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

6 months to
9 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 174 103 68
Rank change year-on-year -71 -35 +14
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 785 823 1,331
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.50% 2.55% 3.07%
As % of the General category 2.73% 4.04% 5.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 455 471 633
10th Percentile £213 £303 £200
25th Percentile £375 £400 £343
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £470
Median % change year-on-year - +1.06% -3.59%
75th Percentile £550 £588 £613
90th Percentile £673 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £463 £460
% change year-on-year -2.70% +0.65% +2.11%
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% -10.90%
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 28,745 20,351 24,809
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.77% 63.01% 57.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,230 12,786 15,526
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
25th Percentile £413 £401 £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 1,986 1,021 1,931
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.46 £12.81
25th Percentile £18.41 £16.32 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.50 £27.13 £31.97
Median % change year-on-year +19.82% -15.15% +6.57%
75th Percentile £61.18 £53.50 £53.75
90th Percentile £80.63 £70.00 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.50 £23.00 £31.25
% change year-on-year +41.30% -26.40% +20.42%

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 9 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 9 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 9 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 -89 676 £475 -3.06% 681
UK excluding London -90 409 £450 -2.70% 547
London -42 288 £500 +2.04% 252
Work from Home -39 220 £475 - 258
South East -54 186 £465 -7.00% 195
North of England -63 63 £508 +1.50% 104
South West -61 49 £450 -14.29% 44
Midlands -64 39 £475 +24.59% 81
Scotland -3 36 £275 -15.38% 65
East of England -13 36 £190 -50.97% 49
North West -40 34 £550 +4.76% 60
West Midlands -71 33 £460 +31.43% 53
Yorkshire -40 23 £600 +54.84% 35
East Midlands -10 6 £500 -20.00% 28
North East -27 6 £500 - 11
Northern Ireland +1 3 £175 -51.05% 7
Wales -18 1 £500 +132.56% 17

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 11 (1.40%) OpenStack
2 10 (1.27%) Confluence
3 7 (0.89%) Apache Airflow
3 7 (0.89%) SharePoint
4 6 (0.76%) Appian
4 6 (0.76%) ArcGIS
5 4 (0.51%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.51%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.51%) 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 (3.18%) Microsoft Excel
2 24 (3.06%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (2.04%) MS Visio
4 10 (1.27%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.64%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.64%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.25%) 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 22 (2.80%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.78%) Remedy ITSM
3 13 (1.66%) SAP BRIM
4 12 (1.53%) SAP Hybris
5 7 (0.89%) SAP FI
6 6 (0.76%) SAP FI-CA
7 5 (0.64%) NetSuite
7 5 (0.64%) Sage X3
7 5 (0.64%) Salesforce CRM
8 4 (0.51%) BambooHR
8 4 (0.51%) 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 77 (9.81%) Azure
2 71 (9.04%) AWS
3 47 (5.99%) GCP
4 19 (2.42%) Power Platform
5 17 (2.17%) Microsoft 365
5 17 (2.17%) SaaS
6 14 (1.78%) SAP Commerce Cloud
7 10 (1.27%) Snowflake
8 9 (1.15%) dbt
9 8 (1.02%) Azure DevOps
9 8 (1.02%) Entra ID
9 8 (1.02%) GitHub
9 8 (1.02%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.76%) Datadog
10 6 (0.76%) Serverless
11 5 (0.64%) AWS Lambda
11 5 (0.64%) Cloud Functions
11 5 (0.64%) Fivetran
11 5 (0.64%) OpenShift
11 5 (0.64%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 79 (10.06%) WAN
2 68 (8.66%) LAN
3 67 (8.54%) MPLS
4 64 (8.15%) 5G
5 44 (5.61%) 4G
6 42 (5.35%) Firewall
7 41 (5.22%) Radio Access Network
8 32 (4.08%) SD-WAN
9 30 (3.82%) BGP
10 23 (2.93%) Network Security
11 21 (2.68%) VoIP
12 20 (2.55%) 3G
12 20 (2.55%) OSPF
12 20 (2.55%) VPN
13 19 (2.42%) DNS
13 19 (2.42%) LTE
13 19 (2.42%) SDH
14 18 (2.29%) 3GPP
15 17 (2.17%) VLAN
16 16 (2.04%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.29%) Power BI
2 16 (2.04%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.78%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.53%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.53%) Looker
4 12 (1.53%) Tableau
5 7 (0.89%) Big Data
5 7 (0.89%) Relational Database
6 6 (0.76%) GIS
7 5 (0.64%) MySQL
8 4 (0.51%) 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 (3.18%) JIRA
2 10 (1.27%) Git
3 5 (0.64%) 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
1 230 (29.30%) Social Skills
2 131 (16.69%) Finance
3 108 (13.76%) Analytical Skills
4 64 (8.15%) Public Sector
5 46 (5.86%) Billing
6 30 (3.82%) Documentation Skills
7 27 (3.44%) Retail
8 22 (2.80%) Marketing
9 21 (2.68%) Organisational Skills
10 20 (2.55%) Legal
11 18 (2.29%) Influencing Skills
12 11 (1.40%) Presentation Skills
13 9 (1.15%) Electronics
14 8 (1.02%) Aerospace
14 8 (1.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 8 (1.02%) Manufacturing
15 7 (0.89%) Police
15 7 (0.89%) Publishing
16 4 (0.51%) Military
17 3 (0.38%) Banking
Job Titles
1 111 (14.14%) Architect
2 67 (8.54%) Consultant
3 65 (8.28%) Senior
4 64 (8.15%) Lead
5 61 (7.77%) Analyst
6 44 (5.61%) Network Engineer
7 43 (5.48%) Solutions Architect
8 41 (5.22%) Project Manager
9 39 (4.97%) Telecoms Manager
10 28 (3.57%) Designer
10 28 (3.57%) Developer
11 26 (3.31%) Telecoms Engineer
12 25 (3.18%) Data Engineer
12 25 (3.18%) ServiceNow Architect
13 23 (2.93%) Field Engineer
13 23 (2.93%) SAP Consultant
14 21 (2.68%) Delivery Manager
15 20 (2.55%) Enterprise Architect
16 19 (2.42%) Business Analyst
17 18 (2.29%) Telecoms Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 43 (5.48%) REST
2 30 (3.82%) SOAP
3 13 (1.66%) Middleware
3 13 (1.66%) ONVIF
4 12 (1.53%) Kafka
5 9 (1.15%) .NET
5 9 (1.15%) Elastic Stack
5 9 (1.15%) NETCONF
5 9 (1.15%) XML
5 9 (1.15%) YANG
6 8 (1.02%) OpenAPI
6 8 (1.02%) Swagger
7 7 (0.89%) JSON
7 7 (0.89%) RESTful
8 4 (0.51%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.51%) RAML
9 3 (0.38%) GraphQL
9 3 (0.38%) OpenConfig
9 3 (0.38%) RESTCONF
9 3 (0.38%) RFC 2544
Miscellaneous
1 46 (5.86%) Data Centre
2 45 (5.73%) CMDB
3 34 (4.33%) Onboarding
4 32 (4.08%) Cloud Native
5 24 (3.06%) Driving Licence
6 22 (2.80%) Data Protection Act
7 19 (2.42%) Virtual Team
8 18 (2.29%) Analytical Mindset
9 13 (1.66%) Hybrid Cloud
9 13 (1.66%) Management Information System
9 13 (1.66%) Video\Live Streaming
10 12 (1.53%) Product Ownership
11 11 (1.40%) Distributed Systems
12 10 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
13 8 (1.02%) EPoS
13 8 (1.02%) Private Cloud
13 8 (1.02%) TM Forum
14 6 (0.76%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
14 6 (0.76%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (0.76%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 33 (4.20%) Windows
2 26 (3.31%) Linux
3 16 (2.04%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.53%) Unix
5 6 (0.76%) Mac OS
6 5 (0.64%) 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
9 1 (0.13%) Mac OS X
9 1 (0.13%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.13%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.13%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 134 (17.07%) Stakeholder Management
2 102 (12.99%) Agile
2 102 (12.99%) Problem-Solving
3 88 (11.21%) ITIL
4 74 (9.43%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 66 (8.41%) Project Delivery
6 60 (7.64%) Continuous Improvement
7 58 (7.39%) CI/CD
7 58 (7.39%) Decision-Making
8 56 (7.13%) CRM
8 56 (7.13%) Migration
8 56 (7.13%) Roadmaps
9 54 (6.88%) Validation
10 52 (6.62%) Customer Service
10 52 (6.62%) Project Management
10 52 (6.62%) Service Management
11 48 (6.11%) AI
11 48 (6.11%) ITSM
12 47 (5.99%) Analytics
13 42 (5.35%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 62 (7.90%) Python
2 37 (4.71%) SQL
3 20 (2.55%) JavaScript
4 16 (2.04%) Java
5 10 (1.27%) C#
6 8 (1.02%) Bash
7 7 (0.89%) C++
7 7 (0.89%) R
8 5 (0.64%) Apex Code
8 5 (0.64%) PowerShell
9 4 (0.51%) ABAP
9 4 (0.51%) DataWeave
9 4 (0.51%) TypeScript
10 3 (0.38%) LookML
10 3 (0.38%) Shell Script
11 2 (0.25%) C
11 2 (0.25%) DCL
11 2 (0.25%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.25%) SOQL
12 1 (0.13%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 138 (17.58%) Security Cleared
2 97 (12.36%) SC Cleared
3 72 (9.17%) Degree
4 56 (7.13%) Cisco Certification
5 37 (4.71%) CCNA
6 25 (3.18%) CCNP
7 23 (2.93%) DV Cleared
7 23 (2.93%) Microsoft Certification
8 22 (2.80%) A+ Certification
9 17 (2.17%) Computer Science Degree
9 17 (2.17%) PMP
10 16 (2.04%) BPSS Clearance
11 13 (1.66%) MCSA
11 13 (1.66%) PMI Certification
12 11 (1.40%) CCIE
13 10 (1.27%) Azure Certification
13 10 (1.27%) Network+ Certification
14 9 (1.15%) AWS Certification
15 6 (0.76%) Master's Degree
16 5 (0.64%) JNCIE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (3.57%) SLA
2 22 (2.80%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (2.55%) NCSC
4 19 (2.42%) GDPR
5 17 (2.17%) QA
6 16 (2.04%) Data Quality
6 16 (2.04%) GRC
7 15 (1.91%) PMO
8 8 (1.02%) 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%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.13%) ISO 31000
11 1 (0.13%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.13%) NEBOSH
11 1 (0.13%) SOC 1
11 1 (0.13%) WCAG
System Software
1 16 (2.04%) Active Directory
1 16 (2.04%) VMware Infrastructure
2 14 (1.78%) Docker
3 8 (1.02%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.64%) vSphere
5 3 (0.38%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.25%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 43 (5.48%) Kubernetes
2 23 (2.93%) Terraform
3 19 (2.42%) Ansible
4 13 (1.66%) Grafana
4 13 (1.66%) Prometheus
5 5 (0.64%) 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%) Kibana
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle RMAN
8 1 (0.13%) QRadar
8 1 (0.13%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 100 (12.74%) Microsoft
2 81 (10.32%) Cisco
3 75 (9.55%) ServiceNow
4 44 (5.61%) Nokia
5 36 (4.59%) Salesforce
6 32 (4.08%) SAP
7 24 (3.06%) VMware
8 23 (2.93%) BT
9 22 (2.80%) Fortinet
10 21 (2.68%) Ericsson
11 19 (2.42%) Oracle
12 17 (2.17%) Juniper
12 17 (2.17%) Remedy
13 16 (2.04%) F5
13 16 (2.04%) Google
14 15 (1.91%) Huawei
14 15 (1.91%) MuleSoft
15 13 (1.66%) BMC
16 11 (1.40%) CheckPoint
16 11 (1.40%) Palo Alto