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

6 months to
7 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 178 101 67
Rank change year-on-year -77 -34 +14
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 777 815 1,325
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.49% 2.56% 3.06%
As % of the General category 2.73% 4.06% 5.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 451 467 628
10th Percentile £213 £303 £200
25th Percentile £384 £400 £342
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £468
Median % change year-on-year - +1.60% -3.86%
75th Percentile £556 £583 £613
90th Percentile £675 £700 £749
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £459 £460
% change year-on-year -1.91% -0.27% +2.22%
Number of hourly rates quoted 43 43 106
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 £59.87 £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 28,461 20,078 24,716
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.66% 63.09% 57.13%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,041 12,609 15,456
10th Percentile £313 £281 £275
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 £472 £489
% change year-on-year +5.93% -3.48% -2.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,970 1,003 1,943
10th Percentile £13.99 £13.47 £12.82
25th Percentile £18.05 £16.36 £15.62
Median hourly rate £32.00 £27.21 £31.97
Median % change year-on-year +17.60% -14.89% +6.57%
75th Percentile £60.41 £52.08 £53.75
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.13 £68.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.00 £23.00 £31.25
% change year-on-year +39.13% -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 7 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 7 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 7 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 -85 672 £475 -3.06% 736
UK excluding London -94 401 £450 -1.91% 642
London -42 289 £500 +2.04% 234
Work from Home -47 217 £475 - 337
South East -58 181 £463 -7.04% 204
North of England -51 65 £500 -3.38% 126
South West -59 49 £450 -5.26% 48
Midlands -61 39 £475 +24.59% 93
East of England -19 35 £190 -50.97% 70
North West -41 35 £506 -3.57% 77
West Midlands -67 33 £460 +31.43% 58
Scotland -14 32 £290 -10.77% 76
Yorkshire -37 23 £600 +20.00% 40
North East -31 7 £500 - 11
East Midlands -12 6 £500 -20.00% 35
Northern Ireland 0 3 £175 -51.05% 17
Wales -21 1 £500 +132.56% 24

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 (1.29%) OpenStack
2 9 (1.16%) Confluence
3 7 (0.90%) Apache Airflow
4 6 (0.77%) Appian
4 6 (0.77%) ArcGIS
4 6 (0.77%) SharePoint
5 4 (0.51%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.51%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.51%) Microsoft Exchange
6 3 (0.39%) IIS
6 3 (0.39%) JBoss
6 3 (0.39%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 3 (0.39%) Tomcat
6 3 (0.39%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.26%) Apache
7 2 (0.26%) CMS
7 2 (0.26%) Oracle Spatial
8 1 (0.13%) Camunda
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
8 1 (0.13%) Smallworld
Applications
1 25 (3.22%) Microsoft Excel
2 24 (3.09%) Microsoft Office
3 13 (1.67%) MS Visio
4 9 (1.16%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.64%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.64%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.26%) 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 (2.83%) SAP PSCD
2 14 (1.80%) Remedy ITSM
3 13 (1.67%) SAP BRIM
4 12 (1.54%) SAP Hybris
5 7 (0.90%) SAP FI
6 6 (0.77%) SAP FI-CA
7 5 (0.64%) NetSuite
7 5 (0.64%) Sage X3
8 4 (0.51%) BambooHR
8 4 (0.51%) Remedy AR System
9 3 (0.39%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
9 3 (0.39%) Salesforce CRM
9 3 (0.39%) SAP ERP
10 1 (0.13%) SAP CO
10 1 (0.13%) SAP FI/CO
10 1 (0.13%) SAP IBP
10 1 (0.13%) SAP S/4HANA
10 1 (0.13%) SAP SD
10 1 (0.13%) SAP SRM
10 1 (0.13%) SmartPlant
Cloud Services
1 76 (9.78%) Azure
2 71 (9.14%) AWS
3 47 (6.05%) GCP
4 18 (2.32%) Microsoft 365
4 18 (2.32%) Power Platform
5 17 (2.19%) SaaS
6 14 (1.80%) SAP Commerce Cloud
7 10 (1.29%) Snowflake
8 9 (1.16%) dbt
9 8 (1.03%) Azure DevOps
9 8 (1.03%) Entra ID
9 8 (1.03%) GitHub
9 8 (1.03%) GitHub Actions
10 6 (0.77%) Datadog
10 6 (0.77%) Serverless
11 5 (0.64%) AWS Lambda
11 5 (0.64%) Cloud Functions
11 5 (0.64%) Fivetran
11 5 (0.64%) Prefect
12 4 (0.51%) Dagster
Communications & Networking
1 74 (9.52%) WAN
2 64 (8.24%) 5G
3 63 (8.11%) LAN
3 63 (8.11%) MPLS
4 44 (5.66%) 4G
5 41 (5.28%) Radio Access Network
6 40 (5.15%) Firewall
7 31 (3.99%) SD-WAN
8 29 (3.73%) BGP
9 23 (2.96%) Network Security
10 21 (2.70%) VoIP
11 20 (2.57%) 3G
11 20 (2.57%) OSPF
11 20 (2.57%) VPN
12 19 (2.45%) DNS
12 19 (2.45%) LTE
13 18 (2.32%) 3GPP
13 18 (2.32%) SDH
14 17 (2.19%) VLAN
15 16 (2.06%) Structured Cabling
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (2.19%) Power BI
2 16 (2.06%) Data Warehouse
3 14 (1.80%) BigQuery
4 12 (1.54%) Amazon Redshift
4 12 (1.54%) Looker
4 12 (1.54%) Tableau
5 7 (0.90%) Big Data
5 7 (0.90%) Relational Database
6 6 (0.77%) GIS
7 5 (0.64%) MySQL
8 4 (0.51%) Oracle Database
9 3 (0.39%) Amazon Athena
9 3 (0.39%) BusinessObjects
9 3 (0.39%) InfluxDB
9 3 (0.39%) PostgreSQL
9 3 (0.39%) SAP BW
9 3 (0.39%) SAP Data Services
9 3 (0.39%) Semantic Layer
9 3 (0.39%) SQL Server
9 3 (0.39%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 24 (3.09%) JIRA
2 10 (1.29%) Git
3 5 (0.64%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.39%) 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
1 226 (29.09%) Social Skills
2 131 (16.86%) Finance
3 106 (13.64%) Analytical Skills
4 66 (8.49%) Public Sector
5 47 (6.05%) Billing
6 27 (3.47%) Documentation Skills
7 26 (3.35%) Retail
8 24 (3.09%) Marketing
9 20 (2.57%) Legal
10 19 (2.45%) Organisational Skills
11 16 (2.06%) Influencing Skills
12 11 (1.42%) Electronics
13 10 (1.29%) Manufacturing
13 10 (1.29%) Presentation Skills
14 8 (1.03%) Aerospace
14 8 (1.03%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 7 (0.90%) Publishing
16 5 (0.64%) Police
17 4 (0.51%) Military
18 3 (0.39%) Banking
Job Titles
1 109 (14.03%) Architect
2 66 (8.49%) Consultant
3 64 (8.24%) Lead
3 64 (8.24%) Senior
4 59 (7.59%) Analyst
5 44 (5.66%) Network Engineer
6 43 (5.53%) Solutions Architect
7 41 (5.28%) Project Manager
8 39 (5.02%) Telecoms Manager
9 28 (3.60%) Designer
9 28 (3.60%) Developer
10 25 (3.22%) ServiceNow Architect
11 24 (3.09%) Data Engineer
12 23 (2.96%) SAP Consultant
12 23 (2.96%) Telecoms Engineer
13 22 (2.83%) Field Engineer
14 21 (2.70%) Delivery Manager
15 20 (2.57%) Enterprise Architect
16 18 (2.32%) Telecoms Architect
17 17 (2.19%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 43 (5.53%) REST
2 30 (3.86%) SOAP
3 13 (1.67%) Middleware
3 13 (1.67%) ONVIF
4 12 (1.54%) Kafka
5 9 (1.16%) .NET
5 9 (1.16%) Elastic Stack
5 9 (1.16%) XML
6 8 (1.03%) NETCONF
6 8 (1.03%) OpenAPI
6 8 (1.03%) Swagger
6 8 (1.03%) YANG
7 7 (0.90%) JSON
7 7 (0.90%) RESTful
8 4 (0.51%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.51%) RAML
9 3 (0.39%) GraphQL
9 3 (0.39%) RabbitMQ
9 3 (0.39%) RFC 2544
9 3 (0.39%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 45 (5.79%) CMDB
1 45 (5.79%) Data Centre
2 35 (4.50%) Onboarding
3 32 (4.12%) Cloud Native
4 22 (2.83%) Data Protection Act
4 22 (2.83%) Driving Licence
5 19 (2.45%) Virtual Team
6 17 (2.19%) Analytical Mindset
7 13 (1.67%) Management Information System
7 13 (1.67%) Video\Live Streaming
8 12 (1.54%) Hybrid Cloud
9 11 (1.42%) Distributed Systems
9 11 (1.42%) Product Ownership
10 10 (1.29%) Self-Motivation
11 8 (1.03%) EPoS
11 8 (1.03%) TM Forum
12 7 (0.90%) Private Cloud
13 6 (0.77%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
13 6 (0.77%) Legacy Systems
14 5 (0.64%) Operational Technology
Operating Systems
1 33 (4.25%) Windows
2 26 (3.35%) Linux
3 16 (2.06%) Windows 10
4 12 (1.54%) Unix
5 6 (0.77%) Mac OS
6 5 (0.64%) Windows Server
7 3 (0.39%) Android
7 3 (0.39%) Apple iOS
7 3 (0.39%) 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
1 131 (16.86%) Stakeholder Management
2 100 (12.87%) Agile
2 100 (12.87%) Problem-Solving
3 86 (11.07%) ITIL
4 72 (9.27%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 63 (8.11%) Project Delivery
6 60 (7.72%) Continuous Improvement
7 58 (7.46%) CI/CD
7 58 (7.46%) Decision-Making
8 57 (7.34%) Migration
9 56 (7.21%) Roadmaps
10 54 (6.95%) CRM
10 54 (6.95%) Validation
11 52 (6.69%) Project Management
11 52 (6.69%) Service Management
12 49 (6.31%) Customer Service
13 48 (6.18%) ITSM
14 47 (6.05%) Analytics
15 45 (5.79%) AI
16 40 (5.15%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 61 (7.85%) Python
2 36 (4.63%) SQL
3 20 (2.57%) JavaScript
4 16 (2.06%) Java
5 10 (1.29%) C#
6 8 (1.03%) Bash
7 7 (0.90%) C++
7 7 (0.90%) 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 (0.39%) LookML
10 3 (0.39%) Shell Script
11 2 (0.26%) C
11 2 (0.26%) DCL
11 2 (0.26%) PL/SQL
11 2 (0.26%) SOQL
12 1 (0.13%) Ada
Qualifications
1 134 (17.25%) Security Cleared
2 93 (11.97%) SC Cleared
3 72 (9.27%) Degree
4 54 (6.95%) Cisco Certification
5 36 (4.63%) CCNA
6 25 (3.22%) CCNP
7 24 (3.09%) Microsoft Certification
8 23 (2.96%) A+ Certification
8 23 (2.96%) DV Cleared
9 18 (2.32%) Computer Science Degree
10 17 (2.19%) PMP
11 16 (2.06%) BPSS Clearance
12 13 (1.67%) MCSA
12 13 (1.67%) PMI Certification
13 11 (1.42%) Network+ Certification
14 10 (1.29%) Azure Certification
14 10 (1.29%) CCIE
15 9 (1.16%) AWS Certification
16 6 (0.77%) Master's Degree
17 5 (0.64%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 28 (3.60%) SLA
2 22 (2.83%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 21 (2.70%) NCSC
4 19 (2.45%) GDPR
5 16 (2.06%) Data Quality
5 16 (2.06%) GRC
5 16 (2.06%) PMO
5 16 (2.06%) QA
6 8 (1.03%) NIST
7 4 (0.51%) RMADS
8 2 (0.26%) JSP 440
8 2 (0.26%) PCI DSS
8 2 (0.26%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.13%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.13%) EU AI Act
9 1 (0.13%) ISO 22301
9 1 (0.13%) ISO 31000
9 1 (0.13%) ISO/IEC 42001
9 1 (0.13%) SOC 1
9 1 (0.13%) WCAG
System Software
1 17 (2.19%) Active Directory
2 16 (2.06%) VMware Infrastructure
3 14 (1.80%) Docker
4 8 (1.03%) VMware NSX
5 5 (0.64%) vSphere
6 3 (0.39%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.26%) Hyper-V
8 1 (0.13%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 43 (5.53%) Kubernetes
2 23 (2.96%) Terraform
3 18 (2.32%) Ansible
4 13 (1.67%) Grafana
4 13 (1.67%) Prometheus
5 5 (0.64%) Jamf Pro
6 3 (0.39%) Amdocs OSS
6 3 (0.39%) Cisco Prime
6 3 (0.39%) Iperf
6 3 (0.39%) Microsoft Intune
6 3 (0.39%) vCenter Server
6 3 (0.39%) 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%) QRadar
8 1 (0.13%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 96 (12.36%) Microsoft
2 79 (10.17%) Cisco
3 74 (9.52%) ServiceNow
4 41 (5.28%) Nokia
5 34 (4.38%) SAP
6 33 (4.25%) Salesforce
7 24 (3.09%) VMware
8 23 (2.96%) BT
9 21 (2.70%) Ericsson
10 20 (2.57%) Fortinet
10 20 (2.57%) Oracle
11 17 (2.19%) Remedy
12 16 (2.06%) Google
12 16 (2.06%) Juniper
13 15 (1.93%) F5
13 15 (1.93%) Huawei
13 15 (1.93%) MuleSoft
14 13 (1.67%) BMC
15 11 (1.42%) CheckPoint
15 11 (1.42%) Palo Alto