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

6 months to
30 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 171 102 69
Rank change year-on-year -69 -33 +13
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 829 837 1,200
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.57% 2.55% 3.01%
As % of the General category 2.85% 4.05% 5.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 473 491 584
10th Percentile £213 £300 £205
25th Percentile £400 £396 £361
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year - - -1.96%
75th Percentile £575 £576 £607
90th Percentile £694 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £463 £475
% change year-on-year -2.70% -2.63% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 44 47 107
10th Percentile £16.08 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.73 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £25.17 £20.75 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +21.30% -62.27% -10.20%
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% -7.50%

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 29,103 20,685 22,826
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.94% 63.03% 57.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,345 12,965 14,402
10th Percentile £313 £280 £288
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 £638 £630 £650
90th Percentile £738 £750 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £472 £494
% change year-on-year +5.88% -4.40% -1.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,097 1,090 1,492
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.34 £13.86
25th Percentile £18.00 £16.16 £16.50
Median hourly rate £33.00 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +31.21% -32.93% +22.79%
75th Percentile £60.46 £51.21 £57.50
90th Percentile £80.11 £70.02 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.98 £22.14 £38.12
% change year-on-year +53.48% -41.92% +41.19%

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 30 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 30 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 30 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 -75 700 £475 -1.14% 669
UK excluding London -82 420 £450 -2.70% 526
London -33 307 £517 +8.74% 245
Work from Home -51 240 £475 - 247
South East -56 191 £460 -8.00% 184
North of England -55 62 £500 -4.76% 108
Scotland -1 46 £300 -7.69% 39
South West -69 46 £450 -14.29% 52
Midlands -66 39 £478 +27.50% 75
East of England -10 36 £160 -57.33% 47
West Midlands -73 34 £470 +17.50% 48
Yorkshire -27 32 £475 +22.58% 30
North West -58 27 £550 +4.27% 59
East Midlands -10 5 £500 +33.33% 27
Northern Ireland -6 3 £175 -51.05% 4
North East -43 3 £500 - 22
Wales -18 1 £500 +132.56% 27

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 (1.57%) Confluence
1 13 (1.57%) OpenStack
2 10 (1.21%) ArcGIS
2 10 (1.21%) SharePoint
3 8 (0.97%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (0.84%) Apache Airflow
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
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 23 (2.77%) Microsoft Excel
1 23 (2.77%) Microsoft Office
2 19 (2.29%) MS Visio
3 9 (1.09%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.60%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.24%) MicroStation
6 1 (0.12%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 1 (0.12%) Autodesk Inventor
6 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.12%) Revit
6 1 (0.12%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 20 (2.41%) SAP PSCD
2 11 (1.33%) SAP BRIM
3 9 (1.09%) SAP Hybris
4 8 (0.97%) SAP FI
5 7 (0.84%) Remedy ITSM
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
8 3 (0.36%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.36%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.12%) SAP CO
9 1 (0.12%) SAP FI/CO
9 1 (0.12%) SAP IBP
9 1 (0.12%) SAP SD
9 1 (0.12%) SAP SRM
9 1 (0.12%) SmartPlant
9 1 (0.12%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 97 (11.70%) Azure
2 87 (10.49%) AWS
3 64 (7.72%) GCP
4 21 (2.53%) Power Platform
5 19 (2.29%) Microsoft 365
6 15 (1.81%) Entra ID
6 15 (1.81%) GitHub
6 15 (1.81%) SaaS
7 11 (1.33%) dbt
7 11 (1.33%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 10 (1.21%) Snowflake
9 9 (1.09%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (1.09%) GitHub Actions
10 8 (0.97%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (0.72%) Cloud Functions
11 6 (0.72%) Datadog
11 6 (0.72%) Serverless
12 5 (0.60%) AWS Lambda
12 5 (0.60%) OpenShift
12 5 (0.60%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 96 (11.58%) WAN
2 80 (9.65%) LAN
3 73 (8.81%) 5G
4 71 (8.56%) MPLS
5 53 (6.39%) 4G
6 51 (6.15%) Firewall
7 49 (5.91%) Radio Access Network
8 33 (3.98%) SD-WAN
9 29 (3.50%) DNS
10 28 (3.38%) BGP
11 27 (3.26%) Network Security
12 24 (2.90%) 3G
13 23 (2.77%) VPN
13 23 (2.77%) Wi-Fi
14 22 (2.65%) SDH
15 21 (2.53%) TCP/IP
15 21 (2.53%) VoIP
16 20 (2.41%) 3GPP
16 20 (2.41%) LTE
17 18 (2.17%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.41%) Power BI
2 19 (2.29%) Data Warehouse
3 15 (1.81%) BigQuery
4 13 (1.57%) Tableau
5 12 (1.45%) Amazon Redshift
5 12 (1.45%) Looker
6 10 (1.21%) GIS
7 8 (0.97%) Big Data
8 6 (0.72%) NoSQL
8 6 (0.72%) SQL Server
9 4 (0.48%) Apache Cassandra
9 4 (0.48%) InfluxDB
9 4 (0.48%) MySQL
9 4 (0.48%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.36%) Amazon Athena
10 3 (0.36%) Data Lake
10 3 (0.36%) Oracle Database
10 3 (0.36%) Semantic Layer
10 3 (0.36%) Tableau Desktop
10 3 (0.36%) TimescaleDB
Development Applications
1 27 (3.26%) JIRA
2 14 (1.69%) 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
1 237 (28.59%) Social Skills
2 126 (15.20%) Finance
3 102 (12.30%) Analytical Skills
4 60 (7.24%) Public Sector
5 37 (4.46%) Billing
6 31 (3.74%) Documentation Skills
7 23 (2.77%) Organisational Skills
7 23 (2.77%) Retail
8 21 (2.53%) Legal
8 21 (2.53%) Marketing
9 20 (2.41%) Influencing Skills
10 14 (1.69%) Presentation Skills
11 12 (1.45%) Aerospace
12 10 (1.21%) Manufacturing
12 10 (1.21%) Publishing
13 8 (0.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 8 (0.97%) Police
14 6 (0.72%) Electronics
15 4 (0.48%) Military
16 3 (0.36%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 132 (15.92%) Architect
2 78 (9.41%) Senior
3 66 (7.96%) Consultant
4 64 (7.72%) Lead
5 60 (7.24%) Analyst
6 49 (5.91%) Project Manager
7 47 (5.67%) Network Engineer
8 46 (5.55%) Solutions Architect
9 36 (4.34%) Designer
10 35 (4.22%) Telecoms Manager
11 34 (4.10%) Telecoms Engineer
12 33 (3.98%) Field Engineer
13 29 (3.50%) ServiceNow Architect
14 27 (3.26%) Data Engineer
14 27 (3.26%) Developer
15 26 (3.14%) Enterprise Architect
16 21 (2.53%) SAP Consultant
16 21 (2.53%) Telecoms Architect
17 20 (2.41%) Delivery Manager
17 20 (2.41%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 48 (5.79%) REST
2 33 (3.98%) SOAP
3 15 (1.81%) Kafka
4 13 (1.57%) ONVIF
4 13 (1.57%) XML
5 12 (1.45%) Middleware
6 10 (1.21%) NETCONF
6 10 (1.21%) YANG
7 9 (1.09%) Elastic Stack
7 9 (1.09%) OpenAPI
7 9 (1.09%) Swagger
8 8 (0.97%) AngularJS
8 8 (0.97%) React
8 8 (0.97%) RESTful
9 7 (0.84%) HTML
9 7 (0.84%) JSON
10 6 (0.72%) .NET
10 6 (0.72%) CSS
11 5 (0.60%) 802.1X
11 5 (0.60%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 50 (6.03%) CMDB
2 48 (5.79%) Data Centre
3 35 (4.22%) Onboarding
4 33 (3.98%) Cloud Native
5 29 (3.50%) Driving Licence
6 19 (2.29%) Analytical Mindset
6 19 (2.29%) Data Protection Act
6 19 (2.29%) Virtual Team
7 18 (2.17%) Product Ownership
8 17 (2.05%) Hybrid Cloud
9 15 (1.81%) Management Information System
10 14 (1.69%) Self-Motivation
11 13 (1.57%) Video\Live Streaming
12 12 (1.45%) Distributed Systems
13 9 (1.09%) Algorithms
13 9 (1.09%) Private Cloud
13 9 (1.09%) TM Forum
14 8 (0.97%) Data Structures
14 8 (0.97%) EPoS
15 7 (0.84%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
Operating Systems
1 38 (4.58%) Windows
2 25 (3.02%) Linux
3 15 (1.81%) Windows 10
4 10 (1.21%) Windows Server
5 9 (1.09%) Unix
6 6 (0.72%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.48%) Android
8 3 (0.36%) Apple iOS
8 3 (0.36%) VMS
9 2 (0.24%) Embedded Linux
9 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
10 1 (0.12%) Oracle Linux
10 1 (0.12%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.12%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 149 (17.97%) Stakeholder Management
2 116 (13.99%) Agile
3 106 (12.79%) Problem-Solving
4 83 (10.01%) ITIL
5 79 (9.53%) Project Delivery
5 79 (9.53%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 70 (8.44%) AI
7 65 (7.84%) CI/CD
7 65 (7.84%) Roadmaps
8 64 (7.72%) Service Management
9 63 (7.60%) Continuous Improvement
10 60 (7.24%) Migration
11 59 (7.12%) Decision-Making
12 57 (6.88%) Project Management
13 53 (6.39%) Analytics
13 53 (6.39%) Validation
14 52 (6.27%) Change Management
14 52 (6.27%) CRM
15 51 (6.15%) Customer Service
15 51 (6.15%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 71 (8.56%) Python
2 41 (4.95%) SQL
3 30 (3.62%) JavaScript
4 15 (1.81%) Java
5 10 (1.21%) Bash
6 9 (1.09%) C#
6 9 (1.09%) PowerShell
7 7 (0.84%) R
8 6 (0.72%) Apex Code
9 5 (0.60%) C++
10 4 (0.48%) ABAP
10 4 (0.48%) DataWeave
10 4 (0.48%) TypeScript
11 3 (0.36%) LookML
11 3 (0.36%) SOQL
12 2 (0.24%) C
12 2 (0.24%) DCL
13 1 (0.12%) Ada
13 1 (0.12%) Kotlin
13 1 (0.12%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 149 (17.97%) Security Cleared
2 102 (12.30%) SC Cleared
3 75 (9.05%) Degree
4 58 (7.00%) Cisco Certification
5 40 (4.83%) CCNA
6 24 (2.90%) CCNP
7 23 (2.77%) Microsoft Certification
8 22 (2.65%) DV Cleared
9 21 (2.53%) A+ Certification
10 18 (2.17%) PMP
11 17 (2.05%) Computer Science Degree
12 16 (1.93%) BPSS Clearance
13 14 (1.69%) PMI Certification
14 13 (1.57%) MCSA
15 10 (1.21%) Azure Certification
15 10 (1.21%) CCIE
16 9 (1.09%) AWS Certification
17 8 (0.97%) Network+ Certification
18 7 (0.84%) CISSP
19 6 (0.72%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (3.26%) SLA
2 26 (3.14%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 22 (2.65%) GDPR
4 20 (2.41%) GRC
4 20 (2.41%) QA
5 19 (2.29%) NCSC
6 15 (1.81%) Data Quality
6 15 (1.81%) PMO
7 9 (1.09%) NIST
8 3 (0.36%) Actionable Recommendations
8 3 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.36%) PCI DSS
8 3 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 2 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.24%) EU AI Act
10 1 (0.12%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.12%) ISO 31000
10 1 (0.12%) ISO/IEC 15288
10 1 (0.12%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 1 (0.12%) SOC 1
System Software
1 22 (2.65%) Active Directory
2 19 (2.29%) Docker
2 19 (2.29%) VMware Infrastructure
3 8 (0.97%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.60%) vSphere
5 4 (0.48%) VMware ESXi
6 3 (0.36%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.12%) Ceph
7 1 (0.12%) KVM
7 1 (0.12%) NDS
7 1 (0.12%) NetIQ eDirectory
7 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 46 (5.55%) Kubernetes
2 24 (2.90%) Terraform
3 18 (2.17%) Ansible
4 12 (1.45%) Grafana
4 12 (1.45%) Prometheus
5 7 (0.84%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (0.60%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (0.36%) Amdocs OSS
7 3 (0.36%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.36%) vRealize
8 2 (0.24%) Check_MK
8 2 (0.24%) Cisco Prime
8 2 (0.24%) Iperf
8 2 (0.24%) NSN NetAct
8 2 (0.24%) Podman
8 2 (0.24%) QRadar
9 1 (0.12%) Nmap
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle RMAN
9 1 (0.12%) SCCM
9 1 (0.12%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 110 (13.27%) Microsoft
2 93 (11.22%) Cisco
3 81 (9.77%) ServiceNow
4 49 (5.91%) Nokia
5 39 (4.70%) Salesforce
6 32 (3.86%) VMware
7 29 (3.50%) SAP
8 24 (2.90%) BT
9 23 (2.77%) Ericsson
10 22 (2.65%) Fortinet
11 21 (2.53%) Google
11 21 (2.53%) Juniper
12 19 (2.29%) F5
13 17 (2.05%) MuleSoft
14 16 (1.93%) Huawei
15 14 (1.69%) Palo Alto
16 13 (1.57%) CheckPoint
17 12 (1.45%) BMC
17 12 (1.45%) Oracle
18 9 (1.09%) Zscaler