
10 5 (0.69%) Balsamiq
11 4 (0.55%) Cypress.io
12 3 (0.42%) Rational Rhapsody
13 2 (0.28%) Artifactory
13 2 (0.28%) TestRail
13 2 (0.28%) Visual Studio Code
13 2 (0.28%) WebDriver
General
1 213 (29.54%) Social Skills
2 107 (14.84%) Analytical Skills
3 65 (9.02%) Public Sector
4 56 (7.77%) Finance
5 31 (4.30%) Law
6 29 (4.02%) Aviation
7 28 (3.88%) Aeronautics
7 28 (3.88%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 27 (3.74%) Manufacturing
9 21 (2.91%) Telecoms
10 17 (2.36%) Aerospace
10 17 (2.36%) Electronics
11 15 (2.08%) Organisational Skills
12 14 (1.94%) Marketing
13 13 (1.80%) Legal
13 13 (1.80%) Military
14 10 (1.39%) Banking
14 10 (1.39%) Documentation Skills
15 8 (1.11%) Influencing Skills
15 8 (1.11%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 84 (11.65%) Senior
2 79 (10.96%) Architect
3 58 (8.04%) Lead
4 50 (6.93%) Business Manager
5 49 (6.80%) Business Systems Manager
5 49 (6.80%) Systems Manager
6 44 (6.10%) Developer
7 43 (5.96%) Systems Engineer
8 41 (5.69%) Consultant
9 39 (5.41%) Support Engineer
10 38 (5.27%) Analyst
11 33 (4.58%) Network Engineer
12 30 (4.16%) Systems Support
13 29 (4.02%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 29 (4.02%) Software Engineer
14 28 (3.88%) Data Engineer
15 25 (3.47%) 3rd Line Support
16 19 (2.64%) Technical Support
17 17 (2.36%) Cloud Engineer
18 16 (2.22%) Technical Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (3.74%) REST
2 18 (2.50%) SOAP
3 16 (2.22%) HTML
4 13 (1.80%) .NET
4 13 (1.80%) Middleware
4 13 (1.80%) Spring
5 12 (1.66%) XML
6 11 (1.53%) JSON
6 11 (1.53%) Spring Boot
7 10 (1.39%) React
7 10 (1.39%) Web Services
8 9 (1.25%) Hibernate
8 9 (1.25%) Kafka
8 9 (1.25%) Lightning Web Components
8 9 (1.25%) Visualforce
9 8 (1.11%) ActiveMQ
9 8 (1.11%) Apache Camel
9 8 (1.11%) jQuery
9 8 (1.11%) WireMock
10 4 (0.55%) CSS
Miscellaneous
1 51 (7.07%) Robotics
2 27 (3.74%) Product Ownership
3 25 (3.47%) PKI
4 18 (2.50%) Cloud Native
4 18 (2.50%) Driving Licence
5 15 (2.08%) Data Centre
6 13 (1.80%) Security Posture
7 12 (1.66%) Distributed Systems
7 12 (1.66%) Onboarding
8 11 (1.53%) Security Operations Centre
9 8 (1.11%) e-Learning
9 8 (1.11%) Fibre Optics
9 8 (1.11%) Management Information System
10 7 (0.97%) Self-Motivation
11 6 (0.83%) Enterprise Software
12 5 (0.69%) Algorithms
12 5 (0.69%) Cloud Security Posture
12 5 (0.69%) Low-Code
13 4 (0.55%) Cyber Defence
13 4 (0.55%) Embedded Systems
Operating Systems
1 113 (15.67%) Windows
2 57 (7.91%) Linux
3 51 (7.07%) Windows Server
4 30 (4.16%) Unix
5 24 (3.33%) HPUX
5 24 (3.33%) Solaris
6 23 (3.19%) Windows 7
6 23 (3.19%) Windows Server 2003
7 22 (3.05%) Windows Server 2008
8 10 (1.39%) Windows Server 2016
9 9 (1.25%) Android
10 6 (0.83%) Ubuntu
11 5 (0.69%) Apple iOS
11 5 (0.69%) CentOS
12 4 (0.55%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 4 (0.55%) Windows 10
12 4 (0.55%) Windows Server 2019
13 3 (0.42%) AIX
14 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 142 (19.69%) Agile
2 93 (12.90%) Software Engineering
3 92 (12.76%) Project Management
4 89 (12.34%) Continuous Improvement
5 87 (12.07%) Problem-Solving
6 78 (10.82%) CI/CD
7 73 (10.12%) AI
8 72 (9.99%) DevOps
9 61 (8.46%) Process Improvement
10 60 (8.32%) Risk Management
11 55 (7.63%) Mentoring
12 52 (7.21%) IT Strategy
13 51 (7.07%) Budget Management
13 51 (7.07%) Contract Negotiation
13 51 (7.07%) Strategic Planning
14 41 (5.69%) Test Automation
15 40 (5.55%) Cybersecurity
16 39 (5.41%) Decision-Making
17 37 (5.13%) Data Analysis
17 37 (5.13%) Infrastructure Engineering
Programming Languages
1 83 (11.51%) Python
2 47 (6.52%) PowerShell
3 42 (5.83%) Java
4 35 (4.85%) SQL
5 33 (4.58%) JavaScript
6 22 (3.05%) Perl
7 19 (2.64%) C#
7 19 (2.64%) C++
7 19 (2.64%) VBA
8 12 (1.66%) Rust
9 11 (1.53%) Bash
10 10 (1.39%) C
11 9 (1.25%) Apex Code
12 8 (1.11%) Shell Script
13 6 (0.83%) MATLAB
13 6 (0.83%) PL/SQL
14 5 (0.69%) Ladder Logic
15 4 (0.55%) TypeScript
16 2 (0.28%) Go
16 2 (0.28%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 458 (63.52%) SC Cleared
2 271 (37.59%) DV Cleared
3 105 (14.56%) Degree
4 28 (3.88%) Master's Degree
5 19 (2.64%) Cisco Certification
6 18 (2.50%) CCNA
7 17 (2.36%) HNC
8 15 (2.08%) BPSS Clearance
9 14 (1.94%) APMP
10 13 (1.80%) MBA
11 12 (1.66%) CCNP
11 12 (1.66%) CISSP
11 12 (1.66%) Microsoft Certification
12 9 (1.25%) DBS Check
12 9 (1.25%) JNCIA
13 8 (1.11%) Computer Science Degree
14 7 (0.97%) CISM
14 7 (0.97%) CRISC
14 7 (0.97%) ISTQB
14 7 (0.97%) JNCIS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (4.72%) SLA
2 21 (2.91%) GDPR
3 17 (2.36%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 17 (2.36%) QA
4 13 (1.80%) Accessibility
4 13 (1.80%) NIST
5 10 (1.39%) NCSC
6 9 (1.25%) GRC
7 7 (0.97%) ISO 9001
7 7 (0.97%) PMO
8 5 (0.69%) WCAG
9 4 (0.55%) ISO 13485
9 4 (0.55%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.42%) JSP 440
10 3 (0.42%) NIST 800
11 2 (0.28%) Data Quality
11 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 2 (0.28%) RMADS
12 1 (0.14%) ISO/IEC 27005
System Software
1 59 (8.18%) Active Directory
2 29 (4.02%) Docker
3 25 (3.47%) VMware NSX
4 22 (3.05%) VMware Infrastructure
5 17 (2.36%) Firmware
6 7 (0.97%) vSphere
7 6 (0.83%) VMware ESXi
8 3 (0.42%) Hyper-V
8 3 (0.42%) Virtual Machines
9 2 (0.28%) Terminal Server
10 1 (0.14%) Apache ZooKeeper
10 1 (0.14%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 39 (5.41%) Kubernetes
2 38 (5.27%) Terraform
3 33 (4.58%) Ansible
4 23 (3.19%) vCenter Server
5 11 (1.53%) SCCM
5 11 (1.53%) SCOM
6 10 (1.39%) Grafana
7 9 (1.25%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.25%) vRealize
8 8 (1.11%) Kibana
9 7 (0.97%) Endace
9 7 (0.97%) Nessus
10 5 (0.69%) ZABBIX
11 4 (0.55%) Jamf Pro
11 4 (0.55%) QRadar
11 4 (0.55%) WSUS
12 3 (0.42%) Nagios
12 3 (0.42%) Netcool
13 2 (0.28%) OpenView
13 2 (0.28%) Tivoli
Vendors
1 102 (14.15%) Microsoft
2 66 (9.15%) VMware
3 50 (6.93%) Cisco
4 39 (5.41%) Oracle
5 37 (5.13%) Juniper
6 22 (3.05%) Splunk
7 19 (2.64%) Salesforce
7 19 (2.64%) SolarWinds
8 17 (2.36%) Black Duck
8 17 (2.36%) Coverity
9 13 (1.80%) Google
9 13 (1.80%) SAP
10 11 (1.53%) CheckPoint
10 11 (1.53%) ServiceNow
11 10 (1.39%) Broadcom
11 10 (1.39%) LogRhythm
12 9 (1.25%) F5
12 9 (1.25%) Palo Alto
13 8 (1.11%) Dynatrace
13 8 (1.11%) MuleSoft