Pivot tables - combine multiple columns of original data

Hi there,
I have a set of data that is not very well laid out, but with which I have to work and create pivot tables.

One part of the data contains 4 columns for different training areas called area1, area2, area3 and area4. These columns are all controlled by data validation of a drop down list of the same items.
There are 4 columns as people may have between 1 and 4 areas.
So for example one person may have selected 'IT' from the dropdown list in column area1, another may have selected 'Languages' from the dropdown in colulmn area1 and 'IT' from the dropdown in column area2.

I would like to be able to count all the times IT has been chosen from within all 4 columns, using pivot tables.

However I can't figure it out - calculated fields and calculated items don't seem to fit the bill.

Is there something simple I'm missing?
Thanks for any help as I'm really stuck and don't want to do this manually.