Service Management Contract Job Trends

Service Management
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Service Management skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 21 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 93 98 75
Rank change year-on-year +5 -23 +21
Contract jobs citing Service Management 1,008 821 1,229
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.74% 2.42% 2.81%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 3.11% 2.74% 3.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 683 490 874
10th Percentile £200 £215 £261
25th Percentile £350 £375 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £516 £530
Median % change year-on-year -3.15% -2.59% +6.00%
75th Percentile £588 £618 £615
90th Percentile £695 £696 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £525
% change year-on-year - -4.76% +10.53%
Number of hourly rates quoted 84 27 20
10th Percentile £12.62 £20.03 £16.43
25th Percentile £16.64 £24.97 £19.43
Median hourly rate £20.81 £30.45 £21.31
Median % change year-on-year -31.66% +42.89% -16.12%
75th Percentile £60.00 £48.75 £57.50
90th Percentile £78.28 £60.00 £76.30
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.79 £31.48 £21.00
% change year-on-year -33.95% +49.88% -20.75%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 32,432 29,959 38,773
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 88.29% 88.23% 88.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 20,397 18,286 25,908
10th Percentile £300 £307 £306
25th Percentile £406 £413 £420
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £530
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -0.94% -3.64%
75th Percentile £615 £638 £650
90th Percentile £723 £743 £744
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,093 972 1,488
10th Percentile £14.51 £15.62 £14.33
25th Percentile £17.50 £20.30 £18.99
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £43.84
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -25.86% +25.25%
75th Percentile £50.00 £62.50 £65.00
90th Percentile £68.00 £73.75 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.00 £31.50 £44.50
% change year-on-year -26.98% -29.21% +39.26%

Service Management
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Service Management job vacancy trend in the UK

Service Management
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

Service Management
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Service Management over the 6 months to 21 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Service Management in the UK

Service Management
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

Service Management
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Service Management over the 6 months to 21 December 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Service Management in the UK

Service Management
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

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 over the 6 months to 21 December 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
England +13 911 £505 -2.88% 232
UK excluding London +20 707 £500 - 231
Work from Home +13 267 £500 -4.76% 81
London -50 223 £500 -3.85% 60
South East +29 194 £500 - 66
North of England +1 168 £470 +17.56% 51
South West +7 143 £575 +4.55% 25
Midlands +21 128 £500 - 45
West Midlands +11 100 £510 +2.00% 27
North West +2 96 £500 +25.00% 27
Yorkshire -12 57 £375 +61.99% 16
East of England -15 37 £452 -14.80% 19
Scotland -3 36 £463 +0.27% 14
East Midlands +4 28 £425 -15.00% 18
North East +2 18 £270 -54.72% 9
Northern Ireland - 4 £325 - 4
Wales -9 3 £170 -46.44% 15

Service Management
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 77 (7.64%) Confluence
2 69 (6.85%) Microsoft Exchange
3 61 (6.05%) SharePoint
4 17 (1.69%) Apache
5 15 (1.49%) WebLogic
6 10 (0.99%) Skype for Business
7 5 (0.50%) SharePoint Server
8 3 (0.30%) nginx
9 2 (0.20%) IIS
9 2 (0.20%) JBoss
9 2 (0.20%) WebSphere
10 1 (0.099%) CMS
10 1 (0.099%) Exchange Server 2010
10 1 (0.099%) Exchange Server 2013
10 1 (0.099%) HCL Notes
10 1 (0.099%) Oracle Self-Service HR
10 1 (0.099%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 91 (9.03%) Microsoft Office
2 36 (3.57%) Microsoft Project
3 28 (2.78%) Microsoft Excel
4 13 (1.29%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 9 (0.89%) MS Visio
6 4 (0.40%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.099%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.099%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 25 (2.48%) Remedy ITSM
2 13 (1.29%) Oracle EBS
3 5 (0.50%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.50%) Oracle ERP
3 5 (0.50%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.30%) assyst
4 3 (0.30%) Salesforce CRM
5 2 (0.20%) Maximo
5 2 (0.20%) ResourceLink
5 2 (0.20%) SAP ERP
5 2 (0.20%) Workday HCM
6 1 (0.099%) Cloudability
6 1 (0.099%) Integrated Workplace Management System
6 1 (0.099%) SAP HR
6 1 (0.099%) SAP PM
6 1 (0.099%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 164 (16.27%) Azure
2 105 (10.42%) AWS
3 96 (9.52%) Microsoft 365
4 38 (3.77%) GCP
5 36 (3.57%) Entra ID
6 29 (2.88%) Power Platform
7 27 (2.68%) OneDrive
8 25 (2.48%) Azure DevOps
9 21 (2.08%) SaaS
10 18 (1.79%) Azure Monitor
11 12 (1.19%) PowerApps
12 9 (0.89%) IaaS
13 8 (0.79%) Dynamics 365
13 8 (0.79%) Nutanix
13 8 (0.79%) Salesforce Service Cloud
14 7 (0.69%) Power Automate
15 6 (0.60%) GitHub
15 6 (0.60%) OpenShift
15 6 (0.60%) Serverless
16 5 (0.50%) AWS Lambda
Communications & Networking
1 62 (6.15%) DNS
2 59 (5.85%) Firewall
3 37 (3.67%) DHCP
4 28 (2.78%) TCP/IP
4 28 (2.78%) VPN
5 27 (2.68%) WAN
6 25 (2.48%) LAN
7 22 (2.18%) VLAN
8 20 (1.98%) Skype
9 18 (1.79%) Cisco IOS
10 17 (1.69%) Cisco Firepower
10 17 (1.69%) Cisco ISE
10 17 (1.69%) Junos
10 17 (1.69%) Network Security
11 14 (1.39%) SSH
12 11 (1.09%) Wi-Fi
13 10 (0.99%) HTTP
14 8 (0.79%) SAN
14 8 (0.79%) WebEx
14 8 (0.79%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (1.79%) Power BI
2 15 (1.49%) Relational Database
2 15 (1.49%) SQL Server
3 8 (0.79%) Amazon RDS
4 6 (0.60%) PostgreSQL
5 5 (0.50%) Metadata
5 5 (0.50%) Tableau
6 4 (0.40%) Data Mining
6 4 (0.40%) InfluxDB
7 3 (0.30%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.20%) Azure SQL Database
8 2 (0.20%) Big Data
8 2 (0.20%) DB2
8 2 (0.20%) Oracle Reports
9 1 (0.099%) BusinessObjects
9 1 (0.099%) MongoDB
9 1 (0.099%) MySQL
9 1 (0.099%) Oracle Discoverer
9 1 (0.099%) RDBMS
9 1 (0.099%) SQL Server Integration Services
Development Applications
1 137 (13.59%) JIRA
2 17 (1.69%) Jenkins
3 12 (1.19%) Git
4 8 (0.79%) GitLab
5 7 (0.69%) Bitbucket
6 5 (0.50%) webpack
7 1 (0.099%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 1 (0.099%) Cypress.io
7 1 (0.099%) MLflow
7 1 (0.099%) ScriptRunner
7 1 (0.099%) Selenium
7 1 (0.099%) SoapUI
7 1 (0.099%) TestRail
7 1 (0.099%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 416 (41.27%) Social Skills
2 177 (17.56%) Analytical Skills
3 138 (13.69%) Finance
4 136 (13.49%) Public Sector
5 49 (4.86%) Military
6 41 (4.07%) Legal
7 37 (3.67%) Telecoms
8 34 (3.37%) Organisational Skills
9 32 (3.17%) Influencing Skills
10 31 (3.08%) Manufacturing
11 26 (2.58%) Documentation Skills
12 25 (2.48%) Banking
13 20 (1.98%) Retail
14 19 (1.88%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 16 (1.59%) Presentation Skills
16 15 (1.49%) Marketing
17 13 (1.29%) Electronics
18 9 (0.89%) Investment Banking
19 8 (0.79%) Police
20 7 (0.69%) Billing
Job Titles
1 143 (14.19%) Analyst
2 123 (12.20%) Architect
3 112 (11.11%) Lead
4 70 (6.94%) Service Architect
4 70 (6.94%) Support Engineer
5 69 (6.85%) Service Manager
6 47 (4.66%) Consultant
7 41 (4.07%) IT Support
7 41 (4.07%) Senior
8 40 (3.97%) Service Analyst
9 36 (3.57%) Support Analyst
10 35 (3.47%) 2nd Line Support
11 31 (3.08%) Desktop Support
12 30 (2.98%) Business Analyst
12 30 (2.98%) Platform Engineer
13 29 (2.88%) Network Engineer
14 28 (2.78%) IT Analyst
15 26 (2.58%) Delivery Manager
15 26 (2.58%) Service Delivery Manager
16 25 (2.48%) Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (3.47%) REST
2 19 (1.88%) SOAP
3 12 (1.19%) .NET
3 12 (1.19%) Web Services
4 11 (1.09%) RFC 2544
5 10 (0.99%) CSS
5 10 (0.99%) HTML
6 9 (0.89%) LDAP
7 8 (0.79%) XMPP
8 7 (0.69%) Elastic Stack
8 7 (0.69%) React
9 6 (0.60%) Lightning Web Components
9 6 (0.60%) RESTful
10 5 (0.50%) CSS3
10 5 (0.50%) HTML5
10 5 (0.50%) Node.js
10 5 (0.50%) Redux
11 4 (0.40%) EDI
11 4 (0.40%) RabbitMQ
11 4 (0.40%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 65 (6.45%) Product Ownership
2 46 (4.56%) Data Centre
3 43 (4.27%) CMDB
4 41 (4.07%) Management Information System
5 34 (3.37%) Onboarding
6 27 (2.68%) PKI
7 22 (2.18%) Analytical Mindset
8 20 (1.98%) Self-Motivation
9 18 (1.79%) Driving Licence
10 17 (1.69%) Virtual Team
11 14 (1.39%) NHS
12 13 (1.29%) Mainframe
13 10 (0.99%) PMI
13 10 (0.99%) Video Conferencing
14 8 (0.79%) Data Protection Act
14 8 (0.79%) Enterprise Software
14 8 (0.79%) Fibre Optics
14 8 (0.79%) Tandem
15 7 (0.69%) Public Cloud
16 5 (0.50%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 216 (21.43%) Windows
2 75 (7.44%) Linux
3 66 (6.55%) Windows Server
4 48 (4.76%) Windows 10
5 27 (2.68%) Unix
6 15 (1.49%) Mac OS
7 13 (1.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 8 (0.79%) Android
8 8 (0.79%) Apple iOS
9 7 (0.69%) Windows Server 2012
10 6 (0.60%) Windows Server 2019
11 5 (0.50%) Windows 7
11 5 (0.50%) Windows Server 2003
12 4 (0.40%) Ubuntu
12 4 (0.40%) Windows Server 2008
12 4 (0.40%) Windows Server 2016
13 3 (0.30%) CentOS
14 2 (0.20%) VMS
15 1 (0.099%) Mac OS X
15 1 (0.099%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 583 (57.84%) ITIL
2 427 (42.36%) ITSM
3 206 (20.44%) Problem-Solving
4 183 (18.15%) Agile
5 171 (16.96%) Change Management
6 170 (16.87%) Continuous Improvement
7 149 (14.78%) Stakeholder Management
8 135 (13.39%) Service Delivery
9 134 (13.29%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 127 (12.60%) Service Design
11 119 (11.81%) Customer Service
12 96 (9.52%) Project Management
13 94 (9.33%) Incident Management
14 88 (8.73%) Project Delivery
15 86 (8.53%) DevOps
16 73 (7.24%) Problem Management
17 64 (6.35%) Knowledge Transfer
18 61 (6.05%) Configuration Management
19 59 (5.85%) Business Continuity
20 55 (5.46%) Analytics
Programming Languages
1 81 (8.04%) PowerShell
2 69 (6.85%) SQL
3 61 (6.05%) Python
4 27 (2.68%) JavaScript
5 15 (1.49%) Perl
5 15 (1.49%) Shell Script
6 14 (1.39%) Java
7 13 (1.29%) Bash
8 6 (0.60%) TypeScript
9 5 (0.50%) VB
9 5 (0.50%) VBScript
10 4 (0.40%) Go
11 3 (0.30%) Apex Code
11 3 (0.30%) Bicep
11 3 (0.30%) C#
12 2 (0.20%) ActionScript
12 2 (0.20%) ActionScript 2.0
12 2 (0.20%) PHP
13 1 (0.099%) Kotlin
13 1 (0.099%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 419 (41.57%) Security Cleared
2 343 (34.03%) SC Cleared
3 132 (13.10%) Degree
4 67 (6.65%) DV Cleared
5 57 (5.65%) ITIL Certification
6 39 (3.87%) Microsoft Certification
7 30 (2.98%) TOGAF Certification
8 27 (2.68%) BPSS Clearance
9 19 (1.88%) A+ Certification
9 19 (1.88%) Computer Science Degree
9 19 (1.88%) PMI Certification
10 18 (1.79%) Cisco Certification
10 18 (1.79%) PMP
11 17 (1.69%) MCSE
12 16 (1.59%) Azure Certification
13 14 (1.39%) Server+ Certification
14 13 (1.29%) CCNA
14 13 (1.29%) CCNP
14 13 (1.29%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 11 (1.09%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 49 (4.86%) SLA
2 34 (3.37%) ISO/IEC 20000
3 20 (1.98%) GDPR
4 19 (1.88%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 18 (1.79%) QA
6 11 (1.09%) Data Quality
6 11 (1.09%) PMO
7 9 (0.89%) Accessibility
8 6 (0.60%) COBIT
8 6 (0.60%) GRC
8 6 (0.60%) ISO 9001
8 6 (0.60%) NIST
8 6 (0.60%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 5 (0.50%) Disclosure Scotland
9 5 (0.50%) NCSC
10 4 (0.40%) HIPAA
11 2 (0.20%) Cyber Essentials
12 1 (0.099%) Actionable Recommendations
12 1 (0.099%) HMG Security Policy Framework
12 1 (0.099%) NIST 800
System Software
1 124 (12.30%) Active Directory
2 44 (4.37%) VMware Infrastructure
3 21 (2.08%) VMware NSX
4 17 (1.69%) Hyper-V
5 15 (1.49%) Docker
6 11 (1.09%) Virtual Desktop
7 6 (0.60%) Virtual Servers
8 5 (0.50%) BitLocker
8 5 (0.50%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 5 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
9 4 (0.40%) NDS
9 4 (0.40%) NetIQ eDirectory
10 3 (0.30%) Virtual Machines
11 1 (0.099%) Slurm Workload Manager
11 1 (0.099%) Terminal Services
11 1 (0.099%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 32 (3.17%) OPNET
2 29 (2.88%) SCCM
3 28 (2.78%) Terraform
4 27 (2.68%) Ansible
5 26 (2.58%) vCenter Server
6 24 (2.38%) Microsoft Intune
7 23 (2.28%) Kubernetes
8 16 (1.59%) WSUS
9 11 (1.09%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 8 (0.79%) Single Sign-On
11 6 (0.60%) SCOM
12 5 (0.50%) Grafana
12 5 (0.50%) Prometheus
13 4 (0.40%) FortiGate
13 4 (0.40%) Jamf Pro
13 4 (0.40%) Nessus
13 4 (0.40%) Packer
13 4 (0.40%) Progress Chef
14 3 (0.30%) Check_MK
15 2 (0.20%) Puppet
Vendors
1 238 (23.61%) ServiceNow
2 179 (17.76%) Microsoft
3 87 (8.63%) Cisco
4 62 (6.15%) Remedy
5 61 (6.05%) Atlassian
6 57 (5.65%) VMware
7 54 (5.36%) Oracle
8 37 (3.67%) Splunk
9 32 (3.17%) Google
10 31 (3.08%) SAP
10 31 (3.08%) SolarWinds
11 22 (2.18%) HP
11 22 (2.18%) Juniper
12 20 (1.98%) AppDynamics
12 20 (1.98%) Dynatrace
12 20 (1.98%) Salesforce
13 14 (1.39%) Citrix
13 14 (1.39%) Red Hat
13 14 (1.39%) Veeam
14 13 (1.29%) IBM