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 8 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 172 102 69
Rank change year-on-year -70 -33 +11
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 856 844 1,156
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.60% 2.57% 2.97%
As % of the General category 2.90% 4.05% 5.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 489 493 556
10th Percentile £225 £300 £216
25th Percentile £400 £395 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year - - -2.56%
75th Percentile £575 £586 £607
90th Percentile £689 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £475 £475
% change year-on-year -5.26% - +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 44 47 104
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.70 £14.00 £15.93
Median hourly rate £22.75 £21.25 £56.25
Median % change year-on-year +7.06% -62.22% -13.46%
75th Percentile £50.00 £53.63 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.88
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £56.25
% change year-on-year +35.48% -72.44% +7.14%

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 29,557 20,841 22,339
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.14% 63.36% 57.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,559 13,017 14,072
10th Percentile £313 £278 £290
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 £475 £494
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.85% -1.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,204 1,118 1,390
10th Percentile £13.99 £13.25 £14.06
25th Percentile £17.25 £16.30 £17.02
Median hourly rate £32.00 £25.15 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +27.24% -34.02% +27.07%
75th Percentile £59.00 £50.69 £57.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.05 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.23 £22.14 £38.12
% change year-on-year +45.55% -41.92% +46.90%

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 8 August 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 8 August 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 8 August 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 -76 719 £475 -3.06% 868
UK excluding London -80 427 £450 -5.26% 583
London -40 323 £513 +7.27% 364
Work from Home -40 253 £475 -1.04% 332
South East -55 194 £460 -8.00% 203
North of England -68 59 £475 -9.52% 120
Scotland +6 50 £300 -7.69% 46
South West -75 46 £450 -18.18% 57
East of England -6 41 £190 -49.33% 50
Midlands -63 37 £478 +25.82% 78
West Midlands -66 33 £473 +24.34% 50
Yorkshire -20 32 £475 +22.58% 33
North West -53 26 £522 -1.56% 63
East Midlands -10 4 £500 +33.33% 28
Northern Ireland 0 3 £175 -51.05% 5
Wales -15 2 £500 +132.56% 32
North East -43 1 - - 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 17 (1.99%) Confluence
2 16 (1.87%) OpenStack
3 10 (1.17%) ArcGIS
3 10 (1.17%) SharePoint
4 8 (0.93%) Microsoft Exchange
5 7 (0.82%) Apache Airflow
6 4 (0.47%) Anypoint
6 4 (0.47%) Apache Spark
7 2 (0.23%) Appian
7 2 (0.23%) CMS
8 1 (0.12%) Apache
8 1 (0.12%) Camunda
8 1 (0.12%) IIS
8 1 (0.12%) JBoss
8 1 (0.12%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.12%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.12%) Smallworld
8 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
8 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 27 (3.15%) Microsoft Excel
2 25 (2.92%) Microsoft Office
3 21 (2.45%) MS Visio
4 10 (1.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 9 (1.05%) Microsoft Project
6 5 (0.58%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.12%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.12%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.12%) InDesign
7 1 (0.12%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.12%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.12%) Revit
7 1 (0.12%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 19 (2.22%) SAP PSCD
2 10 (1.17%) SAP BRIM
3 8 (0.93%) SAP FI
3 8 (0.93%) SAP Hybris
4 7 (0.82%) SAP FI-CA
5 6 (0.70%) Remedy ITSM
6 5 (0.58%) NetSuite
6 5 (0.58%) Sage X3
6 5 (0.58%) Salesforce CRM
6 5 (0.58%) SAP S/4HANA
7 4 (0.47%) BambooHR
8 3 (0.35%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.35%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle BRM
9 1 (0.12%) SAP CO
9 1 (0.12%) SAP FI/CO
9 1 (0.12%) SAP FS
9 1 (0.12%) SAP IS-U
9 1 (0.12%) SAP SD
9 1 (0.12%) SAP SRM
Cloud Services
1 97 (11.33%) Azure
2 91 (10.63%) AWS
3 65 (7.59%) GCP
4 21 (2.45%) Power Platform
5 20 (2.34%) Microsoft 365
6 16 (1.87%) GitHub
7 15 (1.75%) Entra ID
8 14 (1.64%) SaaS
9 11 (1.29%) dbt
10 10 (1.17%) Azure DevOps
10 10 (1.17%) Cloud Computing
10 10 (1.17%) SAP Commerce Cloud
10 10 (1.17%) Snowflake
11 9 (1.05%) GitHub Actions
12 6 (0.70%) Cloud Functions
12 6 (0.70%) Datadog
12 6 (0.70%) Serverless
13 5 (0.58%) AWS Lambda
13 5 (0.58%) OneDrive
13 5 (0.58%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 95 (11.10%) WAN
2 79 (9.23%) 5G
3 78 (9.11%) LAN
4 71 (8.29%) MPLS
5 59 (6.89%) 4G
6 50 (5.84%) Radio Access Network
7 46 (5.37%) Firewall
8 33 (3.86%) DNS
9 32 (3.74%) SD-WAN
10 26 (3.04%) 3G
11 25 (2.92%) BGP
11 25 (2.92%) Network Security
12 23 (2.69%) LTE
12 23 (2.69%) SDH
12 23 (2.69%) TCP/IP
12 23 (2.69%) Wi-Fi
13 22 (2.57%) VoIP
14 21 (2.45%) 3GPP
14 21 (2.45%) VPN
15 19 (2.22%) 2G
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.34%) Power BI
2 19 (2.22%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.64%) BigQuery
4 13 (1.52%) Tableau
5 12 (1.40%) Amazon Redshift
5 12 (1.40%) Looker
6 11 (1.29%) NoSQL
7 10 (1.17%) GIS
8 8 (0.93%) Big Data
8 8 (0.93%) PostgreSQL
9 7 (0.82%) MySQL
10 6 (0.70%) SQL Server
11 5 (0.58%) Apache Cassandra
11 5 (0.58%) MongoDB
11 5 (0.58%) Relational Database
12 4 (0.47%) InfluxDB
13 3 (0.35%) Hazelcast
13 3 (0.35%) Oracle Database
13 3 (0.35%) Redis
13 3 (0.35%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 31 (3.62%) JIRA
2 21 (2.45%) Git
3 12 (1.40%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.70%) GitLab
5 5 (0.58%) Selenium
6 2 (0.23%) Robot Framework
6 2 (0.23%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle Forms
7 1 (0.12%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.12%) TestRail
7 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.12%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 241 (28.15%) Social Skills
2 134 (15.65%) Finance
3 110 (12.85%) Analytical Skills
4 59 (6.89%) Public Sector
5 36 (4.21%) Billing
6 29 (3.39%) Documentation Skills
7 28 (3.27%) Retail
8 25 (2.92%) Legal
9 24 (2.80%) Organisational Skills
10 22 (2.57%) Marketing
11 19 (2.22%) Influencing Skills
12 15 (1.75%) Aerospace
13 14 (1.64%) Presentation Skills
14 13 (1.52%) Manufacturing
15 10 (1.17%) Publishing
16 9 (1.05%) Inclusion and Diversity
17 8 (0.93%) Police
18 6 (0.70%) Electronics
19 4 (0.47%) Military
20 3 (0.35%) Games
Job Titles
1 132 (15.42%) Architect
2 80 (9.35%) Senior
3 67 (7.83%) Consultant
4 66 (7.71%) Lead
5 62 (7.24%) Analyst
6 54 (6.31%) Project Manager
7 47 (5.49%) Network Engineer
8 46 (5.37%) Solutions Architect
9 40 (4.67%) Telecoms Engineer
10 37 (4.32%) Designer
11 35 (4.09%) Field Engineer
11 35 (4.09%) Telecoms Manager
12 33 (3.86%) Developer
13 29 (3.39%) ServiceNow Architect
14 26 (3.04%) Data Engineer
14 26 (3.04%) Enterprise Architect
15 21 (2.45%) Programme Manager
15 21 (2.45%) Telecoms Architect
16 20 (2.34%) Platform Engineer
16 20 (2.34%) SAP Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (6.07%) REST
2 33 (3.86%) SOAP
3 19 (2.22%) Kafka
4 13 (1.52%) ONVIF
4 13 (1.52%) RESTful
4 13 (1.52%) XML
5 12 (1.40%) Elastic Stack
5 12 (1.40%) Middleware
6 11 (1.29%) NETCONF
6 11 (1.29%) YANG
7 10 (1.17%) AngularJS
7 10 (1.17%) HTML
7 10 (1.17%) React
8 9 (1.05%) CSS
8 9 (1.05%) OpenAPI
8 9 (1.05%) Swagger
9 7 (0.82%) JSON
10 6 (0.70%) .NET
10 6 (0.70%) Redux
10 6 (0.70%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 50 (5.84%) CMDB
2 47 (5.49%) Data Centre
3 36 (4.21%) Onboarding
4 32 (3.74%) Driving Licence
5 31 (3.62%) Cloud Native
6 19 (2.22%) Analytical Mindset
6 19 (2.22%) Virtual Team
7 18 (2.10%) Data Protection Act
7 18 (2.10%) Product Ownership
8 17 (1.99%) Hybrid Cloud
9 15 (1.75%) Management Information System
9 15 (1.75%) Self-Motivation
10 13 (1.52%) Video\Live Streaming
11 11 (1.29%) Algorithms
11 11 (1.29%) Distributed Systems
12 10 (1.17%) Data Structures
12 10 (1.17%) TM Forum
13 9 (1.05%) Private Cloud
13 9 (1.05%) Video Conferencing
14 8 (0.93%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 41 (4.79%) Windows
2 33 (3.86%) Linux
3 15 (1.75%) Windows 10
4 11 (1.29%) Unix
5 10 (1.17%) Windows Server
6 7 (0.82%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.47%) Android
8 3 (0.35%) Apple iOS
8 3 (0.35%) VMS
9 2 (0.23%) Embedded Linux
9 2 (0.23%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.23%) 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
1 163 (19.04%) Stakeholder Management
2 129 (15.07%) Agile
3 108 (12.62%) Problem-Solving
4 85 (9.93%) Project Delivery
5 84 (9.81%) ITIL
6 82 (9.58%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 72 (8.41%) AI
8 69 (8.06%) CI/CD
8 69 (8.06%) Roadmaps
9 65 (7.59%) Continuous Improvement
9 65 (7.59%) Service Management
10 64 (7.48%) Project Management
11 63 (7.36%) Migration
12 58 (6.78%) Decision-Making
13 56 (6.54%) Validation
14 54 (6.31%) Change Management
15 53 (6.19%) Analytics
15 53 (6.19%) Technical Leadership
16 52 (6.07%) CRM
17 50 (5.84%) ITSM
Programming Languages
1 74 (8.64%) Python
2 47 (5.49%) SQL
3 32 (3.74%) JavaScript
4 16 (1.87%) Bash
4 16 (1.87%) Java
5 10 (1.17%) C#
6 9 (1.05%) PowerShell
7 7 (0.82%) Apex Code
7 7 (0.82%) R
8 5 (0.58%) C++
9 4 (0.47%) ABAP
9 4 (0.47%) DataWeave
9 4 (0.47%) Shell Script
9 4 (0.47%) SOQL
9 4 (0.47%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.35%) LookML
11 2 (0.23%) C
11 2 (0.23%) DCL
12 1 (0.12%) Ada
12 1 (0.12%) Bicep
Qualifications
1 150 (17.52%) Security Cleared
2 101 (11.80%) SC Cleared
3 85 (9.93%) Degree
4 57 (6.66%) Cisco Certification
5 40 (4.67%) CCNA
6 23 (2.69%) Microsoft Certification
7 21 (2.45%) A+ Certification
7 21 (2.45%) CCNP
7 21 (2.45%) Computer Science Degree
7 21 (2.45%) DV Cleared
7 21 (2.45%) PMP
8 17 (1.99%) PMI Certification
9 16 (1.87%) BPSS Clearance
10 13 (1.52%) MCSA
11 10 (1.17%) Azure Certification
12 9 (1.05%) AWS Certification
12 9 (1.05%) CCIE
13 8 (0.93%) CISSP
13 8 (0.93%) Master's Degree
13 8 (0.93%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (3.27%) SLA
2 27 (3.15%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 24 (2.80%) QA
4 23 (2.69%) GDPR
5 20 (2.34%) GRC
6 18 (2.10%) NCSC
6 18 (2.10%) PMO
7 14 (1.64%) Data Quality
8 9 (1.05%) NIST
9 3 (0.35%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.35%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.35%) PCI DSS
9 3 (0.35%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 2 (0.23%) Accessibility
10 2 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.23%) EU AI Act
11 1 (0.12%) ISO 31000
11 1 (0.12%) ISO/IEC 15288
11 1 (0.12%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 1 (0.12%) SOC 1
System Software
1 25 (2.92%) Docker
2 22 (2.57%) Active Directory
3 20 (2.34%) VMware Infrastructure
4 8 (0.93%) VMware NSX
5 5 (0.58%) vSphere
6 4 (0.47%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.35%) Hyper-V
8 1 (0.12%) Ceph
8 1 (0.12%) Firmware
8 1 (0.12%) KVM
8 1 (0.12%) NDS
8 1 (0.12%) NetIQ eDirectory
8 1 (0.12%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 48 (5.61%) Kubernetes
2 23 (2.69%) Terraform
3 18 (2.10%) Ansible
4 16 (1.87%) Grafana
4 16 (1.87%) Prometheus
5 7 (0.82%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (0.58%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (0.35%) Amdocs OSS
7 3 (0.35%) Check_MK
7 3 (0.35%) Kibana
7 3 (0.35%) Podman
7 3 (0.35%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.35%) vRealize
8 2 (0.23%) Cisco Prime
8 2 (0.23%) NSN NetAct
8 2 (0.23%) QRadar
8 2 (0.23%) SolarWinds Orion
9 1 (0.12%) AirWatch
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle RMAN
9 1 (0.12%) SCCM
Vendors
1 115 (13.43%) Microsoft
2 95 (11.10%) Cisco
3 88 (10.28%) ServiceNow
4 53 (6.19%) Nokia
5 41 (4.79%) Salesforce
6 34 (3.97%) VMware
7 28 (3.27%) SAP
8 23 (2.69%) BT
8 23 (2.69%) Ericsson
8 23 (2.69%) Google
9 19 (2.22%) F5
9 19 (2.22%) Juniper
10 18 (2.10%) Fortinet
10 18 (2.10%) MuleSoft
11 16 (1.87%) Huawei
12 12 (1.40%) BMC
12 12 (1.40%) Oracle
12 12 (1.40%) Palo Alto
13 10 (1.17%) CheckPoint
14 9 (1.05%) Zscaler