UK certifications with the most demand in job ads, job by job
CCNP is the most-named certification in the United Kingdom: 14% of network engineer job ads name it (92 of 658, Adzuna, October 2026). The table ranks all 66 certifications we track here by the same measure: the share of ads in each one's main role. By number of ads, PRINCE2 (840) and PMP (430) lead.
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCNP (Network engineer) | 92 | 658 | 14% |
| PRINCE2 (Project manager) | 840 | 6,205 | 14% |
| CISSP (Cybersecurity analyst) | 29 | 235 | 12% |
| CCNA (Network engineer) | 74 | 658 | 11% |
| ITIL (IT support) | 95 | 1,286 | 7.4% |
| PMP (Project manager) | 430 | 6,205 | 6.9% |
| CompTIA (IT support) | 86 | 1,286 | 6.7% |
| CompTIA A+ (IT support) | 84 | 1,286 | 6.5% |
| CompTIA Security+ (Cybersecurity analyst) | 12 | 235 | 5% |
| CISM (Cybersecurity analyst) | 11 | 235 | 5% |
| APM PMQ (Project manager) | 268 | 6,205 | 4.3% |
| CompTIA CySA+ (Cybersecurity analyst) | 10 | 235 | 4% |
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On this page
- Full ranking
- By field
- How we rank
- Which certifications do UK job ads name most for each job?
- What does this data show, and what does it not show?
- Which rows count a whole brand or phrase, not one exam?
- Which certifications do UK ads name in more than one job?
- Which UK jobs have too few ads to rank?
- Which of these can a beginner take first?
- How should you use this list to pick a certification?
- What we did not check
- Sources
Full ranking
| # Certification | Field | Main role | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. CCNP | IT support & networking | Network engineer | 92 | 658 | 14% |
| 2. PRINCE2 | Project management | Project manager | 840 | 6,205 | 14% |
| 3. CISSP | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 29 | 235 | 12% |
| 4. CCNA | IT support & networking | Network engineer | 74 | 658 | 11% |
| 5. ITIL | IT support & networking | IT support | 95 | 1,286 | 7.4% |
| 6. PMP | Project management | Project manager | 430 | 6,205 | 6.9% |
| 7. CompTIA | IT support & networking | IT support | 86 | 1,286 | 6.7% |
| 8. CompTIA A+ | IT support & networking | IT support | 84 | 1,286 | 6.5% |
| 9. CompTIA Security+ | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 12 | 235 | 5% |
| 10. CISM | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 11 | 235 | 5% |
| 11. APM PMQ | Project management | Project manager | 268 | 6,205 | 4.3% |
| 12. CompTIA CySA+ | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 10 | 235 | 4% |
| 13. Microsoft Azure certifications | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 17 | 475 | 4% |
| 14. CompTIA Network+ | IT support & networking | Network engineer | 23 | 658 | 3% |
| 15. AZ-104 | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 15 | 475 | 3% |
| 16. SSCP | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 5 | 235 | 2% |
| 17. PL-300 | Data & analytics | Data analyst | 14 | 741 | 2% |
| 18. AWS | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 8 | 475 | 2% |
| 19. AZ-305 | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 8 | 475 | 2% |
| 20. ISO 27001 Lead Implementer / Auditor | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 3 | 235 | 1% |
| 21. AWS Solutions Architect Associate | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 6 | 475 | 1% |
| 22. AI-901 | AI | AI engineer | 12 | 1,146 | 1.0% |
| 23. CISA | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 2 | 235 | 2 of 235 ads |
| 24. AZ-900 | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 4 | 475 | 4 of 475 ads |
| 25. SnowPro Core | Data & analytics | Data engineer | 10 | 1,451 | 10 of 1,451 ads |
| 26. AWS Cloud Practitioner | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 3 | 475 | 3 of 475 ads |
| 27. Databricks certification | Data & analytics | Data engineer | 8 | 1,451 | 8 of 1,451 ads |
| 28. CompTIA SecurityX (CASP+) | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 ads |
| 29. CRISC | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 ads |
| 30. ISC2 CC | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 ads |
| 31. AZ-500 | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 2 | 475 | 2 of 475 ads |
| 32. Terraform Associate | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 2 | 475 | 2 of 475 ads |
| 33. CompTIA Cloud+ | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 1 | 475 | 1 of 475 ads |
| 34. PMI-ACP | Project management | Project manager | 12 | 6,205 | 12 of 6,205 ads |
| 35. IPMA | Project management | Project manager | 10 | 6,205 | 10 of 6,205 ads |
| 36. CAPM | Project management | Project manager | 8 | 6,205 | 8 of 6,205 ads |
| 37. Six Sigma Green Belt | Business, HR & marketing | Project manager | 6 | 6,205 | 6 of 6,205 ads |
| 38. Google IT Support | IT support & networking | IT support | 1 | 1,286 | 1 of 1,286 ads |
| 39. Six Sigma | Business, HR & marketing | Project manager | 3 | 6,205 | 3 of 6,205 ads |
| 40. Six Sigma Black Belt | Business, HR & marketing | Project manager | 1 | 6,205 | 1 of 6,205 ads |
| 41. AI-900 | AI | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 42. AWS AI Practitioner | AI | AI engineer | 0 | 1,146 | 0 of 1,146 ads |
| 43. AWS Developer Associate | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 44. AWS SysOps / CloudOps Associate | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 45. AZ-204 | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 46. CKA | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 47. Google AI Professional Certificate | AI | AI engineer | 0 | 1,146 | 0 of 1,146 ads |
| 48. Google Career Certificates | Learning platforms | IT support | 0 | 1,286 | 0 of 1,286 ads |
| 49. Google Cloud certification | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 50. Google Associate Cloud Engineer | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 51. Google Professional Cloud Architect | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 52. Google Cloud Digital Leader | Cloud & DevOps | Cloud engineer | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 ads |
| 53. Google Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 0 | 235 | 0 of 235 ads |
| 54. Google Data Analytics | Data & analytics | Data analyst | 0 | 741 | 0 of 741 ads |
| 55. Google IT Automation with Python | IT support & networking | IT support | 0 | 1,286 | 0 of 1,286 ads |
| 56. Google Project Management | Project management | Project manager | 0 | 6,205 | 0 of 6,205 ads |
| 57. IBM AI Engineering | AI | AI engineer | 0 | 1,146 | 0 of 1,146 ads |
| 58. IBM Cybersecurity Analyst | Cybersecurity | Cybersecurity analyst | 0 | 235 | 0 of 235 ads |
| 59. PMI-RMP | Project management | Project manager | 0 | 6,205 | 0 of 6,205 ads |
| 60. OSCP | Cybersecurity | Penetration tester | 28 | 58 | 48%* |
| 61. CEH | Cybersecurity | Penetration tester | 12 | 58 | 21%* |
| 62. Scrum Master | Agile & Scrum | Scrum Master | 11 | 67 | 16%* |
| 63. CSM | Agile & Scrum | Scrum Master | 6 | 67 | 9%* |
| 64. SAFe | Agile & Scrum | Scrum Master | 3 | 67 | 4%* |
| 65. PSM | Agile & Scrum | Scrum Master | 2 | 67 | 3%* |
| 66. eJPT | Cybersecurity | Penetration tester | 0 | 58 | 0 of 58 ads* |
* Fewer than 200 ads for that role in this country: ranked after the larger samples; read as a rough signal.
By field
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRINCE2 (Project manager) | 840 | 6,205 | 14% |
| PMP (Project manager) | 430 | 6,205 | 6.9% |
| APM PMQ (Project manager) | 268 | 6,205 | 4.3% |
| PMI-ACP (Project manager) | 12 | 6,205 | 12 of 6,205 |
| IPMA (Project manager) | 10 | 6,205 | 10 of 6,205 |
| CAPM (Project manager) | 8 | 6,205 | 8 of 6,205 |
| Google Project Management (Project manager) | 0 | 6,205 | 0 of 6,205 |
| PMI-RMP (Project manager) | 0 | 6,205 | 0 of 6,205 |
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrum Master (Scrum Master) | 11 | 67 | 16% |
| CSM (Scrum Master) | 6 | 67 | 9% |
| SAFe (Scrum Master) | 3 | 67 | 4% |
| PSM (Scrum Master) | 2 | 67 | 3% |
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCNP (Network engineer) | 92 | 658 | 14% |
| CCNA (Network engineer) | 74 | 658 | 11% |
| ITIL (IT support) | 95 | 1,286 | 7.4% |
| CompTIA (IT support) | 86 | 1,286 | 6.7% |
| CompTIA A+ (IT support) | 84 | 1,286 | 6.5% |
| CompTIA Network+ (Network engineer) | 23 | 658 | 3% |
| Google IT Support (IT support) | 1 | 1,286 | 1 of 1,286 |
| Google IT Automation with Python (IT support) | 0 | 1,286 | 0 of 1,286 |
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISSP (Cybersecurity analyst) | 29 | 235 | 12% |
| CompTIA Security+ (Cybersecurity analyst) | 12 | 235 | 5% |
| CISM (Cybersecurity analyst) | 11 | 235 | 5% |
| CompTIA CySA+ (Cybersecurity analyst) | 10 | 235 | 4% |
| SSCP (Cybersecurity analyst) | 5 | 235 | 2% |
| ISO 27001 Lead Implementer / Auditor (Cybersecurity analyst) | 3 | 235 | 1% |
| CISA (Cybersecurity analyst) | 2 | 235 | 2 of 235 |
| CompTIA SecurityX (CASP+) (Cybersecurity analyst) | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 |
| CRISC (Cybersecurity analyst) | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 |
| ISC2 CC (Cybersecurity analyst) | 1 | 235 | 1 of 235 |
| Google Cybersecurity (Cybersecurity analyst) | 0 | 235 | 0 of 235 |
| IBM Cybersecurity Analyst (Cybersecurity analyst) | 0 | 235 | 0 of 235 |
| OSCP (Penetration tester) | 28 | 58 | 48% |
| CEH (Penetration tester) | 12 | 58 | 21% |
| eJPT (Penetration tester) | 0 | 58 | 0 of 58 |
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure certifications (Cloud engineer) | 17 | 475 | 4% |
| AZ-104 (Cloud engineer) | 15 | 475 | 3% |
| AWS (Cloud engineer) | 8 | 475 | 2% |
| AZ-305 (Cloud engineer) | 8 | 475 | 2% |
| AWS Solutions Architect Associate (Cloud engineer) | 6 | 475 | 1% |
| AZ-900 (Cloud engineer) | 4 | 475 | 4 of 475 |
| AWS Cloud Practitioner (Cloud engineer) | 3 | 475 | 3 of 475 |
| AZ-500 (Cloud engineer) | 2 | 475 | 2 of 475 |
| Terraform Associate (Cloud engineer) | 2 | 475 | 2 of 475 |
| CompTIA Cloud+ (Cloud engineer) | 1 | 475 | 1 of 475 |
| AWS Developer Associate (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| AWS SysOps / CloudOps Associate (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| AZ-204 (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| CKA (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| Google Cloud certification (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| Google Associate Cloud Engineer (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| Google Professional Cloud Architect (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
| Google Cloud Digital Leader (Cloud engineer) | 0 | 475 | 0 of 475 |
Show the numbers
| Certification | Ads naming it | Role ads | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| PL-300 (Data analyst) | 14 | 741 | 2% |
| SnowPro Core (Data engineer) | 10 | 1,451 | 10 of 1,451 |
| Databricks certification (Data engineer) | 8 | 1,451 | 8 of 1,451 |
| Google Data Analytics (Data analyst) | 0 | 741 | 0 of 741 |
How we rank
For each certification we search Adzuna job ads for its main role in the country (for example, project manager for PMP), count the ads whose text names the certification, and divide by all ads for that role. Counts are from October 2026. Shares from fewer than 50 ads are not published. Each certification is measured within its own role, so the share shows how often employers in that job ask for it, not how many jobs exist overall.
Which certifications do UK job ads name most for each job?
Which certifications have the most demand depends on the job. In UK job ads collected by Adzuna, a job-ad search site, in October 2026, PRINCE2, a project-management certification from PeopleCert, appeared in 14% of the ads with project manager in the title. Any mention of CompTIA, an IT-skills certification body, appeared in 19% of the ads with network engineer in the title.
The leaders by job: PRINCE2 for project managers; the PMP and PRINCE2 for program managers; ITIL, CompTIA and its A+ exam for IT support; CompTIA for network engineers. For security analysts, the CISSP and CompTIA lead; for cloud engineers, Azure wording and the AZ-104 exam.
Each row gives, out of all UK ads with that job title (the role total), the share that name the certification. An ad naming two certifications counts in both rows, so shares do not add up to a whole. Each table lists by share the credentials chosen for this page, not every one we count. Where two sit nearly level, treat them as tied: a handful of ads could swap them.
Project managers
| Certification | Share of UK project-manager ads |
|---|---|
| PRINCE2 (PeopleCert; Foundation is the first level) | 14% |
| PMP (Project Management Professional, from the Project Management Institute, PMI) | 6.9% |
| APM PMQ (Project Management Qualification from the Association for Project Management) | 4.3% |
| ITIL (a set of practices for running IT services; any mention of the name) | 40 of 6,205 |
| CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management, PMI's no-experience certification) | 8 of 6,205 |
The role total is 6,205 UK ads that Adzuna returned for October 2026.
In Adzuna's October 2026 UK project-manager ads, PMI-ACP, PMI's certification for agile work (running projects in short, repeated cycles), appeared in 12 of the 6,205 ads. Other credentials we count include Six Sigma Green Belt, a process-improvement certification, in 6 of the 6,205, and Six Sigma Black Belt in one of the 6,205. Our project-manager page adds other countries.
Program managers
A program manager runs a group of related projects. These shares are out of the 1,061 UK ads with program manager in the title that Adzuna returned for October 2026.
IT support
| Credential | Share of UK IT-support ads |
|---|---|
| ITIL | 7.4% |
| CompTIA (any ad with the brand name) | 6.7% |
| CompTIA A+ (CompTIA's IT-support certification, two exams) | 6.5% |
| CompTIA Network+ (CompTIA's networking certification) | 10 of 1,286 |
In October 2026, Adzuna listed 1,286 UK ads with it support in the title. The CompTIA row overlaps the A+ and Network+ rows. Our IT-support page compares countries.
Network engineers
| Certification | Share of UK network-engineer ads |
|---|---|
| CompTIA (any ad with the brand name) | 19% |
| CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional; Cisco is a networking-equipment maker) | 14% |
| CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate, the level below the CCNP) | 11% |
| CompTIA Network+ | 3% |
For network engineers, the UK base is 658 ads collected by Adzuna in October 2026. The network-engineer page compares countries.
Security analysts
| Certification | Share of UK security-analyst ads |
|---|---|
| CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional, from ISC2) | 12% |
| CompTIA (any ad with the brand name) | 10% |
| CompTIA Security+ (CompTIA's general security certification) | 5% |
| CISM (Certified Information Security Manager, from ISACA) | 5% |
| CompTIA CySA+ (Cybersecurity Analyst) | 4% |
| CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker, from EC-Council) | 2% |
For October 2026, Adzuna returned 235 UK ads with security analyst in the title. Our cybersecurity-analyst page compares countries.
Cloud engineers
| Credential | Share of UK cloud-engineer ads |
|---|---|
Microsoft Azure certifications (the phrase azure certification; Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform) |
4% |
| AZ-104 (Microsoft's Azure Administrator exam) | 3% |
AWS (ads containing the phrase aws certified) |
2% |
| AZ-305 (Microsoft's Azure Solutions Architect Expert exam) | 2% |
In October 2026, Adzuna returned 475 UK cloud-engineer ads. AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner appeared in 3 of the 475 ads; our cloud-engineer page covers AWS and Azure by country.
DevOps, data and AI jobs
A DevOps engineer runs the systems that move software into live service. In Adzuna's October 2026 UK data, of the 555 ads with devops engineer in the title, the phrase aws certified appeared in 19 and aws certified solutions architect in 12. Every ad in the second count is also in the first, since the longer phrase contains the shorter one.
In the same data, of the 1,451 UK ads with data engineer (someone who builds data pipelines) in the title, 10 contained snowpro, the name of the certifications from Snowflake, a data-platform company. The phrase databricks certified (Databricks, another data platform) appeared in 8. PL-300, Microsoft's exam for Power BI, a reporting tool, appeared in 14 of the 741 data-analyst ads, and AI-901, Microsoft's Azure AI Fundamentals exam, in 12 of the 1,146 ads with ai engineer in the title.
What does this data show, and what does it not show?
It shows how often UK job ads with one job title mention a certification, in one month of Adzuna data. The job title is matched in the ad's title; the certification phrase can sit anywhere in the ad.
It does not show whether an employer requires the certification, how senior the job is, how hard the exam is or how many people hold the credential. Jobs advertised under other titles, such as service desk analyst, fall outside these counts.
Which rows count a whole brand or phrase, not one exam?
The CompTIA, Microsoft Azure, AWS and ITIL rows count a brand or a general phrase; the other rows search one credential's name. A share counts ads that contain the phrase, not people who hold the credential.
| Row | Phrase we search | What the count covers |
|---|---|---|
| CompTIA | comptia |
Every ad with the word, whichever CompTIA exam it means, or the brand alone |
| CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+ and CySA+ | comptia a, comptia network, comptia security, cysa |
The exam names without the plus sign, which Adzuna's search ignores |
| Microsoft Azure certifications | azure certification |
The general wording; AZ-104 and AZ-305 are searched by exam code |
| AWS | aws certified |
Ads containing the words "AWS Certified"; ads that name an AWS exam another way are missed |
| ITIL | itil |
Any ad with the word, including ads that want ITIL knowledge rather than a certificate |
| PRINCE2 and PMP | prince2, pmp |
The name alone, so PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner (the first and second levels) are not counted apart |
| APM PMQ | pmq |
The qualification's short name; we count it in UK ads only |
Ads that write only "Security+" without "CompTIA" are missed. The methodology lists every phrase we search.
Which certifications do UK ads name in more than one job?
PMP, PRINCE2, ITIL and AWS each appear in two UK job lists, with a separate share in each, measured against that job's own ads.
| Name | Job | Share of that job's UK ads |
|---|---|---|
| PMP | Project manager | 6.9% |
| PMP | Program manager | 9.5% |
| PRINCE2 | Project manager | 14% |
| PRINCE2 | Program manager | 8.9% |
| ITIL | IT support | 7.4% |
| ITIL | Project manager | 40 of 6,205 |
AWS (aws certified) |
Cloud engineer | 2% |
AWS (aws certified) |
DevOps engineer | 3% |
Each share is out of the role total given with that job's list. Use the figure for the job you are applying for.
Which UK jobs have too few ads to rank?
Of the jobs this page covers, four had under 200 UK ads on Adzuna in October 2026, where our methodology flags a small total. They are Scrum master (67 ads), SOC analyst (69), system administrator (150) and penetration tester (58). Read these small samples with care.
A Scrum master runs a team's routine under Scrum, an agile method; a SOC analyst watches alerts in a security operations center; a penetration tester is paid to break into systems to find weak points. For Scrum masters we count the phrase scrum master certification (Scrum master certifications), CSM (Certified ScrumMaster), PSM (Professional Scrum Master), SAFe Scrum Master (a version for large organizations) and PMI-ACP.
Which of these can a beginner take first?
PRINCE2 Foundation, the APM PMQ, CAPM, CompTIA A+ and Security+, AZ-104 and the CCNA list no required work experience on the vendor pages we read; the PMP and CISSP require years of it. For other rows, the certificate pages give each vendor's rule.
| Exam or credential | What the vendor asks before you can hold it |
|---|---|
| PRINCE2 Foundation (PeopleCert) | No prerequisite listed on PeopleCert's product page. Practitioner, the second level, needs Foundation or another listed certification, such as the PMP, CAPM or APM PMQ |
| APM PMQ (Association for Project Management) | No entry requirement named on the page we read; APM describes typical candidates as people with two to three years of project experience. A 2.5-hour online exam of 40 questions |
| CAPM (PMI) | A secondary-school qualification and 23 contact hours (hours in a taught course) of project-management education |
| CompTIA A+ | None required; CompTIA recommends 12 months of hands-on experience in an IT-support job |
| CompTIA Security+ | None required; CompTIA recommends Network+ and two years in a security or systems-administrator job |
| AZ-104 (Microsoft) | No formal prerequisite; Microsoft expects familiarity with operating systems, networking and servers |
| CCNA (Cisco) | Cisco lists no prerequisites |
| PMP (PMI) | 24 to 60 months leading projects in the past 10 years, set by your education, plus 35 hours of project-management training |
| CISSP (ISC2) | Five years of full-time security work in two or more of its eight topic areas (a degree or an approved certification can count for one of the five years). Without them you can pass the exam and become an Associate of ISC2, a junior status you hold for up to six years while gaining the experience |
For a project-manager job, PRINCE2 Foundation is a first exam to look at: PRINCE2 heads that list, and PeopleCert lists no prerequisite for Foundation.
We also count course certificates, which you earn by finishing an online course instead of passing a vendor's exam. In Adzuna's October 2026 UK data, the Google Project Management Certificate appeared in none of the 6,205 project-manager ads and the Google IT Support Professional Certificate in one of the 1,286 IT-support ads. The Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate appeared in none of the 235 security-analyst ads and the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate in none of the 741 data-analyst ads.
How should you use this list to pick a certification?
Start from a job title, then look at certifications.
- If you have no target job yet, pick two job titles you could apply for within a year, such as IT support and project manager, and read both lists here.
- Note the top two or three rows of each, and check how each row is counted to see whether a row is one exam or a whole brand.
- Look those certifications up in the vendor rules for beginners and set aside any whose experience rule you do not meet yet.
- Read ten current UK ads for that job on any job board and note which call a certification required and which call it preferred.
- Open the certificate page for exam format and costs, and the role page for the skills the ads name.
For two certifications that compete for the same UK job, our comparisons cover PMP vs PRINCE2, ITIL vs PMP, CompTIA A+ vs Network+, CCNA vs CCNP, CISM vs CISSP and CISSP vs Security+. The career-change guide is for people moving from another field, and the US ranking gives the same job lists for US ads.
What we did not check
- Pay: this page does not cover salaries, and we did not use pay data from the ONS (Office for National Statistics).
- Whether our
program managertitle search also returns UK ads titledprogramme manager. - Ads that Adzuna does not list, and duplicates: the same vacancy posted twice can be counted twice.
- Certifications and qualifications outside our catalog: a UK scheme we do not track gets no row.
- Exam prices, pass rates and how many people hold each certification.
Sources
Job-ad counts: Adzuna, UK job ads for October 2026, counted as our methodology describes. Vendor pages were read on October 3, 2026; the APM page was re-read on October 8, 2026.
- Adzuna UK job search: adzuna.co.uk
- Association for Project Management, Project Management Qualification
- PeopleCert, PRINCE2 7 Foundation and PRINCE2 7 Practitioner
- PMI, CAPM Handbook and PMP certification page
- CompTIA, A+ and Security+ pages; Microsoft, AZ-104 study guide; Cisco, CCNA page; ISC2, CISSP experience requirements
Questions people ask
Which certifications do UK employers name most in job ads?
It depends on the job. In UK job ads counted by Adzuna, a job-ad search site, in October 2026, PRINCE2 (a project-management certification from PeopleCert) appeared in 14% of 6,205 project-manager ads. The CISSP (a certification from ISC2 that requires five years of experience; a degree or an approved certification can replace one year) appeared in 12% of 235 ads with security analyst in the title.
Do UK project-manager ads name PRINCE2 or the PMP?
Both appear. In October 2026 Adzuna data, PRINCE2 (PeopleCert's project-management certification) appeared in 14% of 6,205 UK project-manager ads. The PMP (Project Management Professional, from the Project Management Institute) appeared in 6.9%. For a first exam, look at PRINCE2 Foundation, the entry level: PRINCE2 heads this list, and PeopleCert's page states no prerequisite for Foundation. The PMP requires two to five years of experience leading projects.
Which certifications do UK IT-support job ads name?
In UK ads with it support in the title that Adzuna returned for October 2026, ITIL (a set of practices for running IT services, from PeopleCert) appeared in 7.4% of 1,286. CompTIA A+ (a two-exam IT-support certification from CompTIA, an IT-skills certification body) appeared in 6.5%, and any mention of the CompTIA brand in 6.7%.
What is the APM PMQ?
The APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) comes from the Association for Project Management and is assessed by a 2.5-hour online exam of 40 questions. On the page we read, APM names no entry requirement and describes typical candidates as people with two to three years of project experience. In UK job ads counted by Adzuna in October 2026, the letters pmq appeared in 4.3% of 6,205 project-manager ads.
Does a certification named in a UK job ad mean it is required?
It can be a requirement, a preference or an offer to pay for training. Our counts from Adzuna, a job-ad search site, include every ad that contains the certification's name, whatever the ad says about it. The PMP (Project Management Professional) appeared in 6.9% of 6,205 UK project-manager ads in October 2026, and that share cannot tell you how many of those ads made it a condition. Read current ads for the job you want to see which.
Which certification can a beginner take first for UK jobs?
PRINCE2 Foundation, the APM PMQ and CAPM (all project-management qualifications), CompTIA A+ and Security+, AZ-104 (a Microsoft cloud exam) and the CCNA set no required work experience in their vendors' rules. CompTIA, an IT-skills certification body, recommends experience for A+ and Security+; the CCNA comes from Cisco, a networking-equipment maker. In UK job ads counted by Adzuna in October 2026, PRINCE2 appeared in 14% of 6,205 project-manager ads and the CCNA in 11% of 658 network-engineer ads.