Telecoms Contract Job Trends

Telecommunications
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Telecoms in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Telecoms over the 6 months leading up to 21 May 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 179 91 65
Rank change year-on-year -88 -26 +16
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 709 791 1,316
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.47% 2.72% 3.09%
As % of the General category 2.74% 4.30% 5.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 439 444 654
10th Percentile £213 £306 £200
25th Percentile £400 £388 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £480 £450
Median % change year-on-year +0.26% +6.67% -10.00%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £592
90th Percentile £681 £700 £735
UK excluding London median daily rate £469 £468 £450
% change year-on-year +0.32% +3.89% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 47 35 96
10th Percentile £16.98 - £12.15
25th Percentile £21.00 £14.00 £13.25
Median hourly rate £23.83 £23.00 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +3.59% -58.18% +4.76%
75th Percentile £50.00 £56.38 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £70.50 £85.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.83 £22.00 £60.00
% change year-on-year +8.30% -63.33% +14.29%

All General Skills
UK

Telecoms falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 25,839 18,404 24,681
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 53.55% 63.23% 58.02%
Number of daily rates quoted 15,748 11,685 15,587
10th Percentile £311 £285 £275
25th Percentile £413 £406 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £510 £517 £525
Median % change year-on-year -1.35% -1.52% -4.55%
75th Percentile £625 £638 £650
90th Percentile £738 £763 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £490 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +3.16% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,662 799 1,924
10th Percentile £13.95 £13.89 £12.75
25th Percentile £17.50 £16.95 £15.50
Median hourly rate £30.00 £27.40 £30.00
Median % change year-on-year +9.49% -8.67% -7.69%
75th Percentile £60.00 £55.25 £52.78
90th Percentile £79.90 £75.00 £66.59
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.00 £24.50 £28.25
% change year-on-year +18.37% -13.27% -2.59%

Telecoms
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Telecoms relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Telecoms job vacancy trend in the UK

Telecoms
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Telecoms.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Telecoms

Telecoms
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Telecoms over the 6 months to 21 May 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Telecoms in the UK

Telecoms
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Telecoms.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Telecoms

Telecoms
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Telecoms over the 6 months to 21 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Telecoms in the UK

Telecoms
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Telecoms within the UK over the 6 months to 21 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
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England -92 622 £481 -2.58% 543
UK excluding London -102 362 £469 +0.32% 454
London -19 271 £500 +1.01% 190
Work from Home -47 189 £500 +5.26% 181
South East -64 147 £455 -5.31% 149
North of England -60 69 £481 -8.33% 86
Midlands -35 52 £550 +18.92% 46
South West -57 45 £511 -2.67% 54
West Midlands -41 41 £550 +18.92% 27
North West -49 33 £463 -12.32% 45
East of England -21 32 £200 -50.00% 63
Yorkshire -40 22 £481 -10.47% 36
North East -15 14 £500 -2.91% 5
Scotland -15 13 £290 -14.07% 45
East Midlands -21 11 £500 +25.00% 19
Northern Ireland -4 4 £163 -54.55% 9
Wales -11 3 £160 -56.16% 19

Telecoms
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 9 (1.27%) Confluence
2 8 (1.13%) OpenStack
3 6 (0.85%) Appian
4 5 (0.71%) Apache Airflow
4 5 (0.71%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.71%) Microsoft Exchange
5 4 (0.56%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.56%) SharePoint
6 3 (0.42%) ArcGIS
6 3 (0.42%) IIS
6 3 (0.42%) JBoss
6 3 (0.42%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 3 (0.42%) Tomcat
6 3 (0.42%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.28%) Apache
7 2 (0.28%) Oracle Spatial
8 1 (0.14%) Camunda
8 1 (0.14%) CMS
8 1 (0.14%) Smallworld
Applications
1 24 (3.39%) Microsoft Office
2 14 (1.97%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (0.99%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.71%) Microsoft Project
4 5 (0.71%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.42%) AutoCAD
6 2 (0.28%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.14%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.14%) FrameMaker
7 1 (0.14%) MadCap Flare
7 1 (0.14%) Revit
7 1 (0.14%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.14%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.14%) Trello
Business Applications
1 11 (1.55%) Remedy ITSM
1 11 (1.55%) SAP PSCD
2 10 (1.41%) SAP BRIM
3 9 (1.27%) SAP Hybris
4 6 (0.85%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 4 (0.56%) BambooHR
6 2 (0.28%) SAP FI
7 1 (0.14%) Dynamics CRM
7 1 (0.14%) Remedy AR System
7 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.14%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.14%) SAP FI/CO
7 1 (0.14%) SAP FI-CA
7 1 (0.14%) SAP IBP
7 1 (0.14%) SAP S/4HANA
7 1 (0.14%) SAP SD
7 1 (0.14%) SAP SRM
7 1 (0.14%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 60 (8.46%) Azure
2 53 (7.48%) AWS
3 31 (4.37%) GCP
4 22 (3.10%) Microsoft 365
5 20 (2.82%) Power Platform
6 14 (1.97%) SaaS
7 10 (1.41%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 8 (1.13%) dbt
9 6 (0.85%) Azure DevOps
10 5 (0.71%) Datadog
10 5 (0.71%) Salesforce Service Cloud
10 5 (0.71%) Serverless
11 4 (0.56%) AWS Lambda
11 4 (0.56%) Boomi
11 4 (0.56%) Dagster
11 4 (0.56%) Entra ID
11 4 (0.56%) Figma
11 4 (0.56%) Prefect
11 4 (0.56%) Snowflake
12 3 (0.42%) AWS Step Functions
Communications & Networking
1 43 (6.06%) 5G
2 38 (5.36%) Firewall
2 38 (5.36%) MPLS
3 37 (5.22%) WAN
4 27 (3.81%) LAN
4 27 (3.81%) Network Security
5 24 (3.39%) 4G
6 23 (3.24%) Radio Access Network
7 22 (3.10%) SD-WAN
8 21 (2.96%) BGP
8 21 (2.96%) Internet
9 19 (2.68%) VoIP
10 18 (2.54%) LTE
11 17 (2.40%) 3GPP
11 17 (2.40%) DNS
12 16 (2.26%) VPN
13 15 (2.12%) Broadband
14 13 (1.83%) HTTP
14 13 (1.83%) OSPF
15 12 (1.69%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (2.68%) Power BI
2 12 (1.69%) Data Warehouse
2 12 (1.69%) Looker
2 12 (1.69%) Tableau
3 9 (1.27%) BigQuery
4 8 (1.13%) Big Data
5 7 (0.99%) Amazon Redshift
5 7 (0.99%) Relational Database
6 6 (0.85%) SQL Server
7 5 (0.71%) MySQL
7 5 (0.71%) Oracle Database
8 3 (0.42%) Amazon Athena
8 3 (0.42%) Data Lake
8 3 (0.42%) GIS
8 3 (0.42%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.42%) Semantic Layer
8 3 (0.42%) Star Schema
9 2 (0.28%) Apache Cassandra
9 2 (0.28%) MongoDB
9 2 (0.28%) NoSQL
Development Applications
1 21 (2.96%) JIRA
2 9 (1.27%) Git
3 2 (0.28%) GitLab
3 2 (0.28%) Jenkins
3 2 (0.28%) JMeter
3 2 (0.28%) Robot Framework
4 1 (0.14%) Appium
4 1 (0.14%) Bitbucket
4 1 (0.14%) Oracle Forms
4 1 (0.14%) Sonatype Nexus
4 1 (0.14%) TestRail
General
1 191 (26.94%) Social Skills
2 133 (18.76%) Finance
3 92 (12.98%) Public Sector
4 90 (12.69%) Analytical Skills
5 57 (8.04%) Marketing
6 47 (6.63%) Electronics
7 42 (5.92%) Manufacturing
8 38 (5.36%) Billing
9 26 (3.67%) Retail
10 20 (2.82%) Organisational Skills
11 17 (2.40%) Legal
12 15 (2.12%) Documentation Skills
13 14 (1.97%) Influencing Skills
14 7 (0.99%) Presentation Skills
15 6 (0.85%) Banking
15 6 (0.85%) Military
16 5 (0.71%) Publishing
17 4 (0.56%) Aerospace
18 3 (0.42%) Financial Institution
18 3 (0.42%) Police
Job Titles
1 94 (13.26%) Architect
2 63 (8.89%) Analyst
3 55 (7.76%) Lead
4 49 (6.91%) Senior
5 41 (5.78%) Solutions Architect
6 37 (5.22%) Consultant
6 37 (5.22%) Project Manager
6 37 (5.22%) Telecoms Manager
7 35 (4.94%) Network Engineer
8 27 (3.81%) Business Analyst
9 26 (3.67%) Designer
10 25 (3.53%) Developer
10 25 (3.53%) ServiceNow Architect
11 21 (2.96%) Data Engineer
12 19 (2.68%) Programme Manager
13 18 (2.54%) Sales Manager
14 16 (2.26%) Enterprise Architect
15 14 (1.97%) Delivery Manager
15 14 (1.97%) IT Analyst
15 14 (1.97%) Telecoms Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (4.94%) REST
2 21 (2.96%) SOAP
3 11 (1.55%) Middleware
4 10 (1.41%) Kafka
5 8 (1.13%) .NET
5 8 (1.13%) Elastic Stack
5 8 (1.13%) XML
6 6 (0.85%) JSON
6 6 (0.85%) OpenAPI
6 6 (0.85%) Swagger
7 5 (0.71%) ONVIF
8 4 (0.56%) RAML
8 4 (0.56%) RESTful
9 3 (0.42%) .NET Framework
9 3 (0.42%) 802.1X
9 3 (0.42%) GraphQL
9 3 (0.42%) RabbitMQ
9 3 (0.42%) RFC 2544
9 3 (0.42%) Web Services
10 2 (0.28%) Yocto
Miscellaneous
1 31 (4.37%) Onboarding
2 27 (3.81%) Data Centre
3 26 (3.67%) Data Protection Act
4 20 (2.82%) Product Ownership
5 19 (2.68%) CMDB
6 17 (2.40%) Cloud Native
6 17 (2.40%) Driving Licence
7 16 (2.26%) Virtual Team
8 12 (1.69%) Distributed Systems
9 10 (1.41%) Analytical Mindset
10 9 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
11 8 (1.13%) EPoS
11 8 (1.13%) Management Information System
11 8 (1.13%) TM Forum
12 7 (0.99%) Hybrid Cloud
12 7 (0.99%) NHS
13 6 (0.85%) IoT
13 6 (0.85%) Legacy Systems
13 6 (0.85%) Web Conferencing
14 5 (0.71%) Algorithms
Operating Systems
1 30 (4.23%) Windows
2 24 (3.39%) Linux
3 15 (2.12%) Windows 10
4 11 (1.55%) Unix
5 5 (0.71%) Android
6 4 (0.56%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 3 (0.42%) Debian
7 3 (0.42%) Ubuntu
7 3 (0.42%) VMS
7 3 (0.42%) Windows Server
8 2 (0.28%) Apple iOS
8 2 (0.28%) Embedded Linux
8 2 (0.28%) Mac OS
9 1 (0.14%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.14%) Windows 7
9 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2016
9 1 (0.14%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 110 (15.51%) Stakeholder Management
2 91 (12.83%) Agile
3 89 (12.55%) Problem-Solving
4 66 (9.31%) ITIL
5 63 (8.89%) Continuous Improvement
6 59 (8.32%) Business Intelligence
7 55 (7.76%) Project Management
8 54 (7.62%) Decision-Making
9 53 (7.48%) Migration
9 53 (7.48%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 48 (6.77%) Analytics
11 47 (6.63%) Customer Service
12 46 (6.49%) Project Delivery
13 45 (6.35%) Programme Management
14 44 (6.21%) Roadmaps
15 41 (5.78%) Data Protection
16 39 (5.50%) Digital Marketing
16 39 (5.50%) ITSM
17 38 (5.36%) CRM
18 37 (5.22%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 49 (6.91%) Python
2 36 (5.08%) SQL
3 16 (2.26%) Java
4 13 (1.83%) JavaScript
5 9 (1.27%) Bash
5 9 (1.27%) C#
6 8 (1.13%) C++
7 6 (0.85%) R
8 4 (0.56%) DataWeave
8 4 (0.56%) PowerShell
9 3 (0.42%) Apex Code
9 3 (0.42%) C
9 3 (0.42%) Go
9 3 (0.42%) LookML
9 3 (0.42%) TypeScript
10 2 (0.28%) PL/SQL
10 2 (0.28%) Shell Script
11 1 (0.14%) ABAP
11 1 (0.14%) Kotlin
11 1 (0.14%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 124 (17.49%) Security Cleared
2 94 (13.26%) SC Cleared
3 65 (9.17%) Degree
4 27 (3.81%) Cisco Certification
5 23 (3.24%) DV Cleared
6 18 (2.54%) Computer Science Degree
7 17 (2.40%) Microsoft Certification
8 16 (2.26%) CCNP
9 15 (2.12%) A+ Certification
10 14 (1.97%) CCNA
10 14 (1.97%) PMP
11 13 (1.83%) BPSS Clearance
12 9 (1.27%) Network+ Certification
12 9 (1.27%) PMI Certification
13 8 (1.13%) Master's Degree
14 7 (0.99%) ACCA
14 7 (0.99%) CIMA
15 6 (0.85%) CCIE
16 5 (0.71%) ITIL Certification
16 5 (0.71%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (3.10%) SLA
2 18 (2.54%) GDPR
2 18 (2.54%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 16 (2.26%) PMO
3 16 (2.26%) QA
4 13 (1.83%) Data Quality
4 13 (1.83%) NCSC
5 9 (1.27%) NIST
6 8 (1.13%) GRC
7 7 (0.99%) RMADS
8 5 (0.71%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.28%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.14%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 1 (0.14%) EU AI Act
10 1 (0.14%) HIPAA
10 1 (0.14%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 1 (0.14%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.14%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 1 (0.14%) SOC 1
10 1 (0.14%) WCAG
System Software
1 16 (2.26%) Active Directory
2 10 (1.41%) Docker
3 8 (1.13%) VMware Infrastructure
4 4 (0.56%) vSphere
5 3 (0.42%) Hyper-V
5 3 (0.42%) QEMU
6 2 (0.28%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.28%) VMware NSX
7 1 (0.14%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 34 (4.80%) Kubernetes
2 13 (1.83%) Ansible
3 12 (1.69%) Grafana
3 12 (1.69%) Prometheus
4 8 (1.13%) Terraform
5 4 (0.56%) Cisco Prime
6 3 (0.42%) Iperf
6 3 (0.42%) Podman
7 2 (0.28%) Amdocs OSS
7 2 (0.28%) FortiGate
7 2 (0.28%) Microsoft Intune
7 2 (0.28%) Nmap
7 2 (0.28%) NSN NetAct
7 2 (0.28%) SCCM
7 2 (0.28%) vCenter Server
7 2 (0.28%) vRealize
8 1 (0.14%) Cisco CUCM
8 1 (0.14%) Data Guard
8 1 (0.14%) Kibana
8 1 (0.14%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 82 (11.57%) Microsoft
2 62 (8.74%) ServiceNow
3 61 (8.60%) Cisco
4 57 (8.04%) SAP
5 37 (5.22%) Nokia
6 25 (3.53%) Salesforce
7 21 (2.96%) Oracle
8 20 (2.82%) BT
9 19 (2.68%) Ericsson
10 16 (2.26%) Fortinet
10 16 (2.26%) Juniper
11 14 (1.97%) CheckPoint
11 14 (1.97%) Google
11 14 (1.97%) Huawei
12 13 (1.83%) Remedy
13 11 (1.55%) F5
13 11 (1.55%) MuleSoft
13 11 (1.55%) VMware
14 10 (1.41%) Palo Alto
15 9 (1.27%) Meraki