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

6 months to
1 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 176 103 68
Rank change year-on-year -73 -35 +14
Contract jobs citing Telecoms 837 841 1,182
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.57% 2.56% 3.00%
As % of the General category 2.85% 4.05% 5.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 473 494 572
10th Percentile £215 £300 £205
25th Percentile £400 £384 £358
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £470 £475
Median % change year-on-year +1.06% -1.05% -2.56%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £607
90th Percentile £694 £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 44 47 107
10th Percentile £16.08 - £12.15
25th Percentile £17.73 £14.00 £14.00
Median hourly rate £25.17 £20.75 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year +21.30% -62.27% -10.20%
75th Percentile £50.00 £53.63 £72.50
90th Percentile £178.75 £65.25 £75.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.00 £15.50 £48.56
% change year-on-year +35.48% -68.08% -7.50%

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 29,343 20,776 22,576
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.04% 63.17% 57.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,454 12,989 14,241
10th Percentile £313 £280 £286
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 2,143 1,108 1,460
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.25 £13.86
25th Percentile £17.92 £16.13 £16.50
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +29.22% -32.93% +25.00%
75th Percentile £60.00 £51.10 £57.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.05 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.00 £22.14 £38.12
% change year-on-year +49.05% -41.92% +46.62%

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 1 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 1 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 1 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 -83 704 £475 -1.04% 816
UK excluding London -89 421 £450 -1.10% 612
London -29 312 £517 +8.74% 315
Work from Home -40 246 £475 - 326
South East -52 191 £460 -8.00% 223
North of England -56 61 £488 -7.14% 132
Scotland +2 48 £300 -7.69% 48
South West -73 46 £450 -14.29% 61
Midlands -63 39 £475 +25.83% 76
East of England -12 36 £160 -57.33% 48
West Midlands -73 35 £470 +23.68% 49
Yorkshire -18 32 £475 +22.58% 34
North West -60 26 £532 +0.38% 74
East Midlands -15 4 £500 +33.33% 27
Northern Ireland -5 3 £175 -51.05% 6
North East -37 3 £500 - 26
Wales -13 1 £500 +132.56% 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 13 (1.55%) Confluence
1 13 (1.55%) OpenStack
2 10 (1.19%) ArcGIS
2 10 (1.19%) SharePoint
3 8 (0.96%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (0.84%) Apache Airflow
5 4 (0.48%) Anypoint
5 4 (0.48%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.24%) Apache
6 2 (0.24%) Appian
6 2 (0.24%) CMS
7 1 (0.12%) Camunda
7 1 (0.12%) IIS
7 1 (0.12%) JBoss
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Smallworld
7 1 (0.12%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 24 (2.87%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (2.75%) Microsoft Excel
3 19 (2.27%) MS Visio
4 9 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.60%) AutoCAD
5 5 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.24%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.12%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.12%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.12%) Revit
7 1 (0.12%) SOLIDWORKS
7 1 (0.12%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.12%) Trello
Business Applications
1 20 (2.39%) SAP PSCD
2 11 (1.31%) SAP BRIM
3 9 (1.08%) SAP Hybris
4 8 (0.96%) SAP FI
5 7 (0.84%) Remedy ITSM
5 7 (0.84%) SAP FI-CA
6 5 (0.60%) NetSuite
6 5 (0.60%) Sage X3
6 5 (0.60%) Salesforce CRM
6 5 (0.60%) SAP S/4HANA
7 4 (0.48%) BambooHR
8 3 (0.36%) Remedy AR System
8 3 (0.36%) SAP ERP
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle BRM
9 1 (0.12%) SAP FS
9 1 (0.12%) SAP IBP
9 1 (0.12%) SAP IS-U
9 1 (0.12%) SAP SRM
9 1 (0.12%) SmartPlant
9 1 (0.12%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 97 (11.59%) Azure
2 87 (10.39%) AWS
3 65 (7.77%) GCP
4 21 (2.51%) Power Platform
5 19 (2.27%) Microsoft 365
6 15 (1.79%) Entra ID
6 15 (1.79%) GitHub
6 15 (1.79%) SaaS
7 11 (1.31%) dbt
7 11 (1.31%) SAP Commerce Cloud
8 10 (1.19%) Snowflake
9 9 (1.08%) Azure DevOps
9 9 (1.08%) GitHub Actions
10 8 (0.96%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (0.72%) Cloud Functions
11 6 (0.72%) Datadog
11 6 (0.72%) Serverless
12 5 (0.60%) Fivetran
12 5 (0.60%) OpenShift
12 5 (0.60%) Prefect
Communications & Networking
1 97 (11.59%) WAN
2 80 (9.56%) LAN
3 74 (8.84%) 5G
4 72 (8.60%) MPLS
5 54 (6.45%) 4G
6 50 (5.97%) Firewall
6 50 (5.97%) Radio Access Network
7 33 (3.94%) SD-WAN
8 29 (3.46%) DNS
9 28 (3.35%) BGP
10 27 (3.23%) Network Security
11 24 (2.87%) 3G
12 23 (2.75%) SDH
12 23 (2.75%) VPN
12 23 (2.75%) Wi-Fi
13 22 (2.63%) VoIP
14 21 (2.51%) 3GPP
14 21 (2.51%) LTE
14 21 (2.51%) TCP/IP
15 18 (2.15%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.39%) Power BI
2 19 (2.27%) Data Warehouse
3 15 (1.79%) BigQuery
4 13 (1.55%) Tableau
5 12 (1.43%) Amazon Redshift
5 12 (1.43%) Looker
6 10 (1.19%) GIS
7 8 (0.96%) Big Data
8 6 (0.72%) NoSQL
8 6 (0.72%) SQL Server
9 5 (0.60%) Apache Cassandra
10 4 (0.48%) InfluxDB
10 4 (0.48%) MySQL
10 4 (0.48%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.36%) Amazon Athena
11 3 (0.36%) Data Lake
11 3 (0.36%) Hazelcast
11 3 (0.36%) Oracle Database
11 3 (0.36%) Semantic Layer
11 3 (0.36%) TimescaleDB
Development Applications
1 27 (3.23%) JIRA
2 14 (1.67%) Git
3 7 (0.84%) Jenkins
4 3 (0.36%) GitLab
4 3 (0.36%) Selenium
4 3 (0.36%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.24%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.12%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.12%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.12%) TestRail
General
1 239 (28.55%) Social Skills
2 126 (15.05%) Finance
3 102 (12.19%) Analytical Skills
4 60 (7.17%) Public Sector
5 37 (4.42%) Billing
6 31 (3.70%) Documentation Skills
7 24 (2.87%) Retail
8 23 (2.75%) Organisational Skills
9 22 (2.63%) Legal
9 22 (2.63%) Marketing
10 20 (2.39%) Influencing Skills
11 14 (1.67%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (1.43%) Aerospace
13 10 (1.19%) Manufacturing
13 10 (1.19%) Publishing
14 8 (0.96%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 8 (0.96%) Police
15 6 (0.72%) Electronics
16 4 (0.48%) Military
17 3 (0.36%) General Ledger
Job Titles
1 132 (15.77%) Architect
2 79 (9.44%) Senior
3 66 (7.89%) Consultant
4 64 (7.65%) Lead
5 61 (7.29%) Analyst
6 50 (5.97%) Project Manager
7 48 (5.73%) Network Engineer
8 46 (5.50%) Solutions Architect
9 37 (4.42%) Designer
9 37 (4.42%) Telecoms Engineer
10 35 (4.18%) Field Engineer
10 35 (4.18%) Telecoms Manager
11 29 (3.46%) ServiceNow Architect
12 27 (3.23%) Data Engineer
12 27 (3.23%) Developer
13 26 (3.11%) Enterprise Architect
14 21 (2.51%) SAP Consultant
14 21 (2.51%) Telecoms Architect
15 20 (2.39%) Delivery Manager
15 20 (2.39%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 48 (5.73%) REST
2 33 (3.94%) SOAP
3 16 (1.91%) Kafka
4 13 (1.55%) ONVIF
4 13 (1.55%) XML
5 12 (1.43%) Middleware
6 10 (1.19%) NETCONF
6 10 (1.19%) YANG
7 9 (1.08%) Elastic Stack
7 9 (1.08%) OpenAPI
7 9 (1.08%) Swagger
8 8 (0.96%) AngularJS
8 8 (0.96%) React
8 8 (0.96%) RESTful
9 7 (0.84%) HTML
9 7 (0.84%) JSON
10 6 (0.72%) .NET
10 6 (0.72%) CSS
11 5 (0.60%) 802.1X
11 5 (0.60%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 50 (5.97%) CMDB
2 48 (5.73%) Data Centre
3 36 (4.30%) Onboarding
4 33 (3.94%) Cloud Native
5 30 (3.58%) Driving Licence
6 19 (2.27%) Analytical Mindset
6 19 (2.27%) Data Protection Act
6 19 (2.27%) Virtual Team
7 18 (2.15%) Product Ownership
8 17 (2.03%) Hybrid Cloud
9 15 (1.79%) Management Information System
10 14 (1.67%) Self-Motivation
11 13 (1.55%) Video\Live Streaming
12 12 (1.43%) Distributed Systems
13 9 (1.08%) Algorithms
13 9 (1.08%) Private Cloud
13 9 (1.08%) TM Forum
14 8 (0.96%) Data Structures
14 8 (0.96%) EPoS
15 7 (0.84%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 39 (4.66%) Windows
2 27 (3.23%) Linux
3 15 (1.79%) Windows 10
4 10 (1.19%) Windows Server
5 9 (1.08%) Unix
6 6 (0.72%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.48%) Android
8 3 (0.36%) Apple iOS
8 3 (0.36%) VMS
9 2 (0.24%) Embedded Linux
9 2 (0.24%) OpenVMS
9 2 (0.24%) 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
1 152 (18.16%) Stakeholder Management
2 118 (14.10%) Agile
3 106 (12.66%) Problem-Solving
4 83 (9.92%) ITIL
5 81 (9.68%) Project Delivery
6 80 (9.56%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 70 (8.36%) AI
8 65 (7.77%) CI/CD
8 65 (7.77%) Roadmaps
9 63 (7.53%) Continuous Improvement
9 63 (7.53%) Service Management
10 61 (7.29%) Migration
11 59 (7.05%) Decision-Making
11 59 (7.05%) Project Management
12 54 (6.45%) Validation
13 53 (6.33%) Analytics
13 53 (6.33%) Change Management
14 52 (6.21%) CRM
15 50 (5.97%) Customer Service
15 50 (5.97%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 71 (8.48%) Python
2 43 (5.14%) SQL
3 30 (3.58%) JavaScript
4 15 (1.79%) Java
5 11 (1.31%) Bash
6 9 (1.08%) C#
6 9 (1.08%) PowerShell
7 7 (0.84%) R
8 6 (0.72%) Apex Code
9 5 (0.60%) C++
10 4 (0.48%) ABAP
10 4 (0.48%) DataWeave
10 4 (0.48%) TypeScript
11 3 (0.36%) LookML
11 3 (0.36%) SOQL
12 2 (0.24%) C
12 2 (0.24%) DCL
13 1 (0.12%) Ada
13 1 (0.12%) Bicep
13 1 (0.12%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 149 (17.80%) Security Cleared
2 101 (12.07%) SC Cleared
3 76 (9.08%) Degree
4 58 (6.93%) Cisco Certification
5 40 (4.78%) CCNA
6 24 (2.87%) CCNP
7 23 (2.75%) Microsoft Certification
8 21 (2.51%) A+ Certification
8 21 (2.51%) DV Cleared
9 19 (2.27%) PMP
10 17 (2.03%) Computer Science Degree
11 16 (1.91%) BPSS Clearance
12 15 (1.79%) PMI Certification
13 13 (1.55%) MCSA
14 10 (1.19%) Azure Certification
14 10 (1.19%) CCIE
15 9 (1.08%) AWS Certification
16 8 (0.96%) Network+ Certification
17 7 (0.84%) CISSP
18 6 (0.72%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (3.23%) SLA
2 26 (3.11%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 23 (2.75%) GDPR
4 20 (2.39%) GRC
4 20 (2.39%) QA
5 19 (2.27%) NCSC
6 16 (1.91%) PMO
7 15 (1.79%) Data Quality
8 9 (1.08%) NIST
9 3 (0.36%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.36%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.36%) PCI DSS
9 3 (0.36%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 2 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.24%) EU AI Act
11 1 (0.12%) Accessibility
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 22 (2.63%) Active Directory
2 20 (2.39%) Docker
3 19 (2.27%) VMware Infrastructure
4 8 (0.96%) VMware NSX
5 5 (0.60%) vSphere
6 4 (0.48%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.36%) Hyper-V
8 1 (0.12%) Ceph
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 46 (5.50%) Kubernetes
2 24 (2.87%) Terraform
3 18 (2.15%) Ansible
4 12 (1.43%) Grafana
4 12 (1.43%) Prometheus
5 7 (0.84%) Microsoft Intune
6 5 (0.60%) Jamf Pro
7 3 (0.36%) Amdocs OSS
7 3 (0.36%) Check_MK
7 3 (0.36%) Podman
7 3 (0.36%) vCenter Server
7 3 (0.36%) vRealize
8 2 (0.24%) Cisco Prime
8 2 (0.24%) Iperf
8 2 (0.24%) NSN NetAct
8 2 (0.24%) QRadar
9 1 (0.12%) Nmap
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle RMAN
9 1 (0.12%) SCCM
9 1 (0.12%) SolarWinds Orion
Vendors
1 110 (13.14%) Microsoft
2 96 (11.47%) Cisco
3 83 (9.92%) ServiceNow
4 52 (6.21%) Nokia
5 40 (4.78%) Salesforce
6 33 (3.94%) VMware
7 29 (3.46%) SAP
8 24 (2.87%) BT
8 24 (2.87%) Ericsson
9 22 (2.63%) Fortinet
9 22 (2.63%) Google
10 21 (2.51%) Juniper
11 19 (2.27%) F5
12 18 (2.15%) MuleSoft
13 16 (1.91%) Huawei
14 14 (1.67%) Palo Alto
15 13 (1.55%) CheckPoint
16 12 (1.43%) BMC
16 12 (1.43%) Oracle
17 9 (1.08%) Zscaler