SLA Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Service Level Agreement (SLA)
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the UK excluding London requiring SLA skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 207 165 125
Rank change year-on-year -42 -40 -6
Permanent jobs citing SLA 558 597 1,528
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 0.84% 2.06% 2.23%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 9.48% 12.83% 16.36%
Number of salaries quoted 342 476 1,224
10th Percentile £25,500 £24,655 £23,250
25th Percentile £27,789 £28,500 £24,807
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £32,750 £31,500 £30,000
Median % change year-on-year +3.97% +5.00% -20.91%
75th Percentile £47,500 £45,000 £46,750
90th Percentile £63,750 £60,000 £61,250
UK median annual salary £40,000 £35,000 £32,500
% change year-on-year +14.29% +7.69% -18.75%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK excluding London

SLA falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills in the UK excluding London.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 5,883 4,652 9,340
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 8.91% 16.05% 13.60%
Number of salaries quoted 3,511 2,388 6,258
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,800 £25,500
25th Percentile £38,000 £36,250 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £53,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -0.94% +11.58% -5.00%
75th Percentile £67,500 £68,114 £62,500
90th Percentile £83,750 £83,738 £77,500
UK median annual salary £60,000 £57,500 £52,500
% change year-on-year +4.35% +9.52% -8.70%

SLA
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

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

SLA job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

SLA
Salary Trend in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing SLA.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing SLA

SLA
Salary Histogram in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution for jobs citing SLA in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 16 May 2026.

Salary histogram for SLA in the UK excluding London

SLA
Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing SLA within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 16 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +11 152 £32,500 -18.75% 83
Midlands -62 116 £30,580 - 37
North of England -58 100 £41,000 +41.38% 47
Scotland +61 71 £28,000 -51.30% 11
North West -5 62 £41,000 +46.43% 29
West Midlands -88 58 £45,000 +47.16% 24
East Midlands -33 54 £28,000 -11.11% 13
East of England -18 52 £33,000 +1.54% 28
South West -79 41 £33,500 -16.25% 20
Yorkshire -78 27 £32,500 +12.07% 15
Wales -27 16 £37,500 -1.56% 5
Northern Ireland -28 11 - - 6
North East -39 11 - - 3
SLA
UK

SLA
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 27 (4.84%) Microsoft Exchange
2 24 (4.30%) SharePoint
3 19 (3.41%) Confluence
4 9 (1.61%) IIS
5 2 (0.36%) Apache
5 2 (0.36%) Exchange Server 2013
5 2 (0.36%) OpenEdge
5 2 (0.36%) Skype for Business
5 2 (0.36%) WordPress
6 1 (0.18%) SAS
Applications
1 101 (18.10%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (4.66%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (2.15%) MS Visio
4 8 (1.43%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.90%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.36%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 14 (2.51%) Dynamics AX
2 11 (1.97%) Salesforce CRM
3 5 (0.90%) Sage 200
4 4 (0.72%) IBM Planning Analytics
4 4 (0.72%) SAP CO
4 4 (0.72%) SAP FI
4 4 (0.72%) SAP FI/CO
4 4 (0.72%) SAP S/4HANA
4 4 (0.72%) Shopify
5 3 (0.54%) Dynamics CRM
5 3 (0.54%) SAP FSCM
5 3 (0.54%) SAP HR
5 3 (0.54%) SAP Payroll
6 2 (0.36%) Q-Pulse
7 1 (0.18%) Magento
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.18%) SAP EHS
Cloud Services
1 225 (40.32%) Microsoft 365
2 110 (19.71%) Azure
3 65 (11.65%) Entra ID
4 43 (7.71%) Power Platform
5 38 (6.81%) AWS
6 26 (4.66%) Nutanix
7 12 (2.15%) Azure DevOps
7 12 (2.15%) PowerApps
8 7 (1.25%) OneDrive
8 7 (1.25%) Power Automate
9 5 (0.90%) Azure Logic Apps
9 5 (0.90%) SaaS
10 4 (0.72%) Dynamics 365
11 3 (0.54%) Cohesity
11 3 (0.54%) GCP
11 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Copilot
11 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Purview
11 3 (0.54%) PaaS
12 2 (0.36%) Datadog
12 2 (0.36%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 78 (13.98%) DNS
2 71 (12.72%) DHCP
2 71 (12.72%) Firewall
3 44 (7.89%) VPN
4 33 (5.91%) WAN
5 30 (5.38%) LAN
6 29 (5.20%) Remote Desktop
7 28 (5.02%) TCP/IP
8 23 (4.12%) VoIP
8 23 (4.12%) Wi-Fi
9 18 (3.23%) VLAN
10 11 (1.97%) Wireless
11 10 (1.79%) BGP
12 9 (1.61%) Network Security
12 9 (1.61%) Structured Cabling
13 8 (1.43%) OSPF
13 8 (1.43%) SSL
14 7 (1.25%) Internet
15 6 (1.08%) IP Telephony
15 6 (1.08%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (6.63%) SQL Server
2 31 (5.56%) Power BI
3 7 (1.25%) MySQL
3 7 (1.25%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 5 (0.90%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 4 (0.72%) SAP HANA
6 3 (0.54%) Crystal Reports
7 2 (0.36%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.36%) InfluxDB
7 2 (0.36%) PostgreSQL
7 2 (0.36%) Relational Database
8 1 (0.18%) GIS
8 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.18%) Oracle Reports
8 1 (0.18%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 33 (5.91%) JIRA
2 1 (0.18%) Git
General
1 249 (44.62%) Social Skills
2 83 (14.87%) Finance
3 63 (11.29%) Analytical Skills
4 60 (10.75%) Back Office
5 39 (6.99%) Manufacturing
6 35 (6.27%) Law
7 34 (6.09%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 34 (6.09%) Retail
8 25 (4.48%) Organisational Skills
9 16 (2.87%) Telecoms
10 15 (2.69%) Marketing
11 14 (2.51%) Documentation Skills
12 12 (2.15%) Billing
12 12 (2.15%) Public Sector
13 11 (1.97%) Military
14 6 (1.08%) Advertising
14 6 (1.08%) Electronics
14 6 (1.08%) Fire and Rescue
14 6 (1.08%) Police
15 5 (0.90%) Legal
Job Titles
1 159 (28.49%) Support Engineer
2 100 (17.92%) Analyst
3 94 (16.85%) IT Support
4 71 (12.72%) Desktop Engineer
5 70 (12.54%) Desktop Support
6 66 (11.83%) Desktop Support Engineer
7 61 (10.93%) IT Engineer
8 58 (10.39%) Support Analyst
9 55 (9.86%) IT Support Engineer
10 54 (9.68%) 2nd Line Support
11 49 (8.78%) Support Technician
12 48 (8.60%) Site Engineer
13 32 (5.73%) Applications Support
14 30 (5.38%) 1st Line Support
15 29 (5.20%) Lead
16 27 (4.84%) 2nd Line Engineer
16 27 (4.84%) IT Manager
17 25 (4.48%) Cloud Engineer
17 25 (4.48%) Service Analyst
18 24 (4.30%) Service Desk Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (1.08%) EDI
2 5 (0.90%) .NET
2 5 (0.90%) CSS
2 5 (0.90%) gRPC
2 5 (0.90%) HTML
2 5 (0.90%) JSON
3 4 (0.72%) Web Services
4 3 (0.54%) 802.1X
4 3 (0.54%) OAuth
4 3 (0.54%) REST
4 3 (0.54%) SOAP
4 3 (0.54%) XML
5 2 (0.36%) OpenTelemetry
5 2 (0.36%) RESTful
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle Fusion
Miscellaneous
1 57 (10.22%) Driving Licence
2 35 (6.27%) Onboarding
3 29 (5.20%) Hybrid Cloud
3 29 (5.20%) Management Information System
3 29 (5.20%) Public Cloud
4 24 (4.30%) Data Centre
5 21 (3.76%) Self-Motivation
6 13 (2.33%) EPoS
6 13 (2.33%) Product Ownership
7 11 (1.97%) Client/Server
7 11 (1.97%) CMDB
7 11 (1.97%) NHS
8 7 (1.25%) Credit Risk
8 7 (1.25%) Security Operations Centre
9 5 (0.90%) FMCG
9 5 (0.90%) Security Posture
10 4 (0.72%) Cyber Threat
10 4 (0.72%) Fat Client
10 4 (0.72%) Thin Client
10 4 (0.72%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 261 (46.77%) Windows
2 101 (18.10%) Windows 10
3 89 (15.95%) Windows Server
4 18 (3.23%) Apple iOS
5 14 (2.51%) Android
6 11 (1.97%) Linux
7 6 (1.08%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.72%) Windows Server 2012
9 3 (0.54%) Windows 7
9 3 (0.54%) Windows Server 2016
9 3 (0.54%) Windows Server 2019
10 2 (0.36%) AIX
10 2 (0.36%) CentOS
10 2 (0.36%) Mac OS X
10 2 (0.36%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 1 (0.18%) FreeBSD
11 1 (0.18%) OpenBSD
11 1 (0.18%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 190 (34.05%) ITIL
2 182 (32.62%) Customer Service
3 149 (26.70%) Continuous Improvement
4 121 (21.68%) Problem-Solving
5 98 (17.56%) ITSM
6 74 (13.26%) Customer Experience
7 70 (12.54%) Cybersecurity
7 70 (12.54%) Ticket Management
8 65 (11.65%) Analytics
9 54 (9.68%) Change Management
9 54 (9.68%) Patch Management
10 51 (9.14%) Customer Acquisition
10 51 (9.14%) Mentoring
11 50 (8.96%) Software Deployment
12 49 (8.78%) Root Cause Analysis
13 46 (8.24%) Process Improvement
14 44 (7.89%) Stakeholder Management
15 43 (7.71%) Business Intelligence
16 42 (7.53%) Coaching
17 41 (7.35%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 52 (9.32%) SQL
2 23 (4.12%) PowerShell
3 12 (2.15%) Python
4 11 (1.97%) JavaScript
5 9 (1.61%) C#
6 5 (0.90%) Bash
7 2 (0.36%) C
7 2 (0.36%) Kusto Query Language
7 2 (0.36%) T-SQL
8 1 (0.18%) VBA
Qualifications
1 124 (22.22%) Security Cleared
2 114 (20.43%) Degree
3 85 (15.23%) SC Cleared
4 53 (9.50%) CTC Cleared
5 18 (3.23%) ITIL Certification
6 17 (3.05%) Microsoft Certification
7 14 (2.51%) HND
8 13 (2.33%) DV Cleared
9 10 (1.79%) A+ Certification
9 10 (1.79%) Cisco Certification
10 9 (1.61%) DBS Check
11 8 (1.43%) CCNA
12 6 (1.08%) Network+ Certification
13 5 (0.90%) CCNP
13 5 (0.90%) PMI Certification
14 4 (0.72%) Computer Science Degree
15 3 (0.54%) CREST Certified
15 3 (0.54%) GIAC
15 3 (0.54%) PMP
15 3 (0.54%) Server+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (3.58%) Accessibility
2 11 (1.97%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 8 (1.43%) Data Quality
4 7 (1.25%) NIST
4 7 (1.25%) QA
5 5 (0.90%) GDPR
6 4 (0.72%) Cyber Essentials
6 4 (0.72%) NCSC
7 3 (0.54%) ISO 20022
8 2 (0.36%) ISO/IEC 20000
8 2 (0.36%) JSP 440
9 1 (0.18%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 159 (28.49%) Active Directory
2 55 (9.86%) VMware Infrastructure
3 40 (7.17%) Hyper-V
4 7 (1.25%) Virtual Desktop
5 6 (1.08%) Docker
5 6 (1.08%) Terminal Services
6 5 (0.90%) BitLocker
7 3 (0.54%) VMware ESXi
8 2 (0.36%) Citrix Hypervisor
8 2 (0.36%) Samba
8 2 (0.36%) UAG
8 2 (0.36%) VMware NSX
9 1 (0.18%) KVM
9 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 1 (0.18%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.18%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 30 (5.38%) SCCM
2 25 (4.48%) Microsoft Intune
3 5 (0.90%) Grafana
3 5 (0.90%) Jamf Pro
3 5 (0.90%) Nagios
3 5 (0.90%) WSUS
4 4 (0.72%) Kubernetes
4 4 (0.72%) Prometheus
4 4 (0.72%) Terraform
5 3 (0.54%) Autotask
5 3 (0.54%) FortiGate
5 3 (0.54%) ZABBIX
6 2 (0.36%) Active Directory Federation Services
6 2 (0.36%) Netcool
6 2 (0.36%) vCenter Server
7 1 (0.18%) Ansible
7 1 (0.18%) Failover Clustering
7 1 (0.18%) Proxmox
7 1 (0.18%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 240 (43.01%) Microsoft
2 83 (14.87%) Cisco
3 55 (9.86%) VMware
4 41 (7.35%) Dell
5 33 (5.91%) ServiceNow
6 29 (5.20%) HP
7 28 (5.02%) SAP
8 25 (4.48%) Dell Compellent
8 25 (4.48%) Nimble Storage
9 18 (3.23%) Apple
9 18 (3.23%) Juniper
10 16 (2.87%) Freshdesk
11 14 (2.51%) McAfee
12 13 (2.33%) Salesforce
13 12 (2.15%) Adobe
13 12 (2.15%) Nintex
14 10 (1.79%) Palo Alto
15 9 (1.61%) Fortinet
16 8 (1.43%) Qualys
17 6 (1.08%) Citrix