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 27 June 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 187 98 64
Rank change year-on-year -89 -34 +17
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 743 795 1,344
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.46% 2.62% 3.10%
As % of the General category 2.68% 4.13% 5.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 438 454 630
10th Percentile £211 £306 £200
25th Percentile £390 £400 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £453
Median % change year-on-year - +4.97% -6.60%
75th Percentile £568 £575 £600
90th Percentile £689 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £460 £463 £450
% change year-on-year -0.54% +2.78% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 37 107
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £19.93 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £27.40 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +9.49% -50.18% +4.76%
75th Percentile £50.00 £62.24 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £60.00
% change year-on-year +35.48% -74.17% +54.84%

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 27,761 19,252 24,767
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.46% 63.49% 57.12%
Number of daily rates quoted 16,708 12,109 15,500
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
25th Percentile £413 £401 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £517 £501 £525
Median % change year-on-year +3.33% -4.67% -4.55%
75th Percentile £626 £638 £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 1,897 935 1,967
10th Percentile £13.99 £13.46 £12.79
25th Percentile £18.00 £16.34 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.00 £27.50 £31.80
Median % change year-on-year +16.36% -13.52% +5.12%
75th Percentile £60.25 £53.63 £53.75
90th Percentile £80.02 £72.50 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £31.50 £23.10 £31.13
% change year-on-year +36.36% -25.78% +19.71%

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 27 June 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 27 June 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 27 June 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 -97 646 £475 -3.06% 468
UK excluding London -100 383 £460 -0.54% 422
London -32 281 £500 +2.04% 142
Work from Home -55 206 £475 - 163
South East -56 168 £466 -5.86% 137
North of England -50 69 £500 -4.76% 86
South West -60 48 £488 +14.71% 37
Midlands -60 39 £478 +10.87% 67
North West -50 35 £506 -3.57% 48
West Midlands -64 33 £470 +13.94% 46
East of England -19 32 £190 -52.50% 53
Scotland -10 27 £305 -6.15% 43
Yorkshire -28 25 £515 +0.49% 30
North East -28 9 £500 - 11
East Midlands -10 6 £500 -20.00% 21
Northern Ireland -4 3 £175 -51.05% 7
Wales -17 1 £500 +90.48% 10

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 10 (1.35%) OpenStack
2 9 (1.21%) Confluence
3 6 (0.81%) Apache Airflow
3 6 (0.81%) Appian
4 5 (0.67%) SharePoint
5 4 (0.54%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.54%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.54%) ArcGIS
5 4 (0.54%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.40%) IIS
6 3 (0.40%) JBoss
6 3 (0.40%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 3 (0.40%) Tomcat
6 3 (0.40%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.27%) Apache
7 2 (0.27%) CMS
7 2 (0.27%) Oracle Spatial
8 1 (0.13%) Camunda
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.13%) Smallworld
Applications
1 23 (3.10%) Microsoft Office
2 21 (2.83%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (1.75%) MS Visio
4 11 (1.48%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.67%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.67%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.27%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.13%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.13%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.13%) Revit
7 1 (0.13%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.13%) Trello
Business Applications
1 20 (2.69%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.88%) Remedy ITSM
3 13 (1.75%) SAP BRIM
4 12 (1.62%) SAP Hybris
5 5 (0.67%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 5 (0.67%) SAP FI
6 4 (0.54%) BambooHR
6 4 (0.54%) NetSuite
6 4 (0.54%) Remedy AR System
6 4 (0.54%) Sage X3
6 4 (0.54%) SAP FI-CA
7 3 (0.40%) Salesforce CRM
7 3 (0.40%) SAP ERP
8 1 (0.13%) Dynamics CRM
8 1 (0.13%) SAP CO
8 1 (0.13%) SAP FI/CO
8 1 (0.13%) SAP IBP
8 1 (0.13%) SAP S/4HANA
8 1 (0.13%) SAP SRM
8 1 (0.13%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 67 (9.02%) Azure
2 65 (8.75%) AWS
3 42 (5.65%) GCP
4 19 (2.56%) Power Platform
5 18 (2.42%) Microsoft 365
6 16 (2.15%) SaaS
7 14 (1.88%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 9 (1.21%) dbt
8 9 (1.21%) Snowflake
9 7 (0.94%) Entra ID
10 6 (0.81%) Azure DevOps
10 6 (0.81%) Datadog
10 6 (0.81%) GitHub
10 6 (0.81%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.81%) Serverless
11 5 (0.67%) AWS Lambda
11 5 (0.67%) Prefect
12 4 (0.54%) Amazon S3
12 4 (0.54%) Boomi
12 4 (0.54%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 65 (8.75%) WAN
2 61 (8.21%) 5G
3 60 (8.08%) MPLS
4 54 (7.27%) LAN
5 40 (5.38%) Firewall
6 39 (5.25%) 4G
7 38 (5.11%) Radio Access Network
8 30 (4.04%) BGP
8 30 (4.04%) SD-WAN
9 23 (3.10%) Network Security
10 20 (2.69%) LTE
10 20 (2.69%) OSPF
10 20 (2.69%) VoIP
10 20 (2.69%) VPN
11 19 (2.56%) 3GPP
11 19 (2.56%) DNS
12 17 (2.29%) VLAN
13 16 (2.15%) 3G
14 15 (2.02%) Internet
14 15 (2.02%) SDH
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.42%) Power BI
2 15 (2.02%) Data Warehouse
3 13 (1.75%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.62%) Looker
4 12 (1.62%) Tableau
5 11 (1.48%) Amazon Redshift
6 7 (0.94%) Big Data
6 7 (0.94%) Relational Database
7 5 (0.67%) MySQL
8 4 (0.54%) GIS
8 4 (0.54%) Oracle Database
8 4 (0.54%) SQL Server
9 3 (0.40%) Amazon Athena
9 3 (0.40%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.40%) InfluxDB
9 3 (0.40%) PostgreSQL
9 3 (0.40%) SAP BW
9 3 (0.40%) SAP Data Services
9 3 (0.40%) Semantic Layer
9 3 (0.40%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 23 (3.10%) JIRA
2 9 (1.21%) Git
3 4 (0.54%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.40%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.27%) GitLab
5 2 (0.27%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.13%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.13%) JMeter
6 1 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.13%) TestRail
General
1 211 (28.40%) Social Skills
2 126 (16.96%) Finance
3 105 (14.13%) Analytical Skills
4 67 (9.02%) Public Sector
5 46 (6.19%) Billing
6 27 (3.63%) Marketing
6 27 (3.63%) Retail
7 24 (3.23%) Documentation Skills
8 20 (2.69%) Legal
9 16 (2.15%) Electronics
9 16 (2.15%) Influencing Skills
9 16 (2.15%) Organisational Skills
10 13 (1.75%) Manufacturing
11 10 (1.35%) Presentation Skills
12 7 (0.94%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 6 (0.81%) Aerospace
13 6 (0.81%) Publishing
14 5 (0.67%) Police
15 4 (0.54%) Banking
15 4 (0.54%) Military
Job Titles
1 99 (13.32%) Architect
2 63 (8.48%) Consultant
2 63 (8.48%) Lead
3 59 (7.94%) Senior
4 54 (7.27%) Analyst
5 43 (5.79%) Network Engineer
6 41 (5.52%) Solutions Architect
7 39 (5.25%) Telecoms Manager
8 38 (5.11%) Project Manager
9 28 (3.77%) Designer
10 27 (3.63%) Developer
11 24 (3.23%) ServiceNow Architect
12 23 (3.10%) Data Engineer
13 21 (2.83%) Delivery Manager
13 21 (2.83%) SAP Consultant
14 18 (2.42%) Enterprise Architect
14 18 (2.42%) Field Engineer
14 18 (2.42%) Telecoms Engineer
15 17 (2.29%) Business Analyst
15 17 (2.29%) Programme Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 40 (5.38%) REST
2 27 (3.63%) SOAP
3 13 (1.75%) Middleware
4 12 (1.62%) ONVIF
5 10 (1.35%) Kafka
6 9 (1.21%) .NET
6 9 (1.21%) Elastic Stack
7 8 (1.08%) XML
8 7 (0.94%) NETCONF
8 7 (0.94%) OpenAPI
8 7 (0.94%) Swagger
8 7 (0.94%) YANG
9 6 (0.81%) JSON
9 6 (0.81%) RESTful
10 4 (0.54%) .NET Framework
10 4 (0.54%) RAML
11 3 (0.40%) GraphQL
11 3 (0.40%) RabbitMQ
11 3 (0.40%) RFC 2544
11 3 (0.40%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 43 (5.79%) Data Centre
2 40 (5.38%) CMDB
3 35 (4.71%) Onboarding
4 31 (4.17%) Cloud Native
5 22 (2.96%) Data Protection Act
6 20 (2.69%) Driving Licence
7 17 (2.29%) Analytical Mindset
7 17 (2.29%) Virtual Team
8 15 (2.02%) Product Ownership
9 12 (1.62%) Distributed Systems
9 12 (1.62%) Hybrid Cloud
9 12 (1.62%) Video\Live Streaming
10 9 (1.21%) Management Information System
11 8 (1.08%) EPoS
11 8 (1.08%) Self-Motivation
11 8 (1.08%) TM Forum
12 7 (0.94%) Private Cloud
13 6 (0.81%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
13 6 (0.81%) Legacy Systems
13 6 (0.81%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 30 (4.04%) Windows
2 24 (3.23%) Linux
3 15 (2.02%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.62%) Unix
5 4 (0.54%) Mac OS
6 3 (0.40%) Android
6 3 (0.40%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.40%) VMS
6 3 (0.40%) Windows Server
7 2 (0.27%) Embedded Linux
7 2 (0.27%) OpenVMS
8 1 (0.13%) Mac OS X
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Linux
8 1 (0.13%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.13%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 122 (16.42%) Stakeholder Management
2 98 (13.19%) Agile
3 97 (13.06%) Problem-Solving
4 81 (10.90%) ITIL
5 70 (9.42%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 60 (8.08%) Continuous Improvement
6 60 (8.08%) Project Delivery
7 59 (7.94%) Decision-Making
8 54 (7.27%) CI/CD
8 54 (7.27%) Migration
9 52 (7.00%) CRM
10 51 (6.86%) Project Management
10 51 (6.86%) Roadmaps
11 50 (6.73%) Service Management
12 47 (6.33%) Customer Service
12 47 (6.33%) Validation
13 46 (6.19%) ITSM
14 45 (6.06%) Analytics
15 43 (5.79%) AI
16 40 (5.38%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 58 (7.81%) Python
2 34 (4.58%) SQL
3 17 (2.29%) JavaScript
4 16 (2.15%) Java
5 10 (1.35%) C#
6 8 (1.08%) Bash
7 7 (0.94%) C++
8 6 (0.81%) R
9 4 (0.54%) ABAP
9 4 (0.54%) DataWeave
9 4 (0.54%) PowerShell
9 4 (0.54%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.40%) Apex Code
10 3 (0.40%) LookML
11 2 (0.27%) C
11 2 (0.27%) DCL
11 2 (0.27%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.27%) Shell Script
12 1 (0.13%) Go
12 1 (0.13%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 125 (16.82%) Security Cleared
2 85 (11.44%) SC Cleared
3 73 (9.83%) Degree
4 50 (6.73%) Cisco Certification
5 32 (4.31%) CCNA
6 24 (3.23%) DV Cleared
7 23 (3.10%) CCNP
7 23 (3.10%) Microsoft Certification
8 22 (2.96%) A+ Certification
9 18 (2.42%) Computer Science Degree
10 17 (2.29%) PMP
11 16 (2.15%) BPSS Clearance
12 13 (1.75%) PMI Certification
13 12 (1.62%) MCSA
14 11 (1.48%) Network+ Certification
15 10 (1.35%) CCIE
16 9 (1.21%) Azure Certification
17 8 (1.08%) AWS Certification
18 7 (0.94%) Master's Degree
19 5 (0.67%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (3.36%) SLA
2 22 (2.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (2.69%) NCSC
4 18 (2.42%) GDPR
5 16 (2.15%) PMO
6 15 (2.02%) QA
7 13 (1.75%) Data Quality
8 11 (1.48%) GRC
9 8 (1.08%) NIST
10 5 (0.67%) RMADS
11 3 (0.40%) JSP 440
12 2 (0.27%) PCI DSS
13 1 (0.13%) Cyber Essentials
13 1 (0.13%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 1 (0.13%) IFRS
13 1 (0.13%) IFRS 9
13 1 (0.13%) ISO 22301
13 1 (0.13%) ISO 31000
13 1 (0.13%) NEBOSH
13 1 (0.13%) SOC 1
System Software
1 16 (2.15%) Active Directory
1 16 (2.15%) VMware Infrastructure
2 13 (1.75%) Docker
3 8 (1.08%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.67%) vSphere
5 3 (0.40%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.27%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 41 (5.52%) Kubernetes
2 20 (2.69%) Terraform
3 18 (2.42%) Ansible
4 13 (1.75%) Grafana
4 13 (1.75%) Prometheus
5 3 (0.40%) Cisco Prime
5 3 (0.40%) Iperf
5 3 (0.40%) Jamf Pro
5 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Intune
5 3 (0.40%) vCenter Server
5 3 (0.40%) vRealize
6 2 (0.27%) Amdocs OSS
6 2 (0.27%) FortiGate
6 2 (0.27%) Nmap
6 2 (0.27%) NSN NetAct
7 1 (0.13%) AirWatch
7 1 (0.13%) Fluentd
7 1 (0.13%) Kibana
7 1 (0.13%) Single Sign-On
7 1 (0.13%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 89 (11.98%) Microsoft
2 73 (9.83%) Cisco
2 73 (9.83%) ServiceNow
3 40 (5.38%) Nokia
4 35 (4.71%) SAP
5 28 (3.77%) Salesforce
6 23 (3.10%) BT
6 23 (3.10%) VMware
7 22 (2.96%) Oracle
8 20 (2.69%) Ericsson
9 19 (2.56%) Fortinet
10 17 (2.29%) Remedy
11 16 (2.15%) Juniper
12 15 (2.02%) F5
13 14 (1.88%) Google
13 14 (1.88%) Huawei
14 12 (1.62%) MuleSoft
15 11 (1.48%) BMC
15 11 (1.48%) CheckPoint
15 11 (1.48%) Palo Alto