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 13 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
13 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 159 110 130
Rank change year-on-year -49 +20 +52
Contract jobs citing WAN 416 742 998
As % of all contract jobs advertised in England 1.72% 2.02% 2.03%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 13.09% 15.27% 16.58%
Number of daily rates quoted 274 417 616
10th Percentile £250 £255 £250
25th Percentile £377 £350 £333
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £463
Median % change year-on-year - +8.11% +3.64%
75th Percentile £587 £650 £575
90th Percentile £675 £725 £675
UK median daily rate £488 £494 £475
% change year-on-year -1.27% +3.95% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 10 38 33
10th Percentile £14.99 £13.78 £18.50
25th Percentile £22.94 £18.86 £21.22
Median hourly rate £45.00 £24.69 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year +82.30% -58.86% +130.77%
75th Percentile £71.56 £40.00 £80.25
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.24 £83.20
UK median hourly rate £38.75 £24.69 £60.00
% change year-on-year +56.98% -58.86% +118.18%

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 3,177 4,860 6,019
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 13.16% 13.22% 12.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,960 2,932 3,933
10th Percentile £220 £208 £231
25th Percentile £363 £350 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £498 £525
Median % change year-on-year +0.50% -5.24% +5.00%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £650
90th Percentile £675 £700 £738
UK median daily rate £488 £495 £517
% change year-on-year -1.52% -4.16% +3.30%
Number of hourly rates quoted 125 392 432
10th Percentile £13.81 £13.50 £9.80
25th Percentile £15.13 £16.72 £10.63
Median hourly rate £28.00 £40.00 £18.50
Median % change year-on-year -30.00% +116.22% -22.63%
75th Percentile £63.25 £63.75 £59.41
90th Percentile £81.01 £70.00 £75.00
UK median hourly rate £28.41 £40.00 £18.50
% change year-on-year -28.98% +116.22% -32.73%

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 13 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 13 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 13 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 -2 165 £513 +2.50% 196
South East -18 74 £469 +10.29% 114
North of England +20 72 £438 +2.94% 74
North West +38 52 £450 +28.57% 33
South West -12 33 £510 -21.54% 48
Midlands -63 31 £431 +15.00% 72
West Midlands -53 26 £413 +10.00% 40
East of England +26 21 £428 -18.57% 49
Yorkshire -6 17 £400 -20.40% 29
East Midlands +5 5 £500 -20.63% 29
North East -6 2 £375 -6.25% 13
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 30 (7.21%) Microsoft Exchange
2 15 (3.61%) 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 32 (7.69%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (2.88%) MS Visio
3 3 (0.72%) Microsoft Excel
3 3 (0.72%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 2 (0.48%) Microsoft Project
5 1 (0.24%) Trello
Business Applications
1 6 (1.44%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 111 (26.68%) Azure
2 75 (18.03%) AWS
3 44 (10.58%) Microsoft 365
4 28 (6.73%) Entra ID
5 14 (3.37%) OneDrive
6 7 (1.68%) Azure ExpressRoute
7 6 (1.44%) Cloudflare
7 6 (1.44%) GCP
8 5 (1.20%) Azure Monitor
9 4 (0.96%) Amazon EC2
9 4 (0.96%) Mimecast
9 4 (0.96%) Route 53
10 3 (0.72%) Akamai
10 3 (0.72%) Azure DevOps
11 2 (0.48%) AWS CloudFormation
11 2 (0.48%) Azure Data Factory
11 2 (0.48%) Azure Sentinel
11 2 (0.48%) Nutanix
11 2 (0.48%) Serverless
11 2 (0.48%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 257 (61.78%) LAN
2 206 (49.52%) Firewall
3 178 (42.79%) VPN
4 143 (34.38%) SD-WAN
5 102 (24.52%) BGP
6 101 (24.28%) MPLS
7 98 (23.56%) Network Security
8 84 (20.19%) Wi-Fi
9 79 (18.99%) Wireless
10 73 (17.55%) OSPF
11 68 (16.35%) DNS
12 47 (11.30%) TCP/IP
13 45 (10.82%) DHCP
14 42 (10.10%) IPsec
15 41 (9.86%) VLAN
16 38 (9.13%) Cisco Nexus
17 32 (7.69%) Cisco ISE
18 31 (7.45%) WLAN
19 30 (7.21%) Ethernet
20 28 (6.73%) Internet
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 12 (2.88%) Sonatype Nexus
2 5 (1.20%) GitLab
3 3 (0.72%) JIRA
4 2 (0.48%) Git
General
1 123 (29.57%) Social Skills
2 56 (13.46%) Finance
3 37 (8.89%) Telecoms
4 33 (7.93%) Analytical Skills
5 28 (6.73%) Public Sector
6 15 (3.61%) Documentation Skills
7 14 (3.37%) Banking
8 13 (3.13%) Legal
9 11 (2.64%) Manufacturing
10 9 (2.16%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 8 (1.92%) Retail
12 7 (1.68%) Military
13 6 (1.44%) Influencing Skills
14 5 (1.20%) Billing
14 5 (1.20%) Law
15 4 (0.96%) Games
15 4 (0.96%) Organisational Skills
16 3 (0.72%) Electronics
16 3 (0.72%) Marketing
16 3 (0.72%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 161 (38.70%) Network Engineer
2 72 (17.31%) Architect
3 40 (9.62%) Senior
4 38 (9.13%) Network Architect
5 29 (6.97%) Support Engineer
6 26 (6.25%) Technical Architect
7 21 (5.05%) Consultant
8 19 (4.57%) IP Engineer
8 19 (4.57%) Senior Network Engineer
9 16 (3.85%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 16 (3.85%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 15 (3.61%) Test Engineer
10 15 (3.61%) WAN Engineer
11 14 (3.37%) Cisco Engineer
11 14 (3.37%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 14 (3.37%) Implementation Engineer
12 12 (2.88%) 2nd Line Support
12 12 (2.88%) Network Consultant
12 12 (2.88%) Network Security Engineer
12 12 (2.88%) Security Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 25 (6.01%) 802.1X
2 10 (2.40%) 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 75 (18.03%) Data Centre
2 25 (6.01%) Self-Motivation
3 19 (4.57%) PKI
4 18 (4.33%) Public Cloud
5 17 (4.09%) Hybrid Cloud
6 8 (1.92%) CMDB
6 8 (1.92%) Security Posture
7 7 (1.68%) Management Information System
7 7 (1.68%) Video Conferencing
8 6 (1.44%) CCTV
8 6 (1.44%) IVR
8 6 (1.44%) Virtual Team
9 5 (1.20%) Cloud Native
9 5 (1.20%) Driving Licence
9 5 (1.20%) Operational Technology
10 4 (0.96%) Distributed Computing
10 4 (0.96%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
10 4 (0.96%) Onboarding
10 4 (0.96%) SCADA
10 4 (0.96%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 79 (18.99%) Windows
2 49 (11.78%) Linux
3 22 (5.29%) Windows Server
4 20 (4.81%) Windows 10
5 19 (4.57%) Unix
6 6 (1.44%) Android
6 6 (1.44%) Windows Server 2016
7 5 (1.20%) Ubuntu
8 4 (0.96%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.96%) Windows 7
9 3 (0.72%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.24%) Apple iOS
10 1 (0.24%) CentOS
10 1 (0.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 1 (0.24%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 77 (18.51%) Problem-Solving
2 56 (13.46%) Network Architecture
3 46 (11.06%) ITIL
4 45 (10.82%) Network Design
5 43 (10.34%) Migration
6 42 (10.10%) Project Management
7 40 (9.62%) Network Management
8 38 (9.13%) Load Balancing
9 37 (8.89%) Network Monitoring
10 32 (7.69%) Customer Service
11 29 (6.97%) Change Management
12 27 (6.49%) High Availability
13 26 (6.25%) Infrastructure Engineering
14 21 (5.05%) Roadmaps
14 21 (5.05%) Stakeholder Management
15 20 (4.81%) Agile
15 20 (4.81%) Mentoring
15 20 (4.81%) Technical Leadership
16 19 (4.57%) Analytics
16 19 (4.57%) Incident Management
Programming Languages
1 35 (8.41%) Python
2 24 (5.77%) PowerShell
3 16 (3.85%) Java
4 10 (2.40%) 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
1 116 (27.88%) Cisco Certification
1 116 (27.88%) Security Cleared
2 87 (20.91%) SC Cleared
3 85 (20.43%) CCNP
4 48 (11.54%) CCNA
5 36 (8.65%) Degree
6 22 (5.29%) CCIE
7 17 (4.09%) DV Cleared
7 17 (4.09%) ISTQB
7 17 (4.09%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 16 (3.85%) ISEB
9 10 (2.40%) AWS Certification
9 10 (2.40%) JNCIA
10 9 (2.16%) Azure Certification
10 9 (2.16%) CCSA
10 9 (2.16%) Computer Science Degree
10 9 (2.16%) JNCIS
11 7 (1.68%) Microsoft Certification
12 5 (1.20%) MCSE
13 4 (0.96%) CCDP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 12 (2.88%) SLA
2 11 (2.64%) QA
3 9 (2.16%) NIST
4 7 (1.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 5 (1.20%) Cyber Essentials
5 5 (1.20%) NCSC
6 4 (0.96%) GRC
7 3 (0.72%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.24%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 1 (0.24%) GDPR
8 1 (0.24%) HIPAA
System Software
1 59 (14.18%) Active Directory
2 34 (8.17%) VMware Infrastructure
3 10 (2.40%) VMware NSX
4 7 (1.68%) Firmware
5 6 (1.44%) Hyper-V
6 5 (1.20%) Virtual Machines
6 5 (1.20%) Virtual Servers
7 4 (0.96%) BitLocker
7 4 (0.96%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 3 (0.72%) Microsoft App-V
9 1 (0.24%) Docker
9 1 (0.24%) Virtual Desktop
9 1 (0.24%) vSphere
9 1 (0.24%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 37 (8.89%) Ansible
2 35 (8.41%) Terraform
3 27 (6.49%) FortiGate
4 22 (5.29%) SCCM
5 10 (2.40%) AppManager
6 8 (1.92%) Cisco Prime
6 8 (1.92%) Microsoft Intune
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%) Icinga
11 1 (0.24%) Netcool
11 1 (0.24%) OpenView
11 1 (0.24%) OPNET
11 1 (0.24%) Tivoli
Vendors
1 221 (53.13%) Cisco
2 102 (24.52%) Microsoft
3 93 (22.36%) Palo Alto
4 69 (16.59%) Juniper
5 54 (12.98%) Fortinet
6 43 (10.34%) Meraki
7 40 (9.62%) VMware
8 32 (7.69%) CheckPoint
9 31 (7.45%) F5
10 29 (6.97%) SolarWinds
11 26 (6.25%) Aruba
12 23 (5.53%) Arista
13 11 (2.64%) Zscaler
14 10 (2.40%) Ivanti
15 8 (1.92%) Infoblox
15 8 (1.92%) ServiceNow
16 7 (1.68%) Citrix
16 7 (1.68%) HP
17 6 (1.44%) Remedy
17 6 (1.44%) Splunk