Customer service managers plan, organise and co-ordinate resources necessary for receiving and dealing with the responses, complaints or further requirements of purchasers and users of a product or service, and manage customer service occupations.
Also calledHelpdesk managerHelp desk managerCustomer care managerHead of customer servicesReservations managerRegional hotline managerand 21 more titles
Recruitment from abroad. 22 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, Italy, Pakistan, ranking it 175th of 313. Home Office
Who does it
ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
17%aged 55 or over
41%hold a degree
55%women
Age of customer services managers
Age profile of customer services managers
6.3%!
23%!
25%
28%
16%!
1.3%!
16–2425–3435–4445–5455–6465+
!Small sample: treat with cautionShow as table
16–24
6.3% (small sample)
25–34
23% (small sample)
35–44
25%
45–54
28%
55–64
16% (small sample)
65+
1.3% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Highest qualification held by customer services managers
Degree or equivalent41%
Higher education below degree!7.7%
A levels or equivalent27%
GCSEs or equivalent16%
Other qualifications!3.6%
No qualifications!1.9%
!Small sample: treat with cautionShow as table
Degree or equivalent
41%
Higher education below degree
7.7% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent
27%
GCSEs or equivalent
16%
Other qualifications
3.6% (small sample)
No qualifications
1.9% (small sample)
Main employers: general public administration activities (6.1%), gambling and betting activities (6%), computer consultancy activities (3%), other social work activities without accommodation nec (2.8%).
How to get in
Hold a degree
41%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work
Routes in
You can get into this job through:
University
You could do a degree, then apply for a graduate management trainee scheme with a company or organisation.
Most subjects are acceptable, though some employers may prefer you to have a degree in a subject relevant to their industry.
Examples include:
business management
retail management
tourism and hospitality
financial services
On a graduate scheme, you would get to experience different parts of an organisation, learning how they work, before concentrating on customer service operations.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
College
You could do a college course, which may help you to find a trainee assistant manager position.
Courses include:
customer service
online customer experience
business administration
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Customer Service Specialist Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship. Once complete, you would take further training to move into a management job.
You may also be able to do a higher or degree apprenticeship in management in your particular industry. This could then lead into customer service management roles.
Many industries offer management apprenticeships, for example:
marketing
retail
hospitality
passenger transport
finance
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Other ways in
Work your way up
You could work as a customer service adviser and train on the job to become a team supervisor, assistant manager, then manager.
There are a lot of customer service training courses and your employer would advise you on which ones are the most relevant to the industry you work in.
Other routes
You could choose to do general management qualifications to help you get into this career.
These qualifications are offered by professional bodies, such as the Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Management Institute.
Registration and professional bodies
Professional and industry bodies
You could join The Institute of Customer Service to use their resources and find professional development training opportunities.
Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for customer services manager. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The work
ONS · ESCO · O*NET
Typical tasks
develops and implements policies and procedures to deal effectively with customer requirements and complaints
co-ordinates and controls the work of those within customer services departments
discusses customer responses with other managers with a view to improving the product or service provided
plans and co-ordinates the operations of help and advisory services to provide support for customers and users
Skills
recruit employees
analyse staff capacity
present reports
train employees
analyse call performance trends
create solutions to problems
manage staff
perform data analysis
apply information security policies
create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement
forecast workload
measure call quality
measure customer feedback
supervise work
Knowledge
call quality assurance management
information confidentiality
call-centre technologies
call routing
customer service
accounting techniques
teamwork principles
characteristics of products
Suits people who like
Organising and following procedures
Leading and persuading
Outlook
DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for administrative occupations, a group of 20 jobs that includes customer services managers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 381,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.
This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.
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