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

6 months to
11 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 177 102 67
Rank change year-on-year -75 -35 +15
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 795 826 1,317
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.50% 2.55% 3.06%
As % of the General category 2.74% 4.04% 5.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 460 474 621
10th Percentile £213 £303 £200
25th Percentile £368 £400 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year -0.05% - -1.96%
75th Percentile £550 £588 £613
90th Percentile £669 £700 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £463 £460
% change year-on-year -2.70% +0.54% +2.22%
Number of hourly rates quoted 43 45 106
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.73 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £24.50 £23.00 £46.78
Median % change year-on-year +6.52% -50.83% -9.17%
75th Percentile £50.00 £57.50 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £46.78
% change year-on-year +35.48% -66.87% +87.12%

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 29,012 20,465 24,598
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.85% 63.06% 57.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,395 12,853 15,377
10th Percentile £313 £281 £277
25th Percentile £413 £402 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +4.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £626 £638 £650
90th Percentile £738 £750 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £472 £490
% change year-on-year +5.88% -3.62% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,002 1,036 1,895
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.36 £12.88
25th Percentile £18.38 £16.30 £15.95
Median hourly rate £32.50 £27.17 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year +19.63% -16.41% +6.42%
75th Percentile £61.18 £53.56 £55.00
90th Percentile £81.05 £71.88 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £23.00 £31.89
% change year-on-year +41.30% -27.87% +22.63%

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 11 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 11 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 11 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 -83 681 £475 -3.06% 626
UK excluding London -92 414 £450 -2.70% 503
London -36 290 £500 +2.04% 220
Work from Home -44 222 £475 - 232
South East -52 188 £465 -7.00% 185
North of England -57 63 £508 +1.50% 100
South West -60 49 £450 -14.29% 42
Scotland 0 39 £300 -7.69% 49
Midlands -62 39 £475 +24.59% 71
East of England -15 36 £190 -50.97% 45
North West -50 34 £550 +4.76% 58
West Midlands -72 33 £460 +31.43% 48
Yorkshire -40 23 £600 +54.84% 35
East Midlands -17 6 £500 -20.00% 23
North East -27 6 £500 - 9
Northern Ireland 0 3 £175 -51.05% 7
Wales -18 1 £500 +132.56% 18

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 (1.64%) OpenStack
2 10 (1.26%) Confluence
3 7 (0.88%) Apache Airflow
3 7 (0.88%) SharePoint
4 6 (0.75%) Appian
4 6 (0.75%) ArcGIS
5 4 (0.50%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.50%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.38%) IIS
6 3 (0.38%) JBoss
6 3 (0.38%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 3 (0.38%) Tomcat
6 3 (0.38%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.25%) Apache
7 2 (0.25%) CMS
7 2 (0.25%) Oracle Spatial
8 1 (0.13%) Camunda
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.13%) Smallworld
Applications
1 25 (3.14%) Microsoft Excel
1 25 (3.14%) Microsoft Office
2 18 (2.26%) MS Visio
3 11 (1.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.63%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.63%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.25%) MicroStation
6 1 (0.13%) Autodesk Inventor
6 1 (0.13%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.13%) Revit
6 1 (0.13%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.13%) Trello
Business Applications
1 22 (2.77%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.76%) Remedy ITSM
3 13 (1.64%) SAP BRIM
4 12 (1.51%) SAP Hybris
5 7 (0.88%) SAP FI
6 6 (0.75%) SAP FI-CA
7 5 (0.63%) NetSuite
7 5 (0.63%) Sage X3
7 5 (0.63%) Salesforce CRM
8 4 (0.50%) BambooHR
8 4 (0.50%) Remedy AR System
9 3 (0.38%) SAP ERP
10 2 (0.25%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
11 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
11 1 (0.13%) SAP CO
11 1 (0.13%) SAP FI/CO
11 1 (0.13%) SAP IBP
11 1 (0.13%) SAP S/4HANA
11 1 (0.13%) SAP SRM
11 1 (0.13%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 78 (9.81%) Azure
2 73 (9.18%) AWS
3 47 (5.91%) GCP
4 19 (2.39%) Power Platform
5 17 (2.14%) Microsoft 365
5 17 (2.14%) SaaS
6 14 (1.76%) SAP Commerce Cloud
7 10 (1.26%) Snowflake
8 9 (1.13%) dbt
9 8 (1.01%) Azure DevOps
9 8 (1.01%) Entra ID
9 8 (1.01%) GitHub
9 8 (1.01%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.75%) Datadog
10 6 (0.75%) OpenShift
10 6 (0.75%) Serverless
11 5 (0.63%) AWS Lambda
11 5 (0.63%) Cloud Functions
11 5 (0.63%) Fivetran
11 5 (0.63%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 83 (10.44%) WAN
2 72 (9.06%) LAN
3 71 (8.93%) MPLS
4 64 (8.05%) 5G
5 44 (5.53%) 4G
5 44 (5.53%) Firewall
6 43 (5.41%) Radio Access Network
7 33 (4.15%) SD-WAN
8 32 (4.03%) BGP
9 23 (2.89%) Network Security
10 21 (2.64%) OSPF
10 21 (2.64%) VoIP
11 20 (2.52%) 3G
11 20 (2.52%) SDH
11 20 (2.52%) VPN
12 19 (2.39%) DNS
12 19 (2.39%) LTE
13 17 (2.14%) 3GPP
13 17 (2.14%) VLAN
14 16 (2.01%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.26%) Power BI
2 16 (2.01%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.76%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.51%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.51%) Looker
4 12 (1.51%) Tableau
5 7 (0.88%) Big Data
5 7 (0.88%) Relational Database
6 6 (0.75%) GIS
7 5 (0.63%) MySQL
8 4 (0.50%) Oracle Database
9 3 (0.38%) Amazon Athena
9 3 (0.38%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.38%) InfluxDB
9 3 (0.38%) PostgreSQL
9 3 (0.38%) SAP BW
9 3 (0.38%) SAP Data Services
9 3 (0.38%) Semantic Layer
9 3 (0.38%) SQL Server
9 3 (0.38%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 25 (3.14%) JIRA
2 10 (1.26%) Git
3 5 (0.63%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.38%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.25%) GitLab
5 2 (0.25%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.13%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.13%) JMeter
6 1 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.13%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.13%) TestRail
General
1 231 (29.06%) Social Skills
2 131 (16.48%) Finance
3 110 (13.84%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (7.92%) Public Sector
5 46 (5.79%) Billing
6 31 (3.90%) Documentation Skills
7 27 (3.40%) Retail
8 21 (2.64%) Marketing
8 21 (2.64%) Organisational Skills
9 20 (2.52%) Legal
10 18 (2.26%) Influencing Skills
11 11 (1.38%) Presentation Skills
12 8 (1.01%) Aerospace
12 8 (1.01%) Electronics
12 8 (1.01%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 7 (0.88%) Manufacturing
13 7 (0.88%) Police
13 7 (0.88%) Publishing
14 4 (0.50%) Military
15 3 (0.38%) Banking
Job Titles
1 115 (14.47%) Architect
2 68 (8.55%) Consultant
3 66 (8.30%) Senior
4 65 (8.18%) Lead
5 61 (7.67%) Analyst
6 44 (5.53%) Network Engineer
7 43 (5.41%) Solutions Architect
8 41 (5.16%) Project Manager
9 40 (5.03%) Telecoms Manager
10 30 (3.77%) Designer
11 29 (3.65%) Telecoms Engineer
12 27 (3.40%) Developer
13 25 (3.14%) Data Engineer
13 25 (3.14%) Field Engineer
13 25 (3.14%) ServiceNow Architect
14 23 (2.89%) SAP Consultant
15 21 (2.64%) Delivery Manager
15 21 (2.64%) Enterprise Architect
16 19 (2.39%) Business Analyst
17 18 (2.26%) Programme Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 45 (5.66%) REST
2 31 (3.90%) SOAP
3 13 (1.64%) Middleware
3 13 (1.64%) ONVIF
4 12 (1.51%) Kafka
5 10 (1.26%) NETCONF
5 10 (1.26%) XML
5 10 (1.26%) YANG
6 9 (1.13%) .NET
6 9 (1.13%) Elastic Stack
7 8 (1.01%) OpenAPI
7 8 (1.01%) Swagger
8 7 (0.88%) JSON
8 7 (0.88%) RESTful
9 4 (0.50%) .NET Framework
9 4 (0.50%) OpenConfig
9 4 (0.50%) RAML
9 4 (0.50%) RESTCONF
9 4 (0.50%) Web Services
10 3 (0.38%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 48 (6.04%) Data Centre
2 45 (5.66%) CMDB
3 35 (4.40%) Onboarding
4 32 (4.03%) Cloud Native
5 25 (3.14%) Driving Licence
6 22 (2.77%) Data Protection Act
7 19 (2.39%) Analytical Mindset
7 19 (2.39%) Virtual Team
8 15 (1.89%) Hybrid Cloud
9 13 (1.64%) Management Information System
9 13 (1.64%) Video\Live Streaming
10 12 (1.51%) Product Ownership
11 11 (1.38%) Distributed Systems
12 10 (1.26%) Self-Motivation
13 9 (1.13%) Private Cloud
14 8 (1.01%) EPoS
14 8 (1.01%) TM Forum
15 7 (0.88%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
16 6 (0.75%) Enterprise Software
16 6 (0.75%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 34 (4.28%) Windows
2 27 (3.40%) Linux
3 16 (2.01%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.51%) Unix
5 6 (0.75%) Mac OS
6 5 (0.63%) Windows Server
7 3 (0.38%) Android
7 3 (0.38%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.38%) VMS
8 2 (0.25%) Embedded Linux
8 2 (0.25%) OpenVMS
8 2 (0.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.13%) Mac OS X
9 1 (0.13%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.13%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 135 (16.98%) Stakeholder Management
2 103 (12.96%) Agile
2 103 (12.96%) Problem-Solving
3 90 (11.32%) ITIL
4 76 (9.56%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 68 (8.55%) Project Delivery
6 61 (7.67%) Continuous Improvement
7 58 (7.30%) Decision-Making
8 57 (7.17%) CI/CD
8 57 (7.17%) Migration
9 56 (7.04%) CRM
9 56 (7.04%) Roadmaps
10 55 (6.92%) Validation
11 54 (6.79%) Service Management
12 52 (6.54%) Customer Service
12 52 (6.54%) Project Management
13 49 (6.16%) ITSM
14 48 (6.04%) AI
15 47 (5.91%) Analytics
16 43 (5.41%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 63 (7.92%) Python
2 37 (4.65%) SQL
3 20 (2.52%) JavaScript
4 15 (1.89%) Java
5 10 (1.26%) C#
6 8 (1.01%) Bash
7 7 (0.88%) R
8 6 (0.75%) C++
9 5 (0.63%) Apex Code
9 5 (0.63%) PowerShell
10 4 (0.50%) ABAP
10 4 (0.50%) DataWeave
10 4 (0.50%) TypeScript
11 3 (0.38%) LookML
11 3 (0.38%) Shell Script
12 2 (0.25%) DCL
12 2 (0.25%) PL/SQL
12 2 (0.25%) SOQL
13 1 (0.13%) Ada
13 1 (0.13%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 141 (17.74%) Security Cleared
2 97 (12.20%) SC Cleared
3 72 (9.06%) Degree
4 59 (7.42%) Cisco Certification
5 39 (4.91%) CCNA
6 26 (3.27%) CCNP
7 24 (3.02%) DV Cleared
8 23 (2.89%) Microsoft Certification
9 22 (2.77%) A+ Certification
10 17 (2.14%) BPSS Clearance
10 17 (2.14%) Computer Science Degree
10 17 (2.14%) PMP
11 13 (1.64%) MCSA
11 13 (1.64%) PMI Certification
12 12 (1.51%) CCIE
13 10 (1.26%) Azure Certification
13 10 (1.26%) Network+ Certification
14 9 (1.13%) AWS Certification
15 6 (0.75%) JNCIE
15 6 (0.75%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (3.52%) SLA
2 23 (2.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (2.52%) NCSC
4 19 (2.39%) GDPR
5 17 (2.14%) QA
6 16 (2.01%) Data Quality
6 16 (2.01%) GRC
7 14 (1.76%) PMO
8 9 (1.13%) NIST
9 3 (0.38%) RMADS
10 2 (0.25%) PCI DSS
10 2 (0.25%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.13%) Actionable Recommendations
11 1 (0.13%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.13%) IFRS
11 1 (0.13%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.13%) ISO 31000
11 1 (0.13%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.13%) NEBOSH
11 1 (0.13%) WCAG
System Software
1 17 (2.14%) Active Directory
1 17 (2.14%) VMware Infrastructure
2 14 (1.76%) Docker
3 8 (1.01%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.63%) vSphere
5 4 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.25%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) Ceph
7 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 44 (5.53%) Kubernetes
2 23 (2.89%) Terraform
3 20 (2.52%) Ansible
4 13 (1.64%) Grafana
4 13 (1.64%) Prometheus
5 5 (0.63%) Jamf Pro
6 3 (0.38%) Amdocs OSS
6 3 (0.38%) Cisco Prime
6 3 (0.38%) Iperf
6 3 (0.38%) Microsoft Intune
6 3 (0.38%) vCenter Server
6 3 (0.38%) vRealize
7 2 (0.25%) FortiGate
7 2 (0.25%) Nmap
7 2 (0.25%) NSN NetAct
8 1 (0.13%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.13%) Fluentd
8 1 (0.13%) Kibana
8 1 (0.13%) QRadar
8 1 (0.13%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 101 (12.70%) Microsoft
2 83 (10.44%) Cisco
3 76 (9.56%) ServiceNow
4 46 (5.79%) Nokia
5 36 (4.53%) Salesforce
6 31 (3.90%) SAP
7 25 (3.14%) VMware
8 24 (3.02%) BT
8 24 (3.02%) Fortinet
9 22 (2.77%) Ericsson
10 19 (2.39%) Juniper
10 19 (2.39%) Oracle
11 17 (2.14%) F5
11 17 (2.14%) Remedy
12 16 (2.01%) Google
12 16 (2.01%) Huawei
13 15 (1.89%) MuleSoft
14 13 (1.64%) BMC
15 12 (1.51%) CheckPoint
15 12 (1.51%) Palo Alto