You don't say what he is specialist in/manager of but assuming it's something networks/infrastructure etc related then most companies will look for experience and not necessarily qualifications for a job at his level. And there are loads of IT vacancies at the moment and loads of companies offering wfh or at least hybrid working.

I'd suggest he updates his CV and puts in up on linked in as a minimum step.
And has a look at job adverts. It's an employee's market at the moment in IT.

IT is a huge field these days with many specialties and skills. If you can post some more specific info on what type of work and systems he has experience with then I think you will get more specific advice.
It may help him to do some online qualifications on cloud based infrastructure such as AWS or MS Azure for example as these are areas in high demand.

I was going to suggest AWS or Azure, so Infrastructure side of things. I recommend self directed study for Azure, looking to do the AZ900 Microsoft certificate exam. They have free resources for study and the exam isn't too expensive. From there is lot of different tracks and all training can be done from home with your own PC.

If he’s managing the IT needs of various sites then presumably his skill set is on the infrastructure / sysadmin side?

In which case, he should look for roles in those fields?

Depending on what precise skills he has I am sure a salary north of 53k is achievable.

Would need to know precise skill set to advise further!

Definitely get a LinkedIn profile. Look at a load of jobs, see what the current buzzwords are, and tailor profile accordingly. What he's got there would match quite a few of my colleagues- experience more than qualifications.

If he's a small co IT manager, he'll probably be responsible for keeping their pcs and network running, managing cyber security, server maintenance, software licensing etc. Possibly audiovisual and voice as well.

If he has multiple sites, then wide area comms and data/security laws in different countries.

He must know the bits he likes best so why doesn't he look on LinkedIn to see which jobs are in demand and better paid locally. That should tell him where to focus his skills.

my OP said he’s an IT Manager

Yes, but that's like saying he works in retail. It could mean a huge range of things. What's his skill set and what is he interested in? Most people specialise in different "bits" of IT (I work in IT, but would have no interest in learning more about AWS/Azure as suggested by PPs for example).

I think there’s two basic choices here.

You could stick with a generalist skill set, and you’re probably looking at similar sized firms and similar roles?

Or perhaps focusing on one / two specialist areas here, figuring out if certification is a big deal in the market (try speaking to a recruiter, they can offer useful insight into market conditions). Obviously some specialities care more about certification than others (eg networking).

Any chance of getting current employer to put you through certification? Or it might be worth it shelling out yourself.

Spinning yourself as a devops or cloud infrastructure specialist is good PR in the current market!

Lots of ways to skin this cat, IMO, I don’t think you’ll have trouble once you settle on a strategy.

Sorry, my last response crossposted with yours. Are there bits of that quite varied list that appeal more? Something like an Operations Manager or Operations Support manager might be a job role to look for? Or a more specialist role like Server Engineer/Management or Networks Engineer if you want to specialise into a particular area? You should also consider whether you might like to move into general management (e.g. budgets, planning, strategic direction, probably more people management) where some more formal training might be more beneficial or stick more to being a technical expert.

I would think your level of experience would negate the need for formal certificates. Although if you wanted to specialise into something you might have to go into a mid-level job and work up.

Has he considered IT project management? I know he likes the techie side of things but with a PM role its nothing like line managing people, someone else does that. You can get a Prince 2 cert quite easily and same probably goes for Agile type stuff. With his background as a jack of all trades and interest in process/system improvements he might find he is ideally suited.

He could try a permie role for a bit to get the experience under his belt and then start contracting.

It sounds like a process improvement analyst or even a business analyst job might suit? I think the general IT background would be useful for either job (so often these jobs are done by people who are more business specialists and don't have so much of an interest in the supporting infrastructure so that would definitely be a benefit). Or if the company has embraced DevOps then the all round skill set would be welcomed. You need to think about how to market your transferable skills on a cv.

look on jobs boards to see what is out there and where the gaps are in the cv - maybe chat with a recruiter???. Sometimes a remote role with a slight pay cut may be possible if you factor in the reduced fuel (though maybe increased home energy costs). Perhaps devops or cloud roles may be of interest? I am interested in breaking into this area - I have done aws cloud foundation cert(I’m sure azure have one that would fit more with his experience). I hope to learn docker. Kubernetes and terraform have certs too - which I hope I will get in time. I don’t think the certs are a replacement for commercial experience, but I am hoping it shows initiative and ability to learn (haven’t actually tried applying yet).

I would suggest go down the CRM route or even RPA (robotics). Definitely look different delivery approaches, most organisations are using scrum agile these days and it can be a bit of learning curve, but a really good collaborative way of working.

My partner is in IT and says that Salesforce developers are like gold dust. Commanding £600 a day upwards as contractors and he thinks they are taking on more than one contract at a time. So if you are interested in the CRM side of things and have a good Azure background then if you get some training in that area you could have plenty of options. Its all remote working too.

If he's quite techy combining those skills with Robotics might work - hits the process improvement button. Try looking up lean six sigma type courses as well for PI.

Also maybe functional consultant - covers all areas from working with businesses to define processes through testing and deployment of new systems.

Hi, my partner works in IT for a bank. I'm no expert whatsoever, not even sure what he exactly does! But I did want to raise a few maybe relevant points -

(1) he does have degree-level qualifications but none of them are in anything IT related whatsoever. My impression is that it's skills and experience that are much more important than formal qualifications.

(2) He has worked in technical developer type roles and is now doing more project management - his days are now essentially endless meetings! He says he is by no means an expert on all the technical aspects but his skill set is managing those who are the experts and keeping projects on track, identifying technical issues etc.

(3) He has been at his current employer for around 4 years - there has been quite few opportunities to progress, develop skills etc. His salary has increased in that time. I think it's worth considering whether you could initially take a bit of a pay cut if it was for a role with good progression opportunities. Also important to way up whole package - base salary, bonuses, pension etc.

Good luck!

*meant, 'quite a few opportunities'