Service Management Contract Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Service Management
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the UK excluding London requiring Service Management skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 1 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 71 63 54
Rank change year-on-year -8 -9 +13
Contract jobs citing Service Management 716 476 729
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 2.99% 3.73% 3.51%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.67% 4.12% 4.14%
Number of daily rates quoted 487 293 525
10th Percentile £210 £220 £303
25th Percentile £363 £384 £431
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £538 £525
Median % change year-on-year -6.98% +2.38% +10.53%
75th Percentile £614 £613 £600
90th Percentile £738 £699 £721
UK median daily rate £510 £525 £525
% change year-on-year -2.86% - +5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 58 29 19
10th Percentile £15.61 - £12.53
25th Percentile £16.17 £12.62 £15.32
Median hourly rate £60.00 £22.14 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year +171.00% +24.94% -70.47%
75th Percentile £84.75 £29.00 £19.87
90th Percentile £129.23 £31.29 £31.35
UK median hourly rate £55.00 £22.14 £17.72
% change year-on-year +148.42% +24.94% -67.78%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK excluding London

Service Management falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 19,526 11,543 17,608
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 81.41% 90.48% 84.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 11,832 7,256 10,521
10th Percentile £290 £235 £250
25th Percentile £400 £375 £380
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £488 £485 £500
Median % change year-on-year +0.62% -3.10% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £678 £661 £688
UK median daily rate £500 £520 £525
% change year-on-year -3.85% -0.95% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,050 819 2,050
10th Percentile £14.50 £14.20 £12.34
25th Percentile £19.02 £17.44 £15.29
Median hourly rate £43.69 £27.76 £37.18
Median % change year-on-year +57.38% -25.34% +3.28%
75th Percentile £67.25 £64.51 £60.00
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.05 £72.50
UK median hourly rate £41.56 £29.00 £35.65
% change year-on-year +43.29% -18.65% -4.42%

Service Management
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Service Management relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Service Management job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management

Service Management
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Service Management in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 1 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Service Management in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Service Management

Service Management
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Service Management in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 1 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Service Management in the UK excluding London

Service Management
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Service Management within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 1 May 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
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +43 212 £514 +11.08% 88
North of England -19 166 £500 +5.93% 70
South West -17 158 £600 +8.89% 22
Midlands -34 96 £403 -26.88% 37
North West -3 91 £558 +7.86% 34
West Midlands -35 75 £403 -26.95% 30
Yorkshire -35 64 £475 +11.76% 35
East of England -8 47 £475 -13.64% 35
Scotland -32 30 £500 -5.39% 14
East Midlands -13 21 £405 +5.88% 7
North East -16 11 £280 +43.59% 2
Wales -4 7 £340 -12.26% 10
Northern Ireland - 4 £500 - 2
Service Management
UK

Service Management
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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 55 (7.68%) Confluence
2 29 (4.05%) Microsoft Exchange
3 18 (2.51%) SharePoint
4 9 (1.26%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.84%) Mattermost
6 2 (0.28%) IIS
7 1 (0.14%) Apache
7 1 (0.14%) CMS
7 1 (0.14%) HCL Notes
7 1 (0.14%) JBoss
7 1 (0.14%) LiveCycle
7 1 (0.14%) OpenStack
Applications
1 78 (10.89%) Microsoft Office
2 34 (4.75%) Microsoft Project
3 16 (2.23%) Microsoft Excel
4 9 (1.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.56%) Chatbot
5 4 (0.56%) PTC Creo
6 3 (0.42%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.14%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 35 (4.89%) Remedy ITSM
2 11 (1.54%) Oracle EBS
3 9 (1.26%) SAP S/4HANA
4 6 (0.84%) Teamcenter
5 2 (0.28%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.14%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.14%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.14%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 92 (12.85%) Azure
2 52 (7.26%) Microsoft 365
3 50 (6.98%) AWS
4 40 (5.59%) Power Platform
5 32 (4.47%) GCP
6 25 (3.49%) SaaS
7 14 (1.96%) Entra ID
8 11 (1.54%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (1.26%) PaaS
10 8 (1.12%) IaaS
10 8 (1.12%) OneDrive
11 7 (0.98%) GitHub
11 7 (0.98%) OCI
12 6 (0.84%) Microsoft Copilot
12 6 (0.84%) OpenShift
12 6 (0.84%) PowerApps
13 5 (0.70%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 5 (0.70%) Dynamics 365
13 5 (0.70%) Power Automate
13 5 (0.70%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 35 (4.89%) DNS
2 34 (4.75%) Firewall
3 30 (4.19%) LAN
4 27 (3.77%) WAN
5 23 (3.21%) DHCP
5 23 (3.21%) Network Security
5 23 (3.21%) VPN
6 15 (2.09%) VLAN
7 14 (1.96%) BGP
7 14 (1.96%) Wi-Fi
8 13 (1.82%) OSPF
9 12 (1.68%) BIG-IP
10 11 (1.54%) Cisco ISE
10 11 (1.54%) TCP/IP
11 10 (1.40%) Skype
12 9 (1.26%) Wireless
13 8 (1.12%) Ethernet VPN
13 8 (1.12%) Junos
13 8 (1.12%) VXLAN
14 5 (0.70%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 29 (4.05%) Power BI
2 11 (1.54%) SQL Server
3 8 (1.12%) Relational Database
4 6 (0.84%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (0.70%) Oracle Reports
6 4 (0.56%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.56%) InfluxDB
7 3 (0.42%) Azure SQL Database
7 3 (0.42%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 3 (0.42%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 3 (0.42%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 2 (0.28%) GIS
8 2 (0.28%) MariaDB
8 2 (0.28%) Microsoft Analysis Services
8 2 (0.28%) MySQL
8 2 (0.28%) Oracle Database
9 1 (0.14%) DTS
9 1 (0.14%) Metadata
9 1 (0.14%) MongoDB
9 1 (0.14%) OpenStack Swift
Development Applications
1 100 (13.97%) JIRA
2 12 (1.68%) Git
3 11 (1.54%) Bitbucket
3 11 (1.54%) Jenkins
4 8 (1.12%) GitLab
5 6 (0.84%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 4 (0.56%) Browser DevTools
6 4 (0.56%) MLflow
7 2 (0.28%) Fiddler
7 2 (0.28%) Firebug
7 2 (0.28%) IntelliJ
7 2 (0.28%) ScriptRunner
8 1 (0.14%) Hudson
8 1 (0.14%) IBM UrbanCode
8 1 (0.14%) MSI
8 1 (0.14%) Rational DOORS
8 1 (0.14%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 278 (38.83%) Social Skills
2 106 (14.80%) Analytical Skills
3 84 (11.73%) Finance
4 71 (9.92%) Public Sector
5 49 (6.84%) Legal
6 43 (6.01%) Military
7 27 (3.77%) Organisational Skills
8 18 (2.51%) Telecoms
9 16 (2.23%) Retail
10 13 (1.82%) Documentation Skills
11 12 (1.68%) Influencing Skills
12 11 (1.54%) Aerospace
12 11 (1.54%) Banking
13 8 (1.12%) Presentation Skills
14 6 (0.84%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 4 (0.56%) Manufacturing
16 3 (0.42%) Financial Institution
17 2 (0.28%) Pharmaceutical
17 2 (0.28%) Publishing
18 1 (0.14%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 86 (12.01%) Service Manager
2 83 (11.59%) Architect
3 76 (10.61%) Analyst
4 75 (10.47%) Lead
5 46 (6.42%) Service Architect
6 45 (6.28%) Senior
7 40 (5.59%) IT Manager
8 35 (4.89%) Hardware Engineer
9 29 (4.05%) Service Analyst
10 26 (3.63%) Delivery Manager
10 26 (3.63%) Project Manager
11 25 (3.49%) Consultant
12 24 (3.35%) IT Analyst
12 24 (3.35%) Network Engineer
13 23 (3.21%) Field Engineer
14 22 (3.07%) IT Services Manager
15 21 (2.93%) Field Hardware Engineer
15 21 (2.93%) Service Delivery Manager
16 20 (2.79%) IT Support
17 19 (2.65%) Designer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (3.35%) REST
2 12 (1.68%) SOAP
3 8 (1.12%) 802.1X
4 6 (0.84%) OAuth
4 6 (0.84%) XMPP
5 5 (0.70%) .NET
5 5 (0.70%) Oracle Fusion
6 4 (0.56%) RabbitMQ
6 4 (0.56%) Web Services
6 4 (0.56%) XML
7 3 (0.42%) CSS
7 3 (0.42%) HTML
7 3 (0.42%) Microsoft Graph
7 3 (0.42%) Middleware
7 3 (0.42%) OAuth2
7 3 (0.42%) OpenID
7 3 (0.42%) SAML
8 2 (0.28%) FIDO
8 2 (0.28%) JSON
8 2 (0.28%) Lightning Web Components
Miscellaneous
1 64 (8.94%) Product Ownership
2 41 (5.73%) Onboarding
3 35 (4.89%) CMDB
4 28 (3.91%) Data Centre
5 21 (2.93%) Virtual Team
6 19 (2.65%) Clustering
6 19 (2.65%) Driving Licence
6 19 (2.65%) Management Information System
6 19 (2.65%) PKI
7 13 (1.82%) Enterprise Software
7 13 (1.82%) PMI
8 10 (1.40%) Data Protection Act
9 9 (1.26%) Operational Technology
10 8 (1.12%) Self-Motivation
11 6 (0.84%) Analytical Mindset
11 6 (0.84%) Cloud Native
12 5 (0.70%) Fat Client
12 5 (0.70%) Hybrid Cloud
12 5 (0.70%) Replication
12 5 (0.70%) Thin Client
Operating Systems
1 134 (18.72%) Windows
2 40 (5.59%) Linux
3 34 (4.75%) Windows 10
4 32 (4.47%) Windows Server
5 11 (1.54%) Windows 7
6 8 (1.12%) Unix
7 6 (0.84%) Ubuntu
8 5 (0.70%) Mac OS
8 5 (0.70%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.42%) Windows Server 2012
10 2 (0.28%) Solaris
10 2 (0.28%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.14%) Android
11 1 (0.14%) Apple iOS
11 1 (0.14%) CentOS
11 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2003
11 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2008
11 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.14%) Windows XP
11 1 (0.14%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 425 (59.36%) ITIL
2 309 (43.16%) ITSM
3 162 (22.63%) Continuous Improvement
4 157 (21.93%) Agile
5 144 (20.11%) Stakeholder Management
6 133 (18.58%) Problem-Solving
7 118 (16.48%) Service Delivery
8 96 (13.41%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 93 (12.99%) Change Management
10 86 (12.01%) Customer Service
11 74 (10.34%) DevOps
11 74 (10.34%) Service Design
12 58 (8.10%) Configuration Management
13 56 (7.82%) Acceptance Criteria
14 55 (7.68%) Knowledge Transfer
15 53 (7.40%) Problem Management
16 48 (6.70%) Incident Management
17 46 (6.42%) Project Delivery
18 45 (6.28%) Roadmaps
19 43 (6.01%) TOGAF
Programming Languages
1 50 (6.98%) PowerShell
2 36 (5.03%) SQL
3 28 (3.91%) Python
4 17 (2.37%) JavaScript
5 9 (1.26%) VB
5 9 (1.26%) VBScript
6 6 (0.84%) Bash
6 6 (0.84%) Java
7 5 (0.70%) C#
7 5 (0.70%) Shell Script
8 4 (0.56%) Go
8 4 (0.56%) PL/SQL
8 4 (0.56%) T-SQL
9 3 (0.42%) Apex Code
10 2 (0.28%) PHP
11 1 (0.14%) C
11 1 (0.14%) Perl
11 1 (0.14%) REXX
11 1 (0.14%) Scala
11 1 (0.14%) VBA
Qualifications
1 368 (51.40%) Security Cleared
2 270 (37.71%) SC Cleared
3 110 (15.36%) DV Cleared
4 99 (13.83%) Degree
5 37 (5.17%) ITIL Certification
6 30 (4.19%) TOGAF Certification
7 26 (3.63%) Cisco Certification
8 24 (3.35%) PMI Certification
9 23 (3.21%) PMP
10 17 (2.37%) BPSS Clearance
10 17 (2.37%) Microsoft Certification
11 16 (2.23%) Computer Science Degree
12 14 (1.96%) CCNA
13 12 (1.68%) A+ Certification
14 11 (1.54%) CCNP
15 9 (1.26%) JNCIA
15 9 (1.26%) JNCIP
15 9 (1.26%) JNCIS
15 9 (1.26%) Network+ Certification
15 9 (1.26%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (5.03%) SLA
2 23 (3.21%) Data Quality
3 15 (2.09%) PMO
4 14 (1.96%) ISO/IEC 20000
4 14 (1.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 13 (1.82%) QA
6 10 (1.40%) NCSC
7 9 (1.26%) GDPR
7 9 (1.26%) GRC
8 7 (0.98%) COBIT
8 7 (0.98%) Cyber Essentials
8 7 (0.98%) Government Security Classifications
9 6 (0.84%) Accessibility
9 6 (0.84%) Disclosure Scotland
9 6 (0.84%) ISO 31000
9 6 (0.84%) ISO/IEC 27005
10 4 (0.56%) GMP
10 4 (0.56%) ISO 9001
11 3 (0.42%) JSP 440
12 2 (0.28%) GxP
System Software
1 63 (8.80%) Active Directory
2 30 (4.19%) VMware Infrastructure
3 9 (1.26%) BitLocker
4 8 (1.12%) Docker
5 7 (0.98%) VMware ESXi
6 4 (0.56%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.56%) vSphere
7 3 (0.42%) Hyper-V
8 2 (0.28%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 1 (0.14%) iptables
9 1 (0.14%) NFS
9 1 (0.14%) Oracle RAC
9 1 (0.14%) Samba
9 1 (0.14%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.14%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 30 (4.19%) OPNET
2 29 (4.05%) Ansible
3 20 (2.79%) Terraform
4 19 (2.65%) SCCM
5 16 (2.23%) Kubernetes
6 10 (1.40%) Microsoft Intune
7 8 (1.12%) FortiGate
8 7 (0.98%) Grafana
8 7 (0.98%) Progress Chef
9 6 (0.84%) PowerCLI
10 5 (0.70%) Puppet
11 4 (0.56%) Jamf Pro
11 4 (0.56%) Nessus
11 4 (0.56%) Packer
11 4 (0.56%) Prometheus
11 4 (0.56%) Single Sign-On
11 4 (0.56%) vMotion
12 3 (0.42%) Cisco Prime
12 3 (0.42%) vCenter Server
13 2 (0.28%) Docker Swarm
Vendors
1 166 (23.18%) ServiceNow
2 117 (16.34%) Microsoft
3 69 (9.64%) Remedy
4 48 (6.70%) Atlassian
5 45 (6.28%) VMware
6 39 (5.45%) Cisco
7 34 (4.75%) HP
8 33 (4.61%) Oracle
9 22 (3.07%) Google
10 17 (2.37%) Dell
11 16 (2.23%) Splunk
12 15 (2.09%) BMC
12 15 (2.09%) Canon
12 15 (2.09%) SAP
13 14 (1.96%) SolarWinds
14 12 (1.68%) F5
15 11 (1.54%) Juniper
16 10 (1.40%) Palo Alto
17 9 (1.26%) IFS
17 9 (1.26%) Salesforce