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

6 months to
4 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 185 102 66
Rank change year-on-year -83 -36 +16
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 756 810 1,342
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.46% 2.57% 3.09%
As % of the General category 2.68% 4.07% 5.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 439 466 634
10th Percentile £212 £303 £200
25th Percentile £384 £399 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £461
Median % change year-on-year - +2.98% -5.38%
75th Percentile £564 £577 £607
90th Percentile £689 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £459 £455 £450
% change year-on-year +0.88% +1.11% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 39 106
10th Percentile £16.01 - £12.15
25th Percentile £18.28 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £27.25 £27.40 £48.56
Median % change year-on-year -0.55% -43.57% -7.50%
75th Percentile £50.00 £62.24 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.00
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 28,167 19,915 24,791
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.57% 63.13% 57.07%
Number of daily rates quoted 16,875 12,519 15,502
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
25th Percentile £413 £402 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £519 £501 £525
Median % change year-on-year +3.73% -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 1,947 987 1,949
10th Percentile £13.99 £13.50 £12.82
25th Percentile £18.09 £16.39 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.00 £27.22 £31.80
Median % change year-on-year +17.56% -14.40% +4.13%
75th Percentile £60.00 £52.00 £53.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.06 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £31.95 £23.00 £30.91
% change year-on-year +38.91% -25.60% +19.12%

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 4 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 4 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 4 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 -85 657 £475 -2.56% 719
UK excluding London -94 390 £459 +0.88% 583
London -27 282 £500 +2.04% 254
Work from Home -50 212 £475 - 258
South East -59 175 £466 -5.86% 181
North of England -56 66 £500 -1.96% 119
South West -59 48 £463 +8.82% 45
Midlands -59 38 £475 +24.59% 89
North West -39 35 £506 -3.57% 74
East of England -21 34 £190 -50.97% 64
West Midlands -70 32 £460 +31.43% 59
Scotland -14 29 £305 -6.15% 73
Yorkshire -44 23 £600 +33.26% 34
North East -28 8 £500 - 14
East Midlands -12 6 £500 -20.00% 30
Northern Ireland -4 3 £175 -51.05% 7
Wales -20 1 £500 +132.56% 22

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 (1.32%) OpenStack
2 9 (1.19%) Confluence
3 7 (0.93%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (0.79%) Appian
5 5 (0.66%) ArcGIS
5 5 (0.66%) SharePoint
6 4 (0.53%) Anypoint
6 4 (0.53%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.53%) Microsoft Exchange
7 3 (0.40%) IIS
7 3 (0.40%) JBoss
7 3 (0.40%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 3 (0.40%) Tomcat
7 3 (0.40%) WebLogic
8 2 (0.26%) Apache
8 2 (0.26%) CMS
8 2 (0.26%) Oracle Spatial
9 1 (0.13%) Camunda
9 1 (0.13%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.13%) Smallworld
Applications
1 24 (3.17%) Microsoft Excel
1 24 (3.17%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (1.72%) MS Visio
3 9 (1.19%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.66%) AutoCAD
4 5 (0.66%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.26%) MicroStation
6 1 (0.13%) Autodesk Inventor
6 1 (0.13%) Chatbot
6 1 (0.13%) Revit
6 1 (0.13%) SOLIDWORKS
6 1 (0.13%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.13%) Trello
Business Applications
1 21 (2.78%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.85%) Remedy ITSM
3 13 (1.72%) SAP BRIM
4 12 (1.59%) SAP Hybris
5 6 (0.79%) SAP FI
6 5 (0.66%) NetSuite
6 5 (0.66%) Sage X3
6 5 (0.66%) SAP FI-CA
7 4 (0.53%) BambooHR
7 4 (0.53%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.40%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
8 3 (0.40%) Salesforce CRM
8 3 (0.40%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.13%) SAP CO
9 1 (0.13%) SAP FI/CO
9 1 (0.13%) SAP IBP
9 1 (0.13%) SAP S/4HANA
9 1 (0.13%) SAP SD
9 1 (0.13%) SAP SRM
9 1 (0.13%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 72 (9.52%) Azure
2 69 (9.13%) AWS
3 46 (6.08%) GCP
4 18 (2.38%) Microsoft 365
4 18 (2.38%) Power Platform
5 17 (2.25%) SaaS
6 14 (1.85%) SAP Commerce Cloud
7 10 (1.32%) Snowflake
8 9 (1.19%) dbt
9 8 (1.06%) GitHub
9 8 (1.06%) GitHub Actions
10 7 (0.93%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (0.93%) Entra ID
11 6 (0.79%) Datadog
11 6 (0.79%) Serverless
12 5 (0.66%) AWS Lambda
12 5 (0.66%) Cloud Functions
12 5 (0.66%) Fivetran
12 5 (0.66%) Prefect
13 4 (0.53%) Figma
Communications & Networking
1 71 (9.39%) WAN
2 62 (8.20%) 5G
3 60 (7.94%) LAN
3 60 (7.94%) MPLS
4 42 (5.56%) 4G
5 40 (5.29%) Firewall
5 40 (5.29%) Radio Access Network
6 31 (4.10%) SD-WAN
7 29 (3.84%) BGP
8 22 (2.91%) Network Security
9 20 (2.65%) OSPF
9 20 (2.65%) VoIP
9 20 (2.65%) VPN
10 19 (2.51%) DNS
11 18 (2.38%) 3G
11 18 (2.38%) LTE
12 17 (2.25%) 3GPP
12 17 (2.25%) VLAN
13 16 (2.12%) SDH
14 15 (1.98%) Broadband
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (2.25%) Power BI
2 16 (2.12%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.85%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.59%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.59%) Looker
4 12 (1.59%) Tableau
5 7 (0.93%) Big Data
5 7 (0.93%) Relational Database
6 5 (0.66%) GIS
6 5 (0.66%) MySQL
7 4 (0.53%) Oracle Database
8 3 (0.40%) Amazon Athena
8 3 (0.40%) BusinessObjects
8 3 (0.40%) InfluxDB
8 3 (0.40%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.40%) SAP BW
8 3 (0.40%) SAP Data Services
8 3 (0.40%) Semantic Layer
8 3 (0.40%) SQL Server
8 3 (0.40%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 24 (3.17%) JIRA
2 10 (1.32%) Git
3 5 (0.66%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.40%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.26%) GitLab
5 2 (0.26%) 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
1 216 (28.57%) Social Skills
2 127 (16.80%) Finance
3 103 (13.62%) Analytical Skills
4 64 (8.47%) Public Sector
5 47 (6.22%) Billing
6 26 (3.44%) Documentation Skills
6 26 (3.44%) Retail
7 24 (3.17%) Marketing
8 20 (2.65%) Legal
9 17 (2.25%) Organisational Skills
10 16 (2.12%) Influencing Skills
11 11 (1.46%) Electronics
12 10 (1.32%) Manufacturing
12 10 (1.32%) Presentation Skills
13 8 (1.06%) Aerospace
13 8 (1.06%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 7 (0.93%) Publishing
15 5 (0.66%) Police
16 4 (0.53%) Military
17 3 (0.40%) Banking
Job Titles
1 106 (14.02%) Architect
2 64 (8.47%) Lead
3 63 (8.33%) Consultant
3 63 (8.33%) Senior
4 56 (7.41%) Analyst
5 43 (5.69%) Network Engineer
5 43 (5.69%) Solutions Architect
6 40 (5.29%) Project Manager
7 39 (5.16%) Telecoms Manager
8 28 (3.70%) Developer
9 27 (3.57%) Designer
10 24 (3.17%) Data Engineer
10 24 (3.17%) ServiceNow Architect
11 22 (2.91%) SAP Consultant
12 21 (2.78%) Delivery Manager
13 20 (2.65%) Enterprise Architect
13 20 (2.65%) Field Engineer
14 18 (2.38%) Telecoms Architect
14 18 (2.38%) Telecoms Engineer
15 17 (2.25%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 42 (5.56%) REST
2 29 (3.84%) SOAP
3 13 (1.72%) Middleware
3 13 (1.72%) ONVIF
4 11 (1.46%) Kafka
5 9 (1.19%) .NET
5 9 (1.19%) Elastic Stack
6 8 (1.06%) OpenAPI
6 8 (1.06%) Swagger
6 8 (1.06%) XML
7 7 (0.93%) NETCONF
7 7 (0.93%) RESTful
7 7 (0.93%) YANG
8 6 (0.79%) JSON
9 4 (0.53%) .NET Framework
9 4 (0.53%) RAML
10 3 (0.40%) GraphQL
10 3 (0.40%) RabbitMQ
10 3 (0.40%) RFC 2544
10 3 (0.40%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 45 (5.95%) Data Centre
2 43 (5.69%) CMDB
3 35 (4.63%) Onboarding
4 32 (4.23%) Cloud Native
5 22 (2.91%) Data Protection Act
6 21 (2.78%) Driving Licence
7 19 (2.51%) Virtual Team
8 17 (2.25%) Analytical Mindset
9 13 (1.72%) Video\Live Streaming
10 12 (1.59%) Hybrid Cloud
11 11 (1.46%) Distributed Systems
11 11 (1.46%) Management Information System
11 11 (1.46%) Product Ownership
12 9 (1.19%) Self-Motivation
13 8 (1.06%) EPoS
13 8 (1.06%) TM Forum
14 7 (0.93%) Private Cloud
15 6 (0.79%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
15 6 (0.79%) Legacy Systems
16 5 (0.66%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 32 (4.23%) Windows
2 26 (3.44%) Linux
3 16 (2.12%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.59%) Unix
5 5 (0.66%) Mac OS
6 4 (0.53%) Windows Server
7 3 (0.40%) Android
7 3 (0.40%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.40%) VMS
8 2 (0.26%) Embedded Linux
8 2 (0.26%) 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
1 127 (16.80%) Stakeholder Management
2 98 (12.96%) Agile
3 96 (12.70%) Problem-Solving
4 85 (11.24%) ITIL
5 70 (9.26%) Stakeholder Engagement
6 62 (8.20%) Project Delivery
7 58 (7.67%) Continuous Improvement
8 57 (7.54%) CI/CD
8 57 (7.54%) Decision-Making
9 56 (7.41%) Migration
10 54 (7.14%) CRM
10 54 (7.14%) Roadmaps
11 51 (6.75%) Project Management
11 51 (6.75%) Service Management
12 50 (6.61%) Validation
13 48 (6.35%) Customer Service
14 47 (6.22%) Analytics
14 47 (6.22%) ITSM
15 45 (5.95%) AI
16 39 (5.16%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 60 (7.94%) Python
2 35 (4.63%) SQL
3 19 (2.51%) JavaScript
4 16 (2.12%) Java
5 10 (1.32%) C#
6 8 (1.06%) Bash
7 7 (0.93%) C++
7 7 (0.93%) R
8 4 (0.53%) ABAP
8 4 (0.53%) Apex Code
8 4 (0.53%) DataWeave
8 4 (0.53%) PowerShell
8 4 (0.53%) TypeScript
9 3 (0.40%) LookML
9 3 (0.40%) Shell Script
10 2 (0.26%) C
10 2 (0.26%) DCL
10 2 (0.26%) PL/SQL
10 2 (0.26%) SOQL
11 1 (0.13%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 131 (17.33%) Security Cleared
2 91 (12.04%) SC Cleared
3 71 (9.39%) Degree
4 54 (7.14%) Cisco Certification
5 36 (4.76%) CCNA
6 25 (3.31%) CCNP
7 24 (3.17%) Microsoft Certification
8 23 (3.04%) A+ Certification
8 23 (3.04%) DV Cleared
9 18 (2.38%) Computer Science Degree
10 17 (2.25%) PMP
11 15 (1.98%) BPSS Clearance
12 13 (1.72%) MCSA
12 13 (1.72%) PMI Certification
13 11 (1.46%) Network+ Certification
14 10 (1.32%) Azure Certification
14 10 (1.32%) CCIE
15 9 (1.19%) AWS Certification
16 6 (0.79%) Master's Degree
17 5 (0.66%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (3.57%) SLA
2 22 (2.91%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 20 (2.65%) NCSC
4 18 (2.38%) GDPR
5 16 (2.12%) PMO
5 16 (2.12%) QA
6 15 (1.98%) Data Quality
7 13 (1.72%) GRC
8 8 (1.06%) NIST
9 4 (0.53%) RMADS
10 2 (0.26%) JSP 440
10 2 (0.26%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.13%) Accessibility
11 1 (0.13%) EU AI Act
11 1 (0.13%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.13%) ISO 31000
11 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 1 (0.13%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.13%) SOC 1
11 1 (0.13%) WCAG
System Software
1 16 (2.12%) Active Directory
1 16 (2.12%) VMware Infrastructure
2 14 (1.85%) Docker
3 8 (1.06%) VMware NSX
4 5 (0.66%) vSphere
5 3 (0.40%) VMware ESXi
6 2 (0.26%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 43 (5.69%) Kubernetes
2 23 (3.04%) Terraform
3 18 (2.38%) Ansible
4 13 (1.72%) Grafana
4 13 (1.72%) Prometheus
5 4 (0.53%) Jamf Pro
6 3 (0.40%) Amdocs OSS
6 3 (0.40%) Cisco Prime
6 3 (0.40%) Iperf
6 3 (0.40%) Microsoft Intune
6 3 (0.40%) vCenter Server
6 3 (0.40%) vRealize
7 2 (0.26%) FortiGate
7 2 (0.26%) Nmap
7 2 (0.26%) NSN NetAct
8 1 (0.13%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.13%) Fluentd
8 1 (0.13%) Kibana
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle RMAN
8 1 (0.13%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 94 (12.43%) Microsoft
2 75 (9.92%) Cisco
3 72 (9.52%) ServiceNow
4 41 (5.42%) Nokia
5 33 (4.37%) SAP
6 32 (4.23%) Salesforce
7 23 (3.04%) BT
7 23 (3.04%) VMware
8 21 (2.78%) Ericsson
9 20 (2.65%) Fortinet
9 20 (2.65%) Oracle
10 17 (2.25%) Remedy
11 16 (2.12%) Google
11 16 (2.12%) Juniper
12 15 (1.98%) F5
12 15 (1.98%) Huawei
13 14 (1.85%) MuleSoft
14 13 (1.72%) BMC
15 11 (1.46%) CheckPoint
15 11 (1.46%) Palo Alto