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 23 October 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 58 75 66
Rank change year-on-year +17 -9 -2
Contract jobs citing Service Management 655 474 695
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 4.04% 2.78% 3.30%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 4.53% 3.32% 3.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 393 315 520
10th Percentile £185 £200 £246
25th Percentile £280 £350 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £492 £500 £519
Median % change year-on-year -1.60% -3.61% +4.80%
75th Percentile £565 £600 £590
90th Percentile £615 £675 £675
UK median daily rate £500 £515 £525
% change year-on-year -2.91% -1.90% +0.96%
Number of hourly rates quoted 91 15 7
10th Percentile £12.62 £22.30 £20.50
25th Percentile £14.35 £25.22 £20.88
Median hourly rate £20.79 £36.00 £21.31
Median % change year-on-year -42.25% +68.93% +1.48%
75th Percentile £33.75 £48.75 £46.88
90th Percentile £60.00 £52.25 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £20.79 £36.00 £28.88
% change year-on-year -42.25% +24.68% +37.50%

All Process and 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 14,464 14,273 18,587
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 89.12% 83.76% 88.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 8,734 8,101 12,224
10th Percentile £225 £245 £250
25th Percentile £370 £380 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £575 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £688 £700
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £538
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,596 957 1,289
10th Percentile £14.00 £15.00 £14.25
25th Percentile £16.95 £18.50 £17.72
Median hourly rate £22.27 £39.68 £42.50
Median % change year-on-year -43.89% -6.64% +57.41%
75th Percentile £38.97 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £66.25 £72.50 £77.50
UK median hourly rate £25.08 £38.75 £43.17
% change year-on-year -35.29% -10.23% +28.85%

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 23 October 2025.

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 23 October 2025.

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 23 October 2025. 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
North of England +6 185 £444 -6.63% 89
South East +16 143 £450 -10.00% 154
South West +21 123 £550 +2.33% 68
Midlands +27 113 £505 -11.52% 57
North West +19 112 £449 +5.53% 47
West Midlands +26 88 £515 -10.82% 36
Yorkshire -17 64 £375 -26.83% 27
Scotland +12 46 £463 -7.50% 9
East of England 0 35 £531 +1.14% 32
East Midlands +8 25 £431 -16.00% 21
North East -4 9 £195 -66.09% 15
Wales -12 8 £230 +2.83% 18
Northern Ireland -4 4 £150 -72.73%
Channel Islands - 3 £725 -
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 36 (5.50%) Microsoft Exchange
2 34 (5.19%) Confluence
3 33 (5.04%) SharePoint
4 20 (3.05%) Apache
5 13 (1.98%) WebLogic
6 9 (1.37%) IIS
7 7 (1.07%) WebSphere
8 5 (0.76%) Skype for Business
9 4 (0.61%) SharePoint Server
10 2 (0.31%) JBoss
11 1 (0.15%) CMS
11 1 (0.15%) Oracle Self-Service HR
11 1 (0.15%) Oracle Workflow
11 1 (0.15%) Umbraco
Applications
1 70 (10.69%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (4.12%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (1.98%) MS Visio
4 12 (1.83%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.76%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.15%) Trello
Business Applications
1 18 (2.75%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.22%) assyst
3 7 (1.07%) Maximo
4 5 (0.76%) SAP S/4HANA
5 3 (0.46%) Dynamics CRM
6 2 (0.31%) Oracle EBS
6 2 (0.31%) Oracle ERP
7 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.15%) SAP ERP
7 1 (0.15%) SAP HR
7 1 (0.15%) SAP LE
7 1 (0.15%) SAP PM
7 1 (0.15%) SAP WM
Cloud Services
1 80 (12.21%) Azure
2 69 (10.53%) Microsoft 365
3 49 (7.48%) AWS
4 24 (3.66%) Entra ID
5 16 (2.44%) Power Platform
6 15 (2.29%) OneDrive
7 13 (1.98%) Azure Monitor
8 11 (1.68%) Azure DevOps
9 10 (1.53%) GCP
9 10 (1.53%) SaaS
10 6 (0.92%) PowerApps
11 5 (0.76%) Google Workspace
12 3 (0.46%) Lucidchart
12 3 (0.46%) Salesforce Service Cloud
13 2 (0.31%) Asana
13 2 (0.31%) Azure AKS
13 2 (0.31%) Azure Cosmos DB
13 2 (0.31%) Oracle CX
13 2 (0.31%) Power Automate
13 2 (0.31%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 43 (6.56%) Firewall
2 41 (6.26%) DNS
3 26 (3.97%) DHCP
4 24 (3.66%) WAN
5 23 (3.51%) LAN
6 16 (2.44%) Cisco Firepower
6 16 (2.44%) Cisco IOS
6 16 (2.44%) Cisco ISE
6 16 (2.44%) Junos
6 16 (2.44%) TCP/IP
6 16 (2.44%) VPN
7 14 (2.14%) Skype
8 13 (1.98%) Unified Communications
8 13 (1.98%) VLAN
9 9 (1.37%) BGP
9 9 (1.37%) Wireless
10 8 (1.22%) MPLS
10 8 (1.22%) Network Security
11 7 (1.07%) IPsec
11 7 (1.07%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (2.60%) SQL Server
2 15 (2.29%) Relational Database
3 14 (2.14%) Power BI
4 9 (1.37%) Amazon RDS
4 9 (1.37%) DB2
5 7 (1.07%) Oracle Reports
6 4 (0.61%) Data Mining
7 3 (0.46%) Amazon Aurora
7 3 (0.46%) Big Data
7 3 (0.46%) MariaDB
7 3 (0.46%) Metadata
7 3 (0.46%) MySQL
7 3 (0.46%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.46%) Tableau
8 2 (0.31%) Azure SQL Database
8 2 (0.31%) Data Warehouse
8 2 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.31%) PostgreSQL
9 1 (0.15%) OLTP
9 1 (0.15%) Oracle Discoverer
Development Applications
1 59 (9.01%) JIRA
2 12 (1.83%) Jenkins
3 7 (1.07%) webpack
4 3 (0.46%) Bitbucket
5 2 (0.31%) Git
6 1 (0.15%) Cucumber
6 1 (0.15%) Selenium
6 1 (0.15%) SoapUI
6 1 (0.15%) WebDriver
General
1 240 (36.64%) Social Skills
2 134 (20.46%) Analytical Skills
3 84 (12.82%) Public Sector
4 83 (12.67%) Finance
5 34 (5.19%) Telecoms
6 26 (3.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 26 (3.97%) Manufacturing
7 21 (3.21%) Military
8 19 (2.90%) Banking
9 16 (2.44%) Documentation Skills
9 16 (2.44%) Influencing Skills
9 16 (2.44%) Presentation Skills
9 16 (2.44%) Retail
10 15 (2.29%) Organisational Skills
11 14 (2.14%) Legal
11 14 (2.14%) Marketing
12 12 (1.83%) Electronics
13 11 (1.68%) Police
14 8 (1.22%) Investment Banking
15 5 (0.76%) Billing
Job Titles
1 120 (18.32%) Analyst
2 57 (8.70%) Architect
3 56 (8.55%) Support Engineer
4 49 (7.48%) Service Manager
4 49 (7.48%) Support Analyst
5 47 (7.18%) IT Support
6 43 (6.56%) Desktop Support
7 35 (5.34%) Lead
7 35 (5.34%) Network Engineer
8 34 (5.19%) Service Architect
9 32 (4.89%) 2nd Line Support
10 26 (3.97%) Service Analyst
11 24 (3.66%) IT Analyst
12 23 (3.51%) IT Manager
12 23 (3.51%) Senior
13 22 (3.36%) Consultant
13 22 (3.36%) Project Manager
14 20 (3.05%) Delivery Manager
14 20 (3.05%) Developer
14 20 (3.05%) IT Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (2.44%) RFC 2544
1 16 (2.44%) Web Services
2 15 (2.29%) HTML
3 13 (1.98%) CSS
3 13 (1.98%) REST
3 13 (1.98%) SOAP
4 8 (1.22%) NETCONF
4 8 (1.22%) RESTful
4 8 (1.22%) XML
5 7 (1.07%) CSS3
5 7 (1.07%) HTML5
5 7 (1.07%) Node.js
5 7 (1.07%) React
5 7 (1.07%) Redux
5 7 (1.07%) RESTCONF
6 6 (0.92%) .NET
6 6 (0.92%) Elastic Stack
6 6 (0.92%) Middleware
7 5 (0.76%) AngularJS
8 3 (0.46%) LDAP
Miscellaneous
1 40 (6.11%) Data Centre
2 35 (5.34%) Management Information System
3 26 (3.97%) CMDB
4 23 (3.51%) PKI
5 19 (2.90%) Self-Motivation
6 18 (2.75%) Virtual Team
7 15 (2.29%) iPhone
8 14 (2.14%) Product Ownership
9 13 (1.98%) Fibre Optics
10 12 (1.83%) Analytical Mindset
11 11 (1.68%) Driving Licence
11 11 (1.68%) Smartphone
12 10 (1.53%) Mainframe
12 10 (1.53%) Onboarding
13 7 (1.07%) Distributed Systems
13 7 (1.07%) NHS
13 7 (1.07%) Public Cloud
14 6 (0.92%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (0.92%) Tandem
14 6 (0.92%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 151 (23.05%) Windows
2 43 (6.56%) Linux
3 40 (6.11%) Windows Server
4 32 (4.89%) Windows 10
5 26 (3.97%) Unix
6 21 (3.21%) Mac OS
7 13 (1.98%) Apple iOS
8 8 (1.22%) Android
9 4 (0.61%) Windows Server 2016
10 3 (0.46%) Solaris
10 3 (0.46%) Windows Server 2008
10 3 (0.46%) Windows Server 2012
10 3 (0.46%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.31%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.31%) Windows Server 2003
12 1 (0.15%) AIX
12 1 (0.15%) CentOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 378 (57.71%) ITIL
2 281 (42.90%) ITSM
3 134 (20.46%) Problem-Solving
4 122 (18.63%) Customer Service
5 100 (15.27%) Change Management
6 93 (14.20%) Stakeholder Management
7 90 (13.74%) Service Delivery
8 81 (12.37%) Agile
8 81 (12.37%) Service Design
9 72 (10.99%) Continuous Improvement
10 66 (10.08%) Incident Management
11 59 (9.01%) Project Management
12 58 (8.85%) Project Delivery
12 58 (8.85%) Stakeholder Engagement
13 52 (7.94%) DevOps
14 43 (6.56%) Problem Management
15 40 (6.11%) Analytics
16 39 (5.95%) Business Intelligence
17 37 (5.65%) Visualisation
18 35 (5.34%) Configuration Management
Programming Languages
1 62 (9.47%) SQL
2 41 (6.26%) Python
3 28 (4.27%) PowerShell
4 26 (3.97%) JavaScript
5 12 (1.83%) Shell Script
6 10 (1.53%) Java
7 7 (1.07%) Perl
7 7 (1.07%) TypeScript
8 4 (0.61%) C#
9 3 (0.46%) Bash
10 2 (0.31%) Apex Code
11 1 (0.15%) HiveQL
11 1 (0.15%) PL/SQL
11 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 253 (38.63%) Security Cleared
2 189 (28.85%) SC Cleared
3 80 (12.21%) Degree
4 52 (7.94%) DV Cleared
5 44 (6.72%) ITIL Certification
6 37 (5.65%) Microsoft Certification
7 25 (3.82%) Cisco Certification
8 22 (3.36%) CCNP
9 17 (2.60%) A+ Certification
10 15 (2.29%) Azure Certification
10 15 (2.29%) Computer Science Degree
11 14 (2.14%) Server+ Certification
12 11 (1.68%) Network+ Certification
13 9 (1.37%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 9 (1.37%) MCSE
14 8 (1.22%) CCNA
15 7 (1.07%) BPSS Clearance
16 5 (0.76%) APMP
16 5 (0.76%) Master's Degree
17 4 (0.61%) CCIE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 57 (8.70%) SLA
2 31 (4.73%) ISO/IEC 20000
3 15 (2.29%) GDPR
4 12 (1.83%) QA
5 8 (1.22%) NCSC
6 7 (1.07%) Data Quality
6 7 (1.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (0.92%) Disclosure Scotland
8 5 (0.76%) GxP
8 5 (0.76%) PMO
8 5 (0.76%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 4 (0.61%) Accessibility
9 4 (0.61%) ISO 9001
10 3 (0.46%) COBIT
10 3 (0.46%) GRC
11 2 (0.31%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.31%) HIPAA
11 2 (0.31%) WCAG
12 1 (0.15%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.15%) NIST
System Software
1 82 (12.52%) Active Directory
2 30 (4.58%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (3.05%) VMware NSX
4 12 (1.83%) Hyper-V
5 11 (1.68%) VMware ESXi
6 6 (0.92%) Virtual Desktop
6 6 (0.92%) Virtual Servers
7 5 (0.76%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 3 (0.46%) Virtual Machines
9 2 (0.31%) Docker
Systems Management
1 24 (3.66%) vCenter Server
2 12 (1.83%) Ansible
3 11 (1.68%) Jamf Pro
4 10 (1.53%) Microsoft Intune
4 10 (1.53%) SCCM
5 9 (1.37%) WSUS
6 7 (1.07%) NSN NetAct
7 6 (0.92%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 6 (0.92%) Kubernetes
7 6 (0.92%) Terraform
8 4 (0.61%) Grafana
8 4 (0.61%) OpenView
9 3 (0.46%) Check_MK
9 3 (0.46%) Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.31%) OPNET
10 2 (0.31%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.31%) SCOM
11 1 (0.15%) NetBackup
11 1 (0.15%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
11 1 (0.15%) Tivoli
Vendors
1 152 (23.21%) Microsoft
2 150 (22.90%) ServiceNow
3 86 (13.13%) Cisco
4 34 (5.19%) Oracle
4 34 (5.19%) VMware
5 31 (4.73%) Splunk
6 30 (4.58%) SAP
7 29 (4.43%) SolarWinds
8 26 (3.97%) Juniper
9 24 (3.66%) Remedy
10 20 (3.05%) Atlassian
11 15 (2.29%) Apple
11 15 (2.29%) Dynatrace
11 15 (2.29%) Google
11 15 (2.29%) IBM
12 14 (2.14%) AppDynamics
13 11 (1.68%) Veeam
14 8 (1.22%) Salesforce
15 7 (1.07%) Ericsson
15 7 (1.07%) Nokia