Network Security Contract Job Trends in England

Network Security
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in England requiring Network Security skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 14 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 175 173 160
Rank change year-on-year -2 -13 -1
Contract jobs citing Network Security 778 472 505
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.66% 1.68% 1.58%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 17.91% 14.43% 12.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 509 277 325
10th Percentile £400 £364 £363
25th Percentile £463 £442 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £533 £538
Median % change year-on-year +3.29% -0.93% -2.27%
75th Percentile £650 £638 £638
90th Percentile £738 £738 £738
UK median daily rate £550 £538 £525
% change year-on-year +2.33% +2.38% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 25 17 7
10th Percentile £26.80 £45.00 £28.40
25th Percentile £61.25 £55.00 £38.75
Median hourly rate £68.75 £70.16 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -2.01% +40.32% -31.03%
75th Percentile £73.75 £85.00 £58.75
90th Percentile £85.00 £97.00 £82.79
UK median hourly rate £68.75 £70.16 £45.00
% change year-on-year -2.01% +55.91% -37.93%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
England

Network Security falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 4,344 3,271 3,889
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.28% 11.63% 12.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,554 2,092 2,237
10th Percentile £261 £214 £240
25th Percentile £400 £357 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £483 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.57% -3.45% -
75th Percentile £600 £588 £608
90th Percentile £688 £688 £688
UK median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 397 170 147
10th Percentile £16.01 £15.50 £17.87
25th Percentile £21.33 £20.32 £26.25
Median hourly rate £38.72 £34.00 £57.50
Median % change year-on-year +13.88% -40.87% +1.79%
75th Percentile £68.75 £65.00 £67.26
90th Percentile £95.40 £80.00 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £32.50 £34.00 £48.56
% change year-on-year -4.41% -29.98% -14.04%

Network Security
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Network Security relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

Network Security job vacancy trend in England

Network Security
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Network Security.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Network Security

Network Security
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Network Security in England over the 6 months to 14 October 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Network Security in England

Network Security
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Network Security.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Network Security

Network Security
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Network Security in England over the 6 months to 14 October 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Network Security in England

Network Security
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Network Security within the England region over the 6 months to 14 October 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
London -6 336 £550 - 304
North of England +14 204 £540 +10.83% 69
North West -7 111 £550 +15.79% 41
South East -25 93 £559 +21.69% 120
Yorkshire +16 89 £540 +9.76% 19
Midlands -62 53 £475 -7.77% 57
West Midlands -64 42 £450 -12.62% 32
East of England -12 38 £515 +3.00% 33
South West -34 32 £675 +5.47% 41
East Midlands -10 11 £500 - 25
North East - 3 £680 - 9
Network Security
UK

Network Security
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England 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 16 (2.06%) Microsoft Exchange
1 16 (2.06%) SharePoint
2 13 (1.67%) Confluence
3 4 (0.51%) Apache
3 4 (0.51%) Apache Airflow
4 2 (0.26%) Apache Spark
4 2 (0.26%) NetWeaver
4 2 (0.26%) nginx
5 1 (0.13%) CMS
5 1 (0.13%) IIS
5 1 (0.13%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 16 (2.06%) Microsoft Office
2 6 (0.77%) MS Visio
3 5 (0.64%) Microsoft Excel
4 3 (0.39%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.13%) InfoPath
Business Applications
1 6 (0.77%) Oracle ERP
2 2 (0.26%) SAP S/4HANA
3 1 (0.13%) Payment Gateway
3 1 (0.13%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 264 (33.93%) Azure
2 184 (23.65%) AWS
3 100 (12.85%) GCP
4 95 (12.21%) Entra ID
5 52 (6.68%) Microsoft 365
6 43 (5.53%) GitHub
7 37 (4.76%) Azure DevOps
8 36 (4.63%) Azure Monitor
9 33 (4.24%) Serverless
10 25 (3.21%) SaaS
11 23 (2.96%) Azure Sentinel
12 21 (2.70%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 19 (2.44%) OCI
14 18 (2.31%) GitHub Actions
14 18 (2.31%) Virtual Private Cloud
15 17 (2.19%) Amazon CloudWatch
15 17 (2.19%) Amazon EKS
15 17 (2.19%) AWS Direct Connect
15 17 (2.19%) Google Kubernetes Engine
16 16 (2.06%) Azure AKS
Communications & Networking
1 364 (46.79%) Firewall
2 186 (23.91%) VPN
3 168 (21.59%) WAN
4 137 (17.61%) DNS
5 110 (14.14%) LAN
6 93 (11.95%) Wireless
7 90 (11.57%) TCP/IP
8 87 (11.18%) BGP
9 69 (8.87%) DHCP
10 63 (8.10%) SD-WAN
11 61 (7.84%) VLAN
12 59 (7.58%) OSPF
13 54 (6.94%) SSL
14 45 (5.78%) MPLS
15 35 (4.50%) Cisco ASA
15 35 (4.50%) Cisco ISE
16 34 (4.37%) IPsec
17 32 (4.11%) Wi-Fi
18 30 (3.86%) Internet
19 29 (3.73%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (1.29%) SQL Server
2 8 (1.03%) Amazon RDS
3 6 (0.77%) BigQuery
4 5 (0.64%) Delta Lake
4 5 (0.64%) Elasticsearch
5 4 (0.51%) Neo4j
5 4 (0.51%) Power BI
6 3 (0.39%) Azure SQL Database
6 3 (0.39%) Data Lake
6 3 (0.39%) PostgreSQL
7 2 (0.26%) MongoDB
7 2 (0.26%) Relational Database
7 2 (0.26%) SAP HANA
8 1 (0.13%) Amazon Redshift
8 1 (0.13%) Big Data
8 1 (0.13%) InfluxDB
8 1 (0.13%) Looker
8 1 (0.13%) Qlik Sense
8 1 (0.13%) SAP Data Services
8 1 (0.13%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 39 (5.01%) Git
2 31 (3.98%) Jenkins
3 30 (3.86%) GitLab
4 26 (3.34%) JIRA
5 7 (0.90%) Sonatype Nexus
6 4 (0.51%) Claude Code
6 4 (0.51%) MSBuild
6 4 (0.51%) SonarQube
6 4 (0.51%) Visual Studio
7 3 (0.39%) Artifactory
8 2 (0.26%) Cucumber
8 2 (0.26%) IBM UrbanCode
9 1 (0.13%) Browser DevTools
9 1 (0.13%) Postman
9 1 (0.13%) REST Assured
9 1 (0.13%) Subversion
General
1 225 (28.92%) Social Skills
2 158 (20.31%) Finance
3 85 (10.93%) Analytical Skills
4 66 (8.48%) Banking
5 41 (5.27%) Public Sector
6 35 (4.50%) Documentation Skills
7 26 (3.34%) Legal
8 23 (2.96%) Telecoms
9 18 (2.31%) Financial Institution
10 15 (1.93%) Influencing Skills
11 14 (1.80%) Retail
12 13 (1.67%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 13 (1.67%) Manufacturing
13 11 (1.41%) Presentation Skills
14 8 (1.03%) Organisational Skills
15 7 (0.90%) Local Government
15 7 (0.90%) Military
16 6 (0.77%) Automotive
16 6 (0.77%) Pharmaceutical
16 6 (0.77%) Police
Job Titles
1 211 (27.12%) Network Engineer
2 131 (16.84%) Architect
3 109 (14.01%) Security Engineer
4 95 (12.21%) Senior
5 69 (8.87%) Security Architect
6 61 (7.84%) Consultant
6 61 (7.84%) Network Security Engineer
7 55 (7.07%) Network Architect
8 44 (5.66%) Cloud Engineer
9 43 (5.53%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 41 (5.27%) Senior Network Engineer
11 39 (5.01%) Project Manager
12 35 (4.50%) Lead
13 30 (3.86%) Security Consultant
14 29 (3.73%) Network Security Architect
15 25 (3.21%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
16 23 (2.96%) Analyst
17 21 (2.70%) Network Manager
18 20 (2.57%) Solutions Architect
19 19 (2.44%) DevOps Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 141 (18.12%) Terraform
2 37 (4.76%) 802.1X
3 22 (2.83%) REST
4 16 (2.06%) ARM Templates
5 14 (1.80%) SAML
6 13 (1.67%) Kafka
7 8 (1.03%) NETCONF
8 7 (0.90%) JSON
8 7 (0.90%) LDAP
8 7 (0.90%) OAuth
9 6 (0.77%) gRPC
9 6 (0.77%) Keycloak
9 6 (0.77%) OpenID
9 6 (0.77%) Software Packaging
9 6 (0.77%) YAML
10 5 (0.64%) Azure Blueprints
10 5 (0.64%) SLSA
11 4 (0.51%) Protocol Buffers
11 4 (0.51%) pytest
11 4 (0.51%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 106 (13.62%) Data Centre
2 71 (9.13%) Security Posture
3 50 (6.43%) Onboarding
4 45 (5.78%) Cloud Native
5 40 (5.14%) Hybrid Cloud
6 38 (4.88%) Management Information System
7 34 (4.37%) Cyber Threat
8 32 (4.11%) Operational Technology
9 27 (3.47%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
10 24 (3.08%) PKI
11 20 (2.57%) Public Cloud
11 20 (2.57%) Self-Motivation
12 19 (2.44%) Security Operations Centre
13 18 (2.31%) Cloud Security Posture
14 17 (2.19%) Data Protection Act
15 14 (1.80%) Enterprise Software
16 12 (1.54%) Replication
17 11 (1.41%) Linux Command Line
18 10 (1.29%) Video Conferencing
19 9 (1.16%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 97 (12.47%) Windows
2 83 (10.67%) Linux
3 44 (5.66%) Windows Server
4 20 (2.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 12 (1.54%) Unix
6 8 (1.03%) Ubuntu
6 8 (1.03%) Windows 10
7 3 (0.39%) Check Point GAiA
7 3 (0.39%) macOS
7 3 (0.39%) Oracle Linux
7 3 (0.39%) Rocky
8 2 (0.26%) Android
8 2 (0.26%) SUSE
8 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2016
8 2 (0.26%) zOS
9 1 (0.13%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2003
9 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2012
9 1 (0.13%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 177 (22.75%) Cybersecurity
2 162 (20.82%) Cloud Security
3 141 (18.12%) CI/CD
4 138 (17.74%) Stakeholder Management
5 128 (16.45%) Infrastructure as Code
5 128 (16.45%) Zero Trust
6 116 (14.91%) Continuous Improvement
7 114 (14.65%) DevOps
8 113 (14.52%) Incident Response
9 110 (14.14%) Migration
10 107 (13.75%) SIEM
11 103 (13.24%) Change Management
11 103 (13.24%) Problem-Solving
12 92 (11.83%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 90 (11.57%) Security Architecture
14 85 (10.93%) Agile
14 85 (10.93%) Identity Access Management
15 84 (10.80%) Security Operations
15 84 (10.80%) Vulnerability Management
16 79 (10.15%) Load Balancing
Programming Languages
1 157 (20.18%) Python
2 91 (11.70%) PowerShell
3 75 (9.64%) Bash
4 34 (4.37%) Bicep
5 29 (3.73%) SQL
6 15 (1.93%) Go
7 13 (1.67%) Java
8 7 (0.90%) ActionScript
8 7 (0.90%) Search Processing Language
8 7 (0.90%) Shell Script
9 6 (0.77%) Kusto Query Language
10 4 (0.51%) Rust
11 3 (0.39%) JavaScript
11 3 (0.39%) Perl
11 3 (0.39%) VBScript
12 1 (0.13%) ABAP
12 1 (0.13%) C#
12 1 (0.13%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 227 (29.18%) Security Cleared
2 154 (19.79%) Cisco Certification
3 153 (19.67%) SC Cleared
4 99 (12.72%) CISSP
5 90 (11.57%) CCNP
6 79 (10.15%) DV Cleared
7 60 (7.71%) Degree
8 45 (5.78%) CCNA
8 45 (5.78%) CCSP
9 42 (5.40%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 42 (5.40%) CISM
10 34 (4.37%) CCIE
11 25 (3.21%) Azure Certification
12 24 (3.08%) AWS Certification
13 17 (2.19%) Computer Science Degree
14 12 (1.54%) BPSS Clearance
15 11 (1.41%) JNCIP
15 11 (1.41%) PMI Certification
15 11 (1.41%) PMP
16 10 (1.29%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 65 (8.35%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 61 (7.84%) NIST
3 32 (4.11%) GDPR
4 30 (3.86%) PCI DSS
5 26 (3.34%) NCSC
6 16 (2.06%) Cyber Essentials
7 13 (1.67%) GRC
8 11 (1.41%) NIST 800
9 9 (1.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 7 (0.90%) QA
11 6 (0.77%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 6 (0.77%) SLA
12 4 (0.51%) California Consumer Privacy Act
12 4 (0.51%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 3 (0.39%) Data Quality
13 3 (0.39%) SOC 2
14 2 (0.26%) ISO/IEC 42001
14 2 (0.26%) JSP 440
15 1 (0.13%) Accessibility
15 1 (0.13%) PMO
System Software
1 85 (10.93%) Active Directory
2 54 (6.94%) VMware Infrastructure
3 34 (4.37%) Docker
4 16 (2.06%) Virtual Machines
5 15 (1.93%) VMware NSX
6 13 (1.67%) vSphere
7 10 (1.29%) Hyper-V
8 8 (1.03%) Virtual Desktop
8 8 (1.03%) VMware ESXi
9 5 (0.64%) Squid
9 5 (0.64%) Virtual Servers
10 4 (0.51%) Firmware
10 4 (0.51%) FreeRADIUS
11 2 (0.26%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 2 (0.26%) NFS
11 2 (0.26%) VMware Workstation
12 1 (0.13%) OpenSSH
12 1 (0.13%) ProxySG
12 1 (0.13%) Samba
Systems Management
1 98 (12.60%) Ansible
2 75 (9.64%) Kubernetes
3 44 (5.66%) FortiGate
4 32 (4.11%) Microsoft Intune
5 29 (3.73%) Grafana
6 20 (2.57%) Prometheus
7 18 (2.31%) Progress Chef
8 15 (1.93%) SCCM
9 12 (1.54%) Single Sign-On
10 11 (1.41%) CASB
11 9 (1.16%) Nagios
12 8 (1.03%) QRadar
13 7 (0.90%) Cisco CUCM
13 7 (0.90%) Puppet
14 5 (0.64%) Suricata
15 4 (0.51%) Kustomize
15 4 (0.51%) Podman
15 4 (0.51%) systemd
15 4 (0.51%) VxRail
16 3 (0.39%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 231 (29.69%) Cisco
2 160 (20.57%) Microsoft
3 144 (18.51%) Palo Alto
4 82 (10.54%) Fortinet
5 69 (8.87%) F5
5 69 (8.87%) VMware
6 59 (7.58%) Zscaler
7 50 (6.43%) CheckPoint
8 41 (5.27%) Juniper
9 33 (4.24%) Google
9 33 (4.24%) SolarWinds
10 31 (3.98%) Splunk
11 26 (3.34%) ServiceNow
12 23 (2.96%) Aruba
13 16 (2.06%) Meraki
14 14 (1.80%) Oracle
15 13 (1.67%) Citrix
16 12 (1.54%) AlgoSec
16 12 (1.54%) Blue Coat
16 12 (1.54%) CyberArk