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

6 months to
20 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 166 102 71
Rank change year-on-year -64 -31 +4
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 888 848 1,160
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.66% 2.58% 2.99%
As % of the General category 3.02% 4.07% 5.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 500 496 563
10th Percentile £213 £293 £221
25th Percentile £394 £374 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £470 £480
Median % change year-on-year +1.06% -2.08% -2.54%
75th Percentile £563 £575 £623
90th Percentile £669 £700 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £455 £475
% change year-on-year -1.10% -4.21% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 48 105
10th Percentile £15.43 - £12.15
25th Percentile £16.25 £14.00 £16.92
Median hourly rate £21.00 £22.13 £52.50
Median % change year-on-year -5.08% -57.86% -19.23%
75th Percentile £50.00 £54.56 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £68.93 £75.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £51.25
% change year-on-year +35.48% -69.76% -14.58%

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 29,452 20,852 22,255
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.04% 63.51% 57.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,473 12,975 13,936
10th Percentile £313 £275 £290
25th Percentile £415 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £625 £650
90th Percentile £738 £746 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,245 1,142 1,320
10th Percentile £13.90 £13.26 £14.06
25th Percentile £17.20 £16.30 £16.85
Median hourly rate £31.50 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +25.25% -32.93% +36.36%
75th Percentile £56.25 £50.75 £58.75
90th Percentile £78.75 £71.14 £70.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.00 £22.14 £38.12
% change year-on-year +44.53% -41.92% +52.48%

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 20 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 20 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 20 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 -85 731 £478 -0.68% 1,031
UK excluding London -82 436 £450 -1.10% 683
London -29 344 £513 +7.89% 467
Work from Home -29 262 £475 -1.04% 408
South East -48 192 £467 -6.60% 232
Scotland +14 62 £300 -7.69% 61
North of England -51 57 £463 -7.50% 136
East of England -3 45 £190 -49.33% 62
South West -76 45 £460 -12.48% 67
Yorkshire -21 32 £475 +72.73% 47
Midlands -77 30 £460 +21.05% 103
West Midlands -73 29 £460 +21.05% 63
North West -50 24 £463 -12.74% 65
Wales -11 8 £200 -6.98% 17
Northern Ireland +2 4 £300 +81.82% 17
East Midlands -20 1 - - 40
North East -38 1 - - 30

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 19 (2.14%) Confluence
2 16 (1.80%) OpenStack
3 14 (1.58%) SharePoint
4 10 (1.13%) ArcGIS
5 8 (0.90%) Microsoft Exchange
6 6 (0.68%) Apache Airflow
7 4 (0.45%) Anypoint
8 2 (0.23%) Apache Spark
8 2 (0.23%) CMS
9 1 (0.11%) Camunda
9 1 (0.11%) IIS
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
9 1 (0.11%) Smallworld
Applications
1 34 (3.83%) Microsoft Excel
2 29 (3.27%) Microsoft Office
3 24 (2.70%) MS Visio
4 12 (1.35%) Microsoft Project
5 10 (1.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 5 (0.56%) AutoCAD
7 3 (0.34%) Adobe Creative Suite
8 2 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
9 1 (0.11%) Adobe Illustrator
9 1 (0.11%) Autodesk Inventor
9 1 (0.11%) Chatbot
9 1 (0.11%) InDesign
9 1 (0.11%) MicroStation
9 1 (0.11%) Photoshop
9 1 (0.11%) Revit
9 1 (0.11%) SOLIDWORKS
9 1 (0.11%) Trello
Business Applications
1 19 (2.14%) SAP PSCD
2 10 (1.13%) SAP BRIM
3 8 (0.90%) SAP FI
3 8 (0.90%) SAP Hybris
4 7 (0.79%) SAP FI-CA
5 6 (0.68%) Remedy ITSM
6 5 (0.56%) NetSuite
6 5 (0.56%) Sage X3
6 5 (0.56%) Salesforce CRM
6 5 (0.56%) SAP S/4HANA
7 4 (0.45%) BambooHR
8 3 (0.34%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.34%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.11%) SAP CO
9 1 (0.11%) SAP FI/CO
9 1 (0.11%) SAP FS
9 1 (0.11%) SAP IBP
9 1 (0.11%) SAP SD
9 1 (0.11%) SAP SRM
9 1 (0.11%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 95 (10.70%) Azure
2 90 (10.14%) AWS
3 66 (7.43%) GCP
4 21 (2.36%) Microsoft 365
5 16 (1.80%) Entra ID
5 16 (1.80%) GitHub
5 16 (1.80%) Power Platform
6 14 (1.58%) SaaS
7 11 (1.24%) Azure DevOps
7 11 (1.24%) dbt
8 10 (1.13%) Cloud Computing
8 10 (1.13%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 10 (1.13%) Snowflake
9 9 (1.01%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.68%) Cloud Functions
10 6 (0.68%) Datadog
10 6 (0.68%) OneDrive
11 5 (0.56%) Figma
11 5 (0.56%) OpenShift
11 5 (0.56%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 110 (12.39%) WAN
2 90 (10.14%) LAN
3 82 (9.23%) 5G
4 81 (9.12%) MPLS
5 60 (6.76%) 4G
6 54 (6.08%) Radio Access Network
7 53 (5.97%) Firewall
8 33 (3.72%) SD-WAN
9 31 (3.49%) DNS
10 29 (3.27%) Wi-Fi
11 28 (3.15%) BGP
11 28 (3.15%) SDH
12 26 (2.93%) LTE
13 24 (2.70%) 3G
13 24 (2.70%) Network Security
14 23 (2.59%) TCP/IP
15 22 (2.48%) 3GPP
15 22 (2.48%) VPN
16 21 (2.36%) Structured Cabling
16 21 (2.36%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.03%) Data Warehouse
2 15 (1.69%) Power BI
3 14 (1.58%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.35%) NoSQL
5 11 (1.24%) Amazon Redshift
5 11 (1.24%) Tableau
6 10 (1.13%) GIS
7 9 (1.01%) PostgreSQL
8 8 (0.90%) Big Data
8 8 (0.90%) Looker
9 6 (0.68%) MongoDB
9 6 (0.68%) MySQL
10 5 (0.56%) Apache Cassandra
10 5 (0.56%) Metadata
11 4 (0.45%) InfluxDB
11 4 (0.45%) Redis
11 4 (0.45%) SQL Server
12 3 (0.34%) BusinessObjects
12 3 (0.34%) SAP BW
12 3 (0.34%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 34 (3.83%) JIRA
2 24 (2.70%) Git
3 13 (1.46%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.79%) GitLab
5 5 (0.56%) Selenium
6 2 (0.23%) Robot Framework
6 2 (0.23%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.11%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle Forms
7 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
7 1 (0.11%) TestRail
7 1 (0.11%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.11%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 250 (28.15%) Social Skills
2 137 (15.43%) Finance
3 119 (13.40%) Analytical Skills
4 61 (6.87%) Public Sector
5 37 (4.17%) Billing
6 32 (3.60%) Documentation Skills
7 30 (3.38%) Retail
8 26 (2.93%) Organisational Skills
9 25 (2.82%) Legal
10 20 (2.25%) Marketing
11 18 (2.03%) Influencing Skills
12 15 (1.69%) Aerospace
12 15 (1.69%) Presentation Skills
13 13 (1.46%) Manufacturing
14 10 (1.13%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 10 (1.13%) Publishing
15 8 (0.90%) Police
16 6 (0.68%) Banking
17 5 (0.56%) Electronics
18 4 (0.45%) Games
Job Titles
1 134 (15.09%) Architect
2 81 (9.12%) Senior
3 67 (7.55%) Consultant
4 66 (7.43%) Lead
5 63 (7.09%) Analyst
6 60 (6.76%) Network Engineer
7 58 (6.53%) Project Manager
8 51 (5.74%) Field Engineer
9 47 (5.29%) Telecoms Engineer
10 44 (4.95%) Solutions Architect
11 39 (4.39%) Designer
12 34 (3.83%) Telecoms Manager
13 33 (3.72%) Developer
14 29 (3.27%) ServiceNow Architect
15 27 (3.04%) Enterprise Architect
16 25 (2.82%) Data Engineer
17 21 (2.36%) Business Analyst
17 21 (2.36%) Telecoms Architect
18 20 (2.25%) Network Field Engineer
18 20 (2.25%) SAP Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 55 (6.19%) REST
2 34 (3.83%) SOAP
3 21 (2.36%) Terraform
4 17 (1.91%) Kafka
5 14 (1.58%) RESTful
6 13 (1.46%) NETCONF
6 13 (1.46%) ONVIF
6 13 (1.46%) YANG
7 12 (1.35%) Elastic Stack
7 12 (1.35%) Middleware
7 12 (1.35%) XML
8 11 (1.24%) HTML
9 10 (1.13%) AngularJS
9 10 (1.13%) CSS
9 10 (1.13%) React
10 9 (1.01%) OpenAPI
10 9 (1.01%) Swagger
11 8 (0.90%) JSON
12 7 (0.79%) FastAPI
13 6 (0.68%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 53 (5.97%) Data Centre
2 50 (5.63%) CMDB
3 44 (4.95%) Onboarding
4 42 (4.73%) Driving Licence
5 36 (4.05%) Cloud Native
6 22 (2.48%) Analytical Mindset
7 20 (2.25%) Product Ownership
8 19 (2.14%) Virtual Team
9 18 (2.03%) Data Protection Act
9 18 (2.03%) Management Information System
10 17 (1.91%) Self-Motivation
11 16 (1.80%) Hybrid Cloud
12 13 (1.46%) Video\Live Streaming
13 11 (1.24%) TM Forum
14 10 (1.13%) Data Structures
14 10 (1.13%) Video Conferencing
15 9 (1.01%) Algorithms
15 9 (1.01%) Distributed Systems
15 9 (1.01%) Enterprise Software
15 9 (1.01%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 49 (5.52%) Windows
2 39 (4.39%) Linux
3 14 (1.58%) Windows 10
4 11 (1.24%) Unix
4 11 (1.24%) Windows Server
5 8 (0.90%) Mac OS
6 4 (0.45%) Android
7 3 (0.34%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.34%) VMS
8 2 (0.23%) Embedded Linux
8 2 (0.23%) OpenVMS
8 2 (0.23%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.11%) Mac OS X
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Linux
9 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.11%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 177 (19.93%) Stakeholder Management
2 124 (13.96%) Agile
3 114 (12.84%) Problem-Solving
4 92 (10.36%) Project Delivery
5 87 (9.80%) ITIL
6 83 (9.35%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 76 (8.56%) AI
8 74 (8.33%) Roadmaps
9 71 (8.00%) Project Management
10 70 (7.88%) CI/CD
10 70 (7.88%) Service Management
11 68 (7.66%) Continuous Improvement
11 68 (7.66%) Migration
12 63 (7.09%) Decision-Making
13 61 (6.87%) Validation
14 55 (6.19%) Change Management
15 54 (6.08%) CRM
15 54 (6.08%) Technical Leadership
16 53 (5.97%) Customer Service
17 52 (5.86%) ITSM
Programming Languages
1 77 (8.67%) Python
2 44 (4.95%) SQL
3 32 (3.60%) JavaScript
4 20 (2.25%) Bash
5 14 (1.58%) Java
6 10 (1.13%) PowerShell
7 8 (0.90%) Apex Code
7 8 (0.90%) C#
8 7 (0.79%) R
9 5 (0.56%) C++
9 5 (0.56%) Shell Script
9 5 (0.56%) SOQL
10 4 (0.45%) ABAP
10 4 (0.45%) DataWeave
10 4 (0.45%) TypeScript
11 3 (0.34%) LookML
12 2 (0.23%) Bicep
12 2 (0.23%) C
12 2 (0.23%) DCL
13 1 (0.11%) Search Processing Language
Qualifications
1 161 (18.13%) Security Cleared
2 101 (11.37%) SC Cleared
3 90 (10.14%) Degree
4 64 (7.21%) Cisco Certification
5 45 (5.07%) CCNA
6 25 (2.82%) DV Cleared
7 24 (2.70%) Microsoft Certification
7 24 (2.70%) PMP
8 23 (2.59%) CCNP
8 23 (2.59%) Computer Science Degree
9 22 (2.48%) A+ Certification
10 19 (2.14%) BPSS Clearance
11 18 (2.03%) PMI Certification
12 13 (1.46%) MCSA
13 11 (1.24%) Azure Certification
14 10 (1.13%) CCIE
15 9 (1.01%) AWS Certification
15 9 (1.01%) CISSP
15 9 (1.01%) Master's Degree
15 9 (1.01%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 29 (3.27%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 29 (3.27%) QA
1 29 (3.27%) SLA
2 23 (2.59%) GDPR
3 21 (2.36%) GRC
4 20 (2.25%) PMO
5 18 (2.03%) NCSC
6 14 (1.58%) Data Quality
7 9 (1.01%) NIST
8 3 (0.34%) Accessibility
8 3 (0.34%) Actionable Recommendations
8 3 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.34%) PCI DSS
8 3 (0.34%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 2 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.23%) EU AI Act
10 1 (0.11%) ISO 31000
10 1 (0.11%) ISO/IEC 15288
10 1 (0.11%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 1 (0.11%) SOC 1
System Software
1 26 (2.93%) Docker
2 23 (2.59%) Active Directory
3 21 (2.36%) VMware Infrastructure
4 8 (0.90%) VMware NSX
5 5 (0.56%) VMware ESXi
5 5 (0.56%) vSphere
6 3 (0.34%) Hyper-V
7 1 (0.11%) Ceph
7 1 (0.11%) Firmware
7 1 (0.11%) KVM
7 1 (0.11%) NDS
7 1 (0.11%) NetIQ eDirectory
7 1 (0.11%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 50 (5.63%) Kubernetes
2 20 (2.25%) Ansible
3 16 (1.80%) Grafana
3 16 (1.80%) Prometheus
4 8 (0.90%) Microsoft Intune
5 5 (0.56%) Jamf Pro
6 4 (0.45%) Cisco Prime
7 3 (0.34%) Amdocs OSS
7 3 (0.34%) Check_MK
7 3 (0.34%) Cilium
7 3 (0.34%) Istio
7 3 (0.34%) Kibana
7 3 (0.34%) Podman
7 3 (0.34%) SolarWinds Orion
7 3 (0.34%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.34%) vRealize
8 2 (0.23%) NSN NetAct
8 2 (0.23%) QRadar
9 1 (0.11%) FortiGate
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 124 (13.96%) Microsoft
2 114 (12.84%) Cisco
3 90 (10.14%) ServiceNow
4 62 (6.98%) Nokia
5 47 (5.29%) Salesforce
6 35 (3.94%) VMware
7 29 (3.27%) SAP
8 28 (3.15%) Ericsson
9 25 (2.82%) Google
10 23 (2.59%) BT
11 21 (2.36%) Juniper
12 19 (2.14%) MuleSoft
13 18 (2.03%) F5
14 17 (1.91%) Fortinet
15 16 (1.80%) Huawei
16 12 (1.35%) BMC
16 12 (1.35%) Palo Alto
17 9 (1.01%) Arista
17 9 (1.01%) Oracle
17 9 (1.01%) Zscaler