ServiceNow forecast puts UK tech job growth at about 430,000
The software company's fourth skills forecast with Pearson says technical skills are growing fastest to 2031, but the published report leaves its headline UK numbers largely unexplained
- The report links leadership, stakeholder engagement and collaboration with some of the highest salary uplifts in tech roles.
- Cloud services, Python and Kubernetes still command salary premiums, according to the report.
- Retail is expected to shrink its headcount in most of the 12 countries.
- The report argues that AI will augment roles rather than replace them.
The forecast reads as much like a vendor building demand for its own platform skills as a labor-market study, and more vendors are likely to use research this way. The signal worth taking is the premium on engineers who combine technical depth with people skills, which is likely to keep that profile scarce and expensive. Tech leaders should plan headcount on their own hiring data and use the report only as a direction of travel.
“organisations cannot treat their technology and people strategies as separate agendas”Damian Stirrett, group vice-president and general manager, UK and Ireland, ServiceNow (as reported by ITPro)
ServiceNow and Pearson's 2026 AI Workforce Skills Forecast, covered by ITPro on 23 September, projects that UK information and communications technology (ICT) will add about 430,000 roles by 2031. That figure appears only in a chart in the report's appendix.
This is vendor research. ServiceNow sells HR, learning and workflow software and runs its own training arm, ServiceNow University, and the report flags on-demand courses alongside the skills it recommends. It is the fourth year of the series. The report says it models 12 countries, including Sweden and Brazil for the first time, nine industries and 12 key tech roles, covering 5,600 jobs and 9,000 skills over a five-year projection from 2026. Its methodology page is a diagram: it doesn't name the underlying data sources, and no publication date is printed.
ITPro reported the UK findings as 432,000 more jobs in technology, media and telecoms by 2031, a 28.2% increase. VETTDD couldn't find those figures on a ServiceNow page. The report's appendix labels UK ICT with both +430K and +3.6%, without saying what the percentage measures.
The global picture is clearer. Telecoms, media and tech is one of only two industries, with healthcare, expected to grow in all 12 countries. Skills in data quality, software development, analytics and AI grow fastest, while leadership and collaboration rise everywhere.
Sources
- ServiceNow and Pearson, “2026 AI Workforce Skills Forecast Report: From jobs to skills”, report, September 2026 (no publication date printed). https://assets.swoogo.com/uploads/6962940-69f53927c262e.pdf
- ServiceNow, “AI Workforce Skills Forecast Report 2026”, report page. https://servicenow.swoogo.com/AIWorkforceSkills
- ITPro, “ServiceNow says the AI race will create a ‘human renaissance’ jobs boom”, 23 September 2026. https://www.itpro.com/business/careers-and-training/servicenow-says-the-ai-race-will-create-a-human-renaissance-jobs-boom
