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

6 months to
19 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 168 101 67
Rank change year-on-year -67 -34 +13
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 827 839 1,286
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.56% 2.56% 3.06%
As % of the General category 2.85% 4.07% 5.34%
Number of daily rates quoted 472 490 614
10th Percentile £213 £300 £200
25th Percentile £393 £395 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year - - -2.01%
75th Percentile £564 £587 £608
90th Percentile £674 £700 £746
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 46 108
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.70 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £22.75 £20.66 £48.56
Median % change year-on-year +10.12% -57.45% -5.25%
75th Percentile £50.00 £54.44 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £48.56
% change year-on-year +35.48% -68.08% +94.24%

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 29,058 20,622 24,068
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.86% 62.92% 57.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,352 12,928 15,095
10th Percentile £313 £280 £280
25th Percentile £413 £400 £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 £469 £490
% change year-on-year +6.61% -4.29% -2.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,034 1,060 1,745
10th Percentile £14.02 £13.34 £13.18
25th Percentile £18.38 £16.25 £16.06
Median hourly rate £32.81 £26.02 £34.21
Median % change year-on-year +26.08% -23.94% +12.02%
75th Percentile £61.50 £51.83 £55.00
90th Percentile £81.05 £71.28 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.81 £22.50 £33.07
% change year-on-year +45.80% -31.95% +27.17%

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 19 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 19 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 19 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 -84 705 £475 -1.25% 508
UK excluding London -90 426 £450 -1.10% 436
London -32 305 £513 +7.89% 175
Work from Home -38 238 £475 - 178
South East -56 193 £463 -7.50% 159
North of England -52 68 £500 -2.44% 83
South West -67 47 £450 -14.29% 37
Scotland -7 43 £300 -7.69% 42
Midlands -56 41 £475 +20.63% 63
West Midlands -69 35 £460 +20.66% 41
East of England -12 34 £160 -58.71% 39
North West -52 32 £550 +4.76% 53
Yorkshire -30 31 £475 +22.58% 25
East Midlands -11 6 £500 - 22
North East -32 5 £500 - 7
Northern Ireland -2 3 £175 -51.05% 4
Wales -16 1 £500 +132.56% 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 14 (1.69%) Confluence
2 13 (1.57%) OpenStack
3 11 (1.33%) ArcGIS
4 7 (0.85%) Apache Airflow
5 6 (0.73%) SharePoint
6 4 (0.48%) Anypoint
6 4 (0.48%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.48%) Microsoft Exchange
7 3 (0.36%) Appian
8 2 (0.24%) Apache
8 2 (0.24%) CMS
8 2 (0.24%) IIS
8 2 (0.24%) JBoss
8 2 (0.24%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 2 (0.24%) Oracle Spatial
8 2 (0.24%) Tomcat
8 2 (0.24%) WebLogic
9 1 (0.12%) Camunda
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.12%) Smallworld
Applications
1 24 (2.90%) Microsoft Excel
1 24 (2.90%) Microsoft Office
2 19 (2.30%) MS Visio
3 10 (1.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.60%) AutoCAD
5 4 (0.48%) 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 20 (2.42%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.69%) Remedy ITSM
3 11 (1.33%) SAP BRIM
4 10 (1.21%) SAP Hybris
5 7 (0.85%) SAP FI
6 6 (0.73%) SAP FI-CA
7 5 (0.60%) NetSuite
7 5 (0.60%) Sage X3
7 5 (0.60%) Salesforce CRM
8 4 (0.48%) BambooHR
8 4 (0.48%) Remedy AR System
8 4 (0.48%) SAP S/4HANA
9 3 (0.36%) SAP ERP
10 2 (0.24%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
11 1 (0.12%) SAP CO
11 1 (0.12%) SAP FI/CO
11 1 (0.12%) SAP IBP
11 1 (0.12%) SAP IS-U
11 1 (0.12%) SAP SRM
11 1 (0.12%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 90 (10.88%) Azure
2 85 (10.28%) AWS
3 59 (7.13%) GCP
4 20 (2.42%) Power Platform
5 17 (2.06%) SaaS
6 16 (1.93%) Microsoft 365
7 12 (1.45%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 10 (1.21%) GitHub
8 10 (1.21%) Snowflake
9 9 (1.09%) dbt
10 8 (0.97%) Azure DevOps
10 8 (0.97%) Entra ID
10 8 (0.97%) GitHub Actions
11 6 (0.73%) Datadog
11 6 (0.73%) OpenShift
11 6 (0.73%) Serverless
12 5 (0.60%) AWS Lambda
12 5 (0.60%) Cloud Functions
12 5 (0.60%) Fivetran
12 5 (0.60%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 89 (10.76%) WAN
2 75 (9.07%) LAN
3 69 (8.34%) MPLS
4 67 (8.10%) 5G
5 48 (5.80%) Firewall
6 47 (5.68%) 4G
7 44 (5.32%) Radio Access Network
8 34 (4.11%) SD-WAN
9 31 (3.75%) BGP
10 24 (2.90%) VPN
11 23 (2.78%) DNS
12 22 (2.66%) 3G
12 22 (2.66%) Network Security
13 21 (2.54%) OSPF
13 21 (2.54%) VoIP
14 20 (2.42%) SDH
15 19 (2.30%) LTE
16 18 (2.18%) Wi-Fi
17 17 (2.06%) 3GPP
17 17 (2.06%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (2.30%) Power BI
2 16 (1.93%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.69%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.45%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.45%) Looker
5 11 (1.33%) GIS
6 10 (1.21%) Tableau
7 7 (0.85%) Big Data
8 5 (0.60%) Relational Database
9 4 (0.48%) MySQL
10 3 (0.36%) Apache Cassandra
10 3 (0.36%) BusinessObjects
10 3 (0.36%) InfluxDB
10 3 (0.36%) NoSQL
10 3 (0.36%) Oracle Database
10 3 (0.36%) PostgreSQL
10 3 (0.36%) SAP BW
10 3 (0.36%) SAP Data Services
10 3 (0.36%) Semantic Layer
10 3 (0.36%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 28 (3.39%) JIRA
2 11 (1.33%) Git
3 5 (0.60%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.36%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.24%) GitLab
5 2 (0.24%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.12%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.12%) Selenium
6 1 (0.12%) TestRail
General
1 238 (28.78%) Social Skills
2 128 (15.48%) Finance
3 108 (13.06%) Analytical Skills
4 63 (7.62%) Public Sector
5 42 (5.08%) Billing
6 31 (3.75%) Documentation Skills
7 25 (3.02%) Retail
8 22 (2.66%) Organisational Skills
9 21 (2.54%) Legal
10 20 (2.42%) Marketing
11 19 (2.30%) Influencing Skills
12 12 (1.45%) Presentation Skills
13 10 (1.21%) Aerospace
14 8 (0.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 8 (0.97%) Police
15 7 (0.85%) Manufacturing
15 7 (0.85%) Publishing
16 6 (0.73%) Electronics
17 4 (0.48%) Military
18 3 (0.36%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 129 (15.60%) Architect
2 70 (8.46%) Senior
3 65 (7.86%) Analyst
3 65 (7.86%) Consultant
3 65 (7.86%) Lead
4 48 (5.80%) Solutions Architect
5 47 (5.68%) Project Manager
6 42 (5.08%) Network Engineer
7 39 (4.72%) Telecoms Manager
8 33 (3.99%) Designer
9 31 (3.75%) ServiceNow Architect
10 30 (3.63%) Telecoms Engineer
11 29 (3.51%) Developer
11 29 (3.51%) Field Engineer
12 26 (3.14%) Data Engineer
13 23 (2.78%) Business Analyst
14 22 (2.66%) Enterprise Architect
15 21 (2.54%) Delivery Manager
15 21 (2.54%) SAP Consultant
16 20 (2.42%) Telecoms Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 49 (5.93%) REST
2 35 (4.23%) SOAP
3 13 (1.57%) Kafka
3 13 (1.57%) Middleware
3 13 (1.57%) ONVIF
4 12 (1.45%) XML
5 10 (1.21%) NETCONF
5 10 (1.21%) YANG
6 9 (1.09%) Elastic Stack
7 8 (0.97%) .NET
7 8 (0.97%) OpenAPI
7 8 (0.97%) Swagger
8 7 (0.85%) JSON
8 7 (0.85%) RESTful
9 6 (0.73%) HTML
10 5 (0.60%) 802.1X
10 5 (0.60%) AngularJS
10 5 (0.60%) CSS
10 5 (0.60%) React
10 5 (0.60%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 51 (6.17%) CMDB
2 48 (5.80%) Data Centre
3 34 (4.11%) Onboarding
4 31 (3.75%) Cloud Native
5 27 (3.26%) Driving Licence
6 21 (2.54%) Data Protection Act
7 19 (2.30%) Analytical Mindset
7 19 (2.30%) Virtual Team
8 18 (2.18%) Product Ownership
9 16 (1.93%) Management Information System
10 15 (1.81%) Hybrid Cloud
11 13 (1.57%) Video\Live Streaming
12 11 (1.33%) Distributed Systems
12 11 (1.33%) Self-Motivation
13 9 (1.09%) Private Cloud
13 9 (1.09%) TM Forum
14 8 (0.97%) EPoS
15 7 (0.85%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
15 7 (0.85%) Video Conferencing
16 6 (0.73%) Algorithms
Operating Systems
1 34 (4.11%) Windows
2 27 (3.26%) Linux
3 16 (1.93%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.45%) Unix
5 6 (0.73%) Mac OS
5 6 (0.73%) Windows Server
6 3 (0.36%) Android
6 3 (0.36%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.36%) VMS
7 2 (0.24%) Embedded Linux
7 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
7 2 (0.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 1 (0.12%) Mac OS X
8 1 (0.12%) Oracle Linux
8 1 (0.12%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.12%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 143 (17.29%) Stakeholder Management
2 115 (13.91%) Agile
3 108 (13.06%) Problem-Solving
4 91 (11.00%) ITIL
5 81 (9.79%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 71 (8.59%) Project Delivery
7 66 (7.98%) Continuous Improvement
8 62 (7.50%) CI/CD
8 62 (7.50%) Roadmaps
9 61 (7.38%) AI
10 60 (7.26%) Service Management
11 59 (7.13%) Decision-Making
12 58 (7.01%) Migration
13 57 (6.89%) ITSM
14 56 (6.77%) CRM
15 55 (6.65%) Validation
16 53 (6.41%) Customer Service
17 51 (6.17%) Project Management
18 49 (5.93%) Analytics
19 48 (5.80%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 65 (7.86%) Python
2 37 (4.47%) SQL
3 27 (3.26%) JavaScript
4 16 (1.93%) Java
5 10 (1.21%) C#
6 9 (1.09%) Bash
7 7 (0.85%) R
8 6 (0.73%) Apex Code
8 6 (0.73%) C++
8 6 (0.73%) PowerShell
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
1 148 (17.90%) Security Cleared
2 101 (12.21%) SC Cleared
3 73 (8.83%) Degree
4 58 (7.01%) Cisco Certification
5 38 (4.59%) CCNA
6 26 (3.14%) CCNP
7 23 (2.78%) DV Cleared
8 22 (2.66%) Microsoft Certification
9 21 (2.54%) A+ Certification
10 18 (2.18%) PMP
11 17 (2.06%) BPSS Clearance
11 17 (2.06%) Computer Science Degree
12 14 (1.69%) PMI Certification
13 13 (1.57%) MCSA
14 12 (1.45%) CCIE
15 10 (1.21%) Azure Certification
16 9 (1.09%) AWS Certification
16 9 (1.09%) Network+ Certification
17 6 (0.73%) CISSP
17 6 (0.73%) JNCIE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (3.26%) SLA
2 25 (3.02%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 23 (2.78%) QA
4 20 (2.42%) GDPR
4 20 (2.42%) NCSC
5 18 (2.18%) GRC
6 16 (1.93%) Data Quality
7 13 (1.57%) PMO
8 10 (1.21%) NIST
9 2 (0.24%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.24%) PCI DSS
9 2 (0.24%) RMADS
9 2 (0.24%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 1 (0.12%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.12%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.12%) IFRS
10 1 (0.12%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.12%) ISO 31000
10 1 (0.12%) WCAG
System Software
1 18 (2.18%) VMware Infrastructure
2 16 (1.93%) Active Directory
3 15 (1.81%) Docker
4 8 (0.97%) VMware NSX
5 5 (0.60%) vSphere
6 4 (0.48%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.24%) Hyper-V
8 1 (0.12%) Ceph
8 1 (0.12%) KVM
8 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 45 (5.44%) Kubernetes
2 23 (2.78%) Terraform
3 20 (2.42%) Ansible
4 13 (1.57%) Grafana
4 13 (1.57%) Prometheus
5 5 (0.60%) Jamf Pro
6 3 (0.36%) Amdocs OSS
6 3 (0.36%) Cisco Prime
6 3 (0.36%) Iperf
6 3 (0.36%) Microsoft Intune
6 3 (0.36%) vCenter Server
6 3 (0.36%) vRealize
7 2 (0.24%) FortiGate
7 2 (0.24%) Nmap
7 2 (0.24%) NSN NetAct
8 1 (0.12%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.12%) Fluentd
8 1 (0.12%) Proxmox
8 1 (0.12%) QRadar
8 1 (0.12%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 103 (12.45%) Microsoft
2 87 (10.52%) Cisco
3 84 (10.16%) ServiceNow
4 44 (5.32%) Nokia
5 38 (4.59%) Salesforce
6 29 (3.51%) SAP
7 27 (3.26%) VMware
8 24 (2.90%) BT
8 24 (2.90%) Fortinet
9 22 (2.66%) Ericsson
9 22 (2.66%) Juniper
10 20 (2.42%) F5
11 17 (2.06%) Oracle
11 17 (2.06%) Remedy
12 16 (1.93%) Google
12 16 (1.93%) Huawei
13 15 (1.81%) CheckPoint
13 15 (1.81%) MuleSoft
13 15 (1.81%) Palo Alto
14 13 (1.57%) BMC