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 23 July 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 168 104 67
Rank change year-on-year -64 -37 +14
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 832 835 1,261
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.58% 2.56% 3.07%
As % of the General category 2.88% 4.07% 5.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 469 488 605
10th Percentile £213 £300 £200
25th Percentile £398 £392 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £470 £475
Median % change year-on-year +1.06% -1.05% -3.06%
75th Percentile £575 £582 £607
90th Percentile £694 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £455 £475
% change year-on-year -1.10% -4.21% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 44 47 107
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.70 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £22.75 £20.75 £48.56
Median % change year-on-year +9.64% -57.27% -7.50%
75th Percentile £50.00 £53.63 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £48.56
% change year-on-year +35.48% -68.08% +55.39%

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 28,911 20,540 23,548
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.83% 62.88% 57.33%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,215 12,857 14,814
10th Percentile £313 £280 £282
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £630 £634 £650
90th Percentile £738 £750 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £470 £490
% change year-on-year +6.38% -4.08% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,025 1,069 1,632
10th Percentile £14.04 £13.33 £13.50
25th Percentile £18.32 £16.30 £16.25
Median hourly rate £32.81 £26.00 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +26.17% -25.71% +14.68%
75th Percentile £61.50 £51.90 £56.31
90th Percentile £81.05 £71.30 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.00 £22.63 £35.00
% change year-on-year +45.82% -35.34% +34.62%

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 23 July 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 23 July 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 23 July 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 -80 705 £475 -1.04% 690
UK excluding London -81 425 £450 -1.10% 519
London -29 308 £517 +8.74% 265
Work from Home -49 236 £475 - 246
South East -54 191 £460 -8.00% 181
North of England -51 67 £500 -2.44% 108
South West -70 47 £450 -14.29% 48
Scotland +8 46 £300 -7.69% 49
Midlands -60 40 £475 +20.63% 72
West Midlands -68 35 £460 +20.66% 47
East of England -20 34 £160 -58.71% 47
Yorkshire -30 31 £475 +22.58% 25
North West -48 31 £550 +4.76% 71
East Midlands -10 5 £500 - 25
North East -34 5 £500 - 14
Northern Ireland +1 3 £175 -51.05% 2
Wales -19 1 £500 +132.56% 25

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 13 (1.56%) Confluence
1 13 (1.56%) OpenStack
2 11 (1.32%) ArcGIS
3 9 (1.08%) SharePoint
4 7 (0.84%) Apache Airflow
4 7 (0.84%) Microsoft Exchange
5 4 (0.48%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.48%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.24%) Apache
6 2 (0.24%) Appian
6 2 (0.24%) CMS
6 2 (0.24%) Oracle Spatial
7 1 (0.12%) Camunda
7 1 (0.12%) IIS
7 1 (0.12%) JBoss
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Smallworld
7 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 26 (3.13%) Microsoft Office
2 24 (2.88%) Microsoft Excel
3 19 (2.28%) MS Visio
4 10 (1.20%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.60%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.24%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.12%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.12%) Revit
7 1 (0.12%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 19 (2.28%) SAP PSCD
2 11 (1.32%) SAP BRIM
3 9 (1.08%) Remedy ITSM
3 9 (1.08%) SAP Hybris
4 8 (0.96%) SAP FI
5 7 (0.84%) SAP FI-CA
6 5 (0.60%) NetSuite
6 5 (0.60%) Sage X3
6 5 (0.60%) Salesforce CRM
6 5 (0.60%) SAP S/4HANA
7 4 (0.48%) BambooHR
7 4 (0.48%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.36%) SAP ERP
9 2 (0.24%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
10 1 (0.12%) Oracle BRM
10 1 (0.12%) SAP FS
10 1 (0.12%) SAP IBP
10 1 (0.12%) SAP IS-U
10 1 (0.12%) SAP SRM
10 1 (0.12%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 96 (11.54%) Azure
2 87 (10.46%) AWS
3 62 (7.45%) GCP
4 20 (2.40%) Power Platform
5 18 (2.16%) Microsoft 365
6 16 (1.92%) SaaS
7 14 (1.68%) Entra ID
7 14 (1.68%) GitHub
8 11 (1.32%) SAP Commerce Cloud
9 10 (1.20%) Snowflake
10 9 (1.08%) Azure DevOps
10 9 (1.08%) dbt
10 9 (1.08%) GitHub Actions
11 7 (0.84%) Cloud Computing
12 6 (0.72%) Cloud Functions
12 6 (0.72%) Datadog
12 6 (0.72%) OpenShift
12 6 (0.72%) Serverless
13 5 (0.60%) Fivetran
13 5 (0.60%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 96 (11.54%) WAN
2 80 (9.62%) LAN
3 72 (8.65%) MPLS
4 69 (8.29%) 5G
5 52 (6.25%) Firewall
6 49 (5.89%) 4G
7 46 (5.53%) Radio Access Network
8 33 (3.97%) SD-WAN
9 29 (3.49%) BGP
10 28 (3.37%) DNS
11 26 (3.13%) Network Security
12 25 (3.00%) VPN
13 23 (2.76%) 3G
13 23 (2.76%) Wi-Fi
14 21 (2.52%) SDH
14 21 (2.52%) TCP/IP
14 21 (2.52%) VoIP
15 19 (2.28%) OSPF
16 18 (2.16%) 3GPP
16 18 (2.16%) LTE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (2.28%) Power BI
2 17 (2.04%) Data Warehouse
3 15 (1.80%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.44%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.44%) Looker
5 11 (1.32%) GIS
6 10 (1.20%) Tableau
7 7 (0.84%) Big Data
8 6 (0.72%) NoSQL
9 5 (0.60%) SQL Server
10 4 (0.48%) Apache Cassandra
10 4 (0.48%) MySQL
10 4 (0.48%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.36%) Amazon Athena
11 3 (0.36%) BusinessObjects
11 3 (0.36%) Data Lake
11 3 (0.36%) InfluxDB
11 3 (0.36%) Oracle Database
11 3 (0.36%) Semantic Layer
11 3 (0.36%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 27 (3.25%) JIRA
2 14 (1.68%) Git
3 7 (0.84%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.36%) GitLab
4 3 (0.36%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.24%) Robot Framework
5 2 (0.24%) Selenium
6 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.12%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.12%) TestRail
General
1 242 (29.09%) Social Skills
2 127 (15.26%) Finance
3 108 (12.98%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (7.57%) Public Sector
5 37 (4.45%) Billing
6 31 (3.73%) Documentation Skills
7 25 (3.00%) Retail
8 23 (2.76%) Organisational Skills
9 21 (2.52%) Legal
10 20 (2.40%) Influencing Skills
10 20 (2.40%) Marketing
11 13 (1.56%) Aerospace
11 13 (1.56%) Presentation Skills
12 10 (1.20%) Manufacturing
13 8 (0.96%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 8 (0.96%) Police
13 8 (0.96%) Publishing
14 6 (0.72%) Electronics
15 4 (0.48%) Military
16 3 (0.36%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 133 (15.99%) Architect
2 75 (9.01%) Senior
3 65 (7.81%) Consultant
3 65 (7.81%) Lead
4 62 (7.45%) Analyst
5 48 (5.77%) Project Manager
5 48 (5.77%) Solutions Architect
6 45 (5.41%) Network Engineer
7 39 (4.69%) Telecoms Manager
8 35 (4.21%) Designer
9 33 (3.97%) Telecoms Engineer
10 31 (3.73%) Field Engineer
10 31 (3.73%) ServiceNow Architect
11 27 (3.25%) Data Engineer
11 27 (3.25%) Developer
12 25 (3.00%) Enterprise Architect
13 21 (2.52%) Business Analyst
13 21 (2.52%) Delivery Manager
13 21 (2.52%) Telecoms Architect
14 20 (2.40%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 48 (5.77%) REST
2 34 (4.09%) SOAP
3 14 (1.68%) Kafka
4 13 (1.56%) ONVIF
5 12 (1.44%) Middleware
5 12 (1.44%) XML
6 10 (1.20%) NETCONF
6 10 (1.20%) YANG
7 9 (1.08%) OpenAPI
7 9 (1.08%) Swagger
8 8 (0.96%) .NET
8 8 (0.96%) AngularJS
8 8 (0.96%) Elastic Stack
8 8 (0.96%) React
8 8 (0.96%) RESTful
9 7 (0.84%) JSON
10 6 (0.72%) HTML
11 5 (0.60%) 802.1X
11 5 (0.60%) CSS
12 4 (0.48%) RAML
Miscellaneous
1 51 (6.13%) CMDB
2 48 (5.77%) Data Centre
3 34 (4.09%) Onboarding
4 33 (3.97%) Cloud Native
5 29 (3.49%) Driving Licence
6 20 (2.40%) Data Protection Act
7 19 (2.28%) Analytical Mindset
7 19 (2.28%) Virtual Team
8 18 (2.16%) Product Ownership
9 17 (2.04%) Hybrid Cloud
9 17 (2.04%) Management Information System
10 13 (1.56%) Self-Motivation
10 13 (1.56%) Video\Live Streaming
11 11 (1.32%) Distributed Systems
12 9 (1.08%) Algorithms
12 9 (1.08%) Private Cloud
12 9 (1.08%) TM Forum
13 8 (0.96%) Data Structures
13 8 (0.96%) EPoS
14 7 (0.84%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 37 (4.45%) Windows
2 26 (3.13%) Linux
3 15 (1.80%) Windows 10
4 11 (1.32%) Unix
5 9 (1.08%) Windows Server
6 6 (0.72%) Mac OS
7 3 (0.36%) Android
7 3 (0.36%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.36%) VMS
8 2 (0.24%) Embedded Linux
8 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
8 2 (0.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.12%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.12%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 144 (17.31%) Stakeholder Management
2 118 (14.18%) Agile
3 112 (13.46%) Problem-Solving
4 86 (10.34%) ITIL
5 82 (9.86%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 79 (9.50%) Project Delivery
7 66 (7.93%) AI
8 65 (7.81%) CI/CD
8 65 (7.81%) Continuous Improvement
9 64 (7.69%) Roadmaps
10 62 (7.45%) Migration
11 61 (7.33%) Service Management
12 57 (6.85%) Decision-Making
13 55 (6.61%) Validation
14 53 (6.37%) Project Management
15 51 (6.13%) Analytics
15 51 (6.13%) Change Management
15 51 (6.13%) CRM
15 51 (6.13%) Customer Service
15 51 (6.13%) ITSM
Programming Languages
1 70 (8.41%) Python
2 40 (4.81%) SQL
3 30 (3.61%) JavaScript
4 17 (2.04%) Java
5 10 (1.20%) Bash
6 9 (1.08%) C#
6 9 (1.08%) PowerShell
7 6 (0.72%) Apex Code
7 6 (0.72%) R
8 5 (0.60%) C++
9 4 (0.48%) ABAP
9 4 (0.48%) DataWeave
9 4 (0.48%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.36%) LookML
10 3 (0.36%) Shell Script
10 3 (0.36%) SOQL
11 2 (0.24%) C
11 2 (0.24%) DCL
11 2 (0.24%) PL/SQL
12 1 (0.12%) Ada
Qualifications
1 150 (18.03%) Security Cleared
2 104 (12.50%) SC Cleared
3 75 (9.01%) Degree
4 58 (6.97%) Cisco Certification
5 39 (4.69%) CCNA
6 25 (3.00%) CCNP
7 22 (2.64%) DV Cleared
7 22 (2.64%) Microsoft Certification
8 20 (2.40%) A+ Certification
9 19 (2.28%) PMP
10 17 (2.04%) Computer Science Degree
11 15 (1.80%) PMI Certification
12 14 (1.68%) BPSS Clearance
13 13 (1.56%) MCSA
14 11 (1.32%) CCIE
15 10 (1.20%) Azure Certification
16 9 (1.08%) AWS Certification
17 8 (0.96%) Network+ Certification
18 7 (0.84%) CISSP
19 6 (0.72%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (3.25%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 26 (3.13%) SLA
3 21 (2.52%) GDPR
3 21 (2.52%) GRC
3 21 (2.52%) QA
4 20 (2.40%) NCSC
5 16 (1.92%) Data Quality
6 13 (1.56%) PMO
7 10 (1.20%) NIST
8 3 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.36%) PCI DSS
8 3 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 2 (0.24%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.12%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.12%) EU AI Act
10 1 (0.12%) ISO 31000
10 1 (0.12%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 1 (0.12%) RMADS
10 1 (0.12%) SOC 1
System Software
1 20 (2.40%) Active Directory
2 18 (2.16%) Docker
2 18 (2.16%) VMware Infrastructure
3 8 (0.96%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.60%) vSphere
5 4 (0.48%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.24%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.12%) Ceph
7 1 (0.12%) KVM
7 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 48 (5.77%) Kubernetes
2 24 (2.88%) Terraform
3 18 (2.16%) Ansible
4 13 (1.56%) Grafana
4 13 (1.56%) Prometheus
5 6 (0.72%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (0.60%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (0.36%) Amdocs OSS
7 3 (0.36%) Cisco Prime
7 3 (0.36%) Iperf
7 3 (0.36%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.36%) vRealize
8 2 (0.24%) Check_MK
8 2 (0.24%) Nmap
8 2 (0.24%) NSN NetAct
8 2 (0.24%) Podman
8 2 (0.24%) QRadar
9 1 (0.12%) AirWatch
9 1 (0.12%) Proxmox
9 1 (0.12%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 109 (13.10%) Microsoft
2 92 (11.06%) Cisco
3 83 (9.98%) ServiceNow
4 46 (5.53%) Nokia
5 38 (4.57%) Salesforce
6 31 (3.73%) VMware
7 29 (3.49%) SAP
8 24 (2.88%) BT
8 24 (2.88%) Fortinet
9 22 (2.64%) Ericsson
10 21 (2.52%) Juniper
11 19 (2.28%) F5
11 19 (2.28%) Google
12 17 (2.04%) Oracle
13 16 (1.92%) Huawei
13 16 (1.92%) MuleSoft
14 15 (1.80%) Palo Alto
15 14 (1.68%) CheckPoint
16 13 (1.56%) BMC
17 10 (1.20%) Remedy