WAN Contracts in England

Wide Area Network (WAN)
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in England requiring WAN skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited WAN over the 6 months leading up to 1 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
1 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 161 103 134
Rank change year-on-year -58 +31 +47
Contract jobs citing WAN 417 788 990
As % of all contract jobs advertised in England 1.71% 2.12% 1.96%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 13.12% 15.72% 16.08%
Number of daily rates quoted 279 452 627
10th Percentile £243 £263 £250
25th Percentile £363 £360 £343
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £463
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +8.11% +5.11%
75th Percentile £575 £650 £575
90th Percentile £653 £738 £650
UK median daily rate £475 £500 £475
% change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 8 40 33
10th Percentile £14.30 £13.93 £18.70
25th Percentile £17.71 £19.59 £22.00
Median hourly rate £53.75 £24.69 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year +117.74% -58.86% +130.77%
75th Percentile £75.00 £40.00 £80.25
90th Percentile - £75.24 £83.20
UK median hourly rate £42.50 £24.69 £60.00
% change year-on-year +72.17% -58.86% +130.77%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
England

WAN 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 3,178 5,012 6,158
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 13.05% 13.48% 12.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,963 3,022 4,045
10th Percentile £220 £206 £231
25th Percentile £363 £350 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £490 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.04% -6.67% +5.00%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £650
90th Percentile £675 £700 £738
UK median daily rate £488 £495 £519
% change year-on-year -1.52% -4.53% +3.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 127 399 439
10th Percentile £13.81 £13.50 £9.80
25th Percentile £15.22 £17.35 £10.63
Median hourly rate £28.00 £40.00 £18.82
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +112.54% -21.29%
75th Percentile £63.50 £63.75 £60.00
90th Percentile £81.01 £70.00 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £29.00 £40.00 £19.00
% change year-on-year -27.50% +110.53% -32.74%

WAN
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Job postings citing WAN as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in England.

Job vacancy trend for WAN in England

WAN
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in England

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing WAN in England.

Daily rate trend for WAN in England

WAN
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing WAN in England over the 6 months to 1 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for WAN in England

WAN
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in England

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing WAN in England.

Hourly rate trend for WAN in England

WAN
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing WAN in England over the 6 months to 1 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for WAN in England

WAN
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 WAN within the England region over the 6 months to 1 May 2025. 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 -14 162 £500 - 151
South East -25 73 £450 -1.64% 113
North of England +11 71 £425 -10.53% 65
North West +29 54 £450 -5.26% 29
South West -19 34 £500 -23.08% 49
Midlands -60 31 £425 +13.33% 64
West Midlands -54 26 £400 +6.67% 34
East of England +31 22 £430 -18.10% 53
Yorkshire -14 14 £268 -47.80% 29
East Midlands +6 5 £500 -20.63% 27
North East 0 2 £375 -6.25% 9
WAN
UK

WAN
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in England by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 33 (7.91%) Microsoft Exchange
2 18 (4.32%) SharePoint
3 4 (0.96%) Skype for Business
4 2 (0.48%) Camunda
5 1 (0.24%) Blackberry Enterprise Server
5 1 (0.24%) Confluence
5 1 (0.24%) IIS
Applications
1 34 (8.15%) Microsoft Office
2 13 (3.12%) MS Visio
3 4 (0.96%) Microsoft Excel
3 4 (0.96%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 3 (0.72%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.24%) Trello
Business Applications
1 5 (1.20%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 104 (24.94%) Azure
2 74 (17.75%) AWS
3 45 (10.79%) Microsoft 365
4 24 (5.76%) Entra ID
5 17 (4.08%) OneDrive
6 8 (1.92%) Cloudflare
7 7 (1.68%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 6 (1.44%) GCP
9 5 (1.20%) Azure Monitor
10 4 (0.96%) Amazon EC2
10 4 (0.96%) Mimecast
10 4 (0.96%) Route 53
11 3 (0.72%) Akamai
11 3 (0.72%) Azure DevOps
12 2 (0.48%) AWS CloudFormation
12 2 (0.48%) Azure Data Factory
12 2 (0.48%) Azure Sentinel
12 2 (0.48%) Microsoft Copilot
12 2 (0.48%) Nutanix
12 2 (0.48%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 258 (61.87%) LAN
2 208 (49.88%) Firewall
3 183 (43.88%) VPN
4 135 (32.37%) SD-WAN
5 102 (24.46%) Network Security
6 100 (23.98%) BGP
6 100 (23.98%) MPLS
7 85 (20.38%) Wi-Fi
8 78 (18.71%) Wireless
9 73 (17.51%) DNS
10 72 (17.27%) OSPF
11 51 (12.23%) DHCP
12 45 (10.79%) TCP/IP
12 45 (10.79%) VLAN
13 42 (10.07%) IPsec
14 32 (7.67%) Cisco ISE
15 31 (7.43%) Internet
16 30 (7.19%) WLAN
17 29 (6.95%) Cisco Nexus
17 29 (6.95%) EIGRP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.68%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.48%) Data Lake
3 1 (0.24%) Data Warehouse
3 1 (0.24%) MySQL
3 1 (0.24%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 10 (2.40%) Sonatype Nexus
2 5 (1.20%) GitLab
3 3 (0.72%) JIRA
4 2 (0.48%) Git
General
1 118 (28.30%) Social Skills
2 54 (12.95%) Finance
3 38 (9.11%) Telecoms
4 34 (8.15%) Analytical Skills
5 32 (7.67%) Public Sector
6 14 (3.36%) Banking
7 13 (3.12%) Documentation Skills
7 13 (3.12%) Manufacturing
8 12 (2.88%) Legal
9 10 (2.40%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 10 (2.40%) Retail
10 7 (1.68%) Military
11 5 (1.20%) Billing
11 5 (1.20%) Electronics
11 5 (1.20%) Influencing Skills
11 5 (1.20%) Law
11 5 (1.20%) Marketing
12 3 (0.72%) Games
12 3 (0.72%) Organisational Skills
12 3 (0.72%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 161 (38.61%) Network Engineer
2 69 (16.55%) Architect
3 40 (9.59%) Senior
4 37 (8.87%) Network Architect
5 32 (7.67%) Support Engineer
6 23 (5.52%) Technical Architect
7 21 (5.04%) Consultant
8 19 (4.56%) IP Engineer
8 19 (4.56%) Senior Network Engineer
9 17 (4.08%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 15 (3.60%) Test Engineer
10 15 (3.60%) WAN Engineer
11 14 (3.36%) Cisco Engineer
11 14 (3.36%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 14 (3.36%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 13 (3.12%) 2nd Line Support
12 13 (3.12%) Project Manager
13 12 (2.88%) Network Consultant
13 12 (2.88%) Network Security Engineer
13 12 (2.88%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (6.00%) 802.1X
2 7 (1.68%) Middleware
3 4 (0.96%) JSON
3 4 (0.96%) LDAP
3 4 (0.96%) NETCONF
4 2 (0.48%) RESTful
5 1 (0.24%) ADO
5 1 (0.24%) HTML
5 1 (0.24%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 67 (16.07%) Data Centre
2 24 (5.76%) Self-Motivation
3 20 (4.80%) PKI
4 17 (4.08%) Hybrid Cloud
4 17 (4.08%) Public Cloud
5 8 (1.92%) CMDB
5 8 (1.92%) Security Posture
5 8 (1.92%) Video Conferencing
6 7 (1.68%) Management Information System
6 7 (1.68%) Virtual Team
7 6 (1.44%) CCTV
7 6 (1.44%) IVR
8 5 (1.20%) Driving Licence
8 5 (1.20%) NHS
8 5 (1.20%) Operational Technology
9 4 (0.96%) Distributed Computing
9 4 (0.96%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
9 4 (0.96%) Onboarding
9 4 (0.96%) Product Ownership
9 4 (0.96%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 79 (18.94%) Windows
2 47 (11.27%) Linux
3 22 (5.28%) Windows 10
3 22 (5.28%) Windows Server
4 19 (4.56%) Unix
5 6 (1.44%) Android
5 6 (1.44%) Windows Server 2016
6 5 (1.20%) Ubuntu
7 4 (0.96%) Windows 7
8 3 (0.72%) Mac OS
8 3 (0.72%) Windows Server 2019
9 1 (0.24%) Apple iOS
9 1 (0.24%) CentOS
9 1 (0.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.24%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (17.75%) Problem-Solving
2 58 (13.91%) Network Architecture
3 46 (11.03%) ITIL
4 45 (10.79%) Network Design
5 44 (10.55%) Project Management
6 42 (10.07%) Migration
7 41 (9.83%) Network Management
8 39 (9.35%) Load Balancing
9 36 (8.63%) Network Monitoring
10 34 (8.15%) Customer Service
11 28 (6.71%) Change Management
12 27 (6.47%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 25 (6.00%) High Availability
14 23 (5.52%) Roadmaps
14 23 (5.52%) Stakeholder Management
15 20 (4.80%) Technical Leadership
16 19 (4.56%) Agile
16 19 (4.56%) Mentoring
17 17 (4.08%) Cybersecurity
17 17 (4.08%) Test Strategy
Programming Languages
1 34 (8.15%) Python
2 24 (5.76%) PowerShell
3 16 (3.84%) Java
4 9 (2.16%) SQL
5 4 (0.96%) VB
5 4 (0.96%) VBScript
6 3 (0.72%) Perl
7 2 (0.48%) Bash
7 2 (0.48%) Bicep
Qualifications
1 117 (28.06%) Security Cleared
2 112 (26.86%) Cisco Certification
3 88 (21.10%) SC Cleared
4 82 (19.66%) CCNP
5 48 (11.51%) CCNA
6 38 (9.11%) Degree
7 24 (5.76%) CCIE
8 17 (4.08%) ISTQB
8 17 (4.08%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
9 16 (3.84%) DV Cleared
9 16 (3.84%) ISEB
10 10 (2.40%) AWS Certification
11 9 (2.16%) Azure Certification
11 9 (2.16%) CCSA
11 9 (2.16%) JNCIA
12 8 (1.92%) Computer Science Degree
12 8 (1.92%) JNCIS
13 7 (1.68%) Microsoft Certification
14 5 (1.20%) MCSE
15 4 (0.96%) CCDP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 11 (2.64%) NIST
1 11 (2.64%) SLA
2 10 (2.40%) QA
3 7 (1.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 5 (1.20%) Cyber Essentials
4 5 (1.20%) NCSC
5 4 (0.96%) GRC
5 4 (0.96%) PCI DSS
6 2 (0.48%) DICOM
6 2 (0.48%) HL7
7 1 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 1 (0.24%) GDPR
7 1 (0.24%) HIPAA
System Software
1 57 (13.67%) Active Directory
2 37 (8.87%) VMware Infrastructure
3 10 (2.40%) VMware NSX
4 6 (1.44%) Hyper-V
5 5 (1.20%) Firmware
5 5 (1.20%) Virtual Machines
5 5 (1.20%) Virtual Servers
6 4 (0.96%) BitLocker
6 4 (0.96%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 3 (0.72%) Microsoft App-V
8 1 (0.24%) Docker
8 1 (0.24%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.24%) vSphere
8 1 (0.24%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 36 (8.63%) Ansible
1 36 (8.63%) Terraform
2 26 (6.24%) FortiGate
3 25 (6.00%) SCCM
4 13 (3.12%) AppManager
5 8 (1.92%) Microsoft Intune
6 7 (1.68%) Cisco Prime
7 5 (1.20%) CASB
7 5 (1.20%) SCOM
8 4 (0.96%) CA Spectrum
9 3 (0.72%) Progress Chef
9 3 (0.72%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 2 (0.48%) Nagios
10 2 (0.48%) SCOrch
11 1 (0.24%) Cisco LMS
11 1 (0.24%) Netcool
11 1 (0.24%) OpenView
11 1 (0.24%) OPNET
11 1 (0.24%) SolarWinds Orion
11 1 (0.24%) Tivoli
Vendors
1 216 (51.80%) Cisco
2 100 (23.98%) Microsoft
3 92 (22.06%) Palo Alto
4 70 (16.79%) Juniper
5 54 (12.95%) Fortinet
6 43 (10.31%) VMware
7 40 (9.59%) Meraki
8 34 (8.15%) CheckPoint
9 33 (7.91%) F5
10 28 (6.71%) SolarWinds
11 26 (6.24%) Aruba
12 20 (4.80%) Arista
13 13 (3.12%) Ivanti
13 13 (3.12%) Zscaler
14 9 (2.16%) Citrix
14 9 (2.16%) Infoblox
15 7 (1.68%) ServiceNow
16 6 (1.44%) HP
16 6 (1.44%) Splunk
17 5 (1.20%) Red Hat