Network Security Contract Job Trends in the North West

Network Security
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Network Security skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 8 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 73 82 51
Rank change year-on-year +9 -31 +87
Contract jobs citing Network Security 66 41 96
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 2.69% 1.82% 3.57%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 19.41% 12.69% 21.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 33 31 79
10th Percentile £363 £406 £423
25th Percentile £416 £430 £493
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £492 £488 £615
Median % change year-on-year +0.92% -20.73% +22.88%
75th Percentile £575 £625 £661
90th Percentile £748 £688 £675
England median daily rate £500 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -4.76% -4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 0 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £65.75 - -
Median hourly rate £66.50 - -
75th Percentile £67.25 - -
90th Percentile - - -
England median hourly rate £66.50 £45.00 £72.50
% change year-on-year +47.78% -37.93% +61.11%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
North West

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 the North West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 340 323 451
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 13.87% 14.37% 16.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 202 168 330
10th Percentile £170 £203 £285
25th Percentile £350 £385 £398
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £457 £475 £500
Median % change year-on-year -3.84% -5.00% +3.36%
75th Percentile £550 £570 £623
90th Percentile £677 £678 £672
England median daily rate £483 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -3.45% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 7 11
10th Percentile £15.50 £18.76 -
25th Percentile £17.00 £22.01 £15.75
Median hourly rate £20.00 £48.56 £17.72
Median % change year-on-year -58.81% +174.04% -10.87%
75th Percentile £70.76 £51.91 £32.30
90th Percentile £74.26 £52.14 £46.88
England median hourly rate £30.00 £48.56 £56.49
% change year-on-year -38.22% -14.04% +25.53%

Network Security
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Network Security job vacancy trend in the North West

Network Security
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security

Network Security
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Network Security in the North West over the 6 months to 8 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Network Security in the North West

Network Security
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Network Security

Network Security
Contract Job Locations in the North West

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 North West region over the 6 months to 8 December 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
Cheshire +1 31 £478 -16.96% 15
Merseyside - 17 £275 - 5
Manchester -10 14 £534 +3.34% 26
Lancashire -10 4 £550 +23.94% 18
Network Security
England

Network Security
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 4 (6.06%) Apache
Cloud Services
1 5 (7.58%) Azure
2 4 (6.06%) Microsoft 365
3 2 (3.03%) AWS
4 1 (1.52%) Amazon CloudWatch
4 1 (1.52%) Amazon EC2
4 1 (1.52%) Amazon ELB
4 1 (1.52%) Amazon S3
4 1 (1.52%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 26 (39.39%) DNS
1 26 (39.39%) Firewall
2 24 (36.36%) DMZ
2 24 (36.36%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
2 24 (36.36%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
3 8 (12.12%) Intrusion Detection
4 7 (10.61%) Internet
5 6 (9.09%) BGP
5 6 (9.09%) TCP/IP
6 5 (7.58%) LAN
6 5 (7.58%) WAN
7 4 (6.06%) HTTP
7 4 (6.06%) WLAN
8 3 (4.55%) Cisco IOS
8 3 (4.55%) NX-OS
8 3 (4.55%) Software-Defined Networking
8 3 (4.55%) VLAN
9 2 (3.03%) SSL
10 1 (1.52%) Cisco ASA
10 1 (1.52%) MPLS
Development Applications
1 2 (3.03%) Jenkins
2 1 (1.52%) Git
2 1 (1.52%) GitLab
General
1 20 (30.30%) Social Skills
2 16 (24.24%) Analytical Skills
3 15 (22.73%) Banking
4 14 (21.21%) Investment Banking
5 10 (15.15%) Finance
6 4 (6.06%) Pharmaceutical
7 2 (3.03%) Documentation Skills
7 2 (3.03%) Public Sector
8 1 (1.52%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 1 (1.52%) Organisational Skills
8 1 (1.52%) Retail
Job Titles
1 19 (28.79%) Network Engineer
2 14 (21.21%) Operations Engineer
3 11 (16.67%) Security Engineer
4 10 (15.15%) Network Security Engineer
5 4 (6.06%) Analyst
5 4 (6.06%) Automation Engineer
5 4 (6.06%) Lead
5 4 (6.06%) SOC Analyst
6 3 (4.55%) Architect
6 3 (4.55%) Cybersecurity Engineer
6 3 (4.55%) Cybersecurity Specialist
6 3 (4.55%) Lead Network Engineer
6 3 (4.55%) Network Architect
6 3 (4.55%) Platform Engineer
6 3 (4.55%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
6 3 (4.55%) Senior
6 3 (4.55%) Software Engineer
7 2 (3.03%) Consultant
7 2 (3.03%) Network Consultant
7 2 (3.03%) Security Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 1 (1.52%) 802.1X
1 1 (1.52%) LDAP
Miscellaneous
1 18 (27.27%) Management Information System
2 3 (4.55%) Analytical Mindset
2 3 (4.55%) Product Ownership
3 2 (3.03%) CMDB
3 2 (3.03%) Security Operations Centre
3 2 (3.03%) Security Posture
4 1 (1.52%) Cloud Security Posture
4 1 (1.52%) Data Centre
4 1 (1.52%) FMCG
4 1 (1.52%) Onboarding
Operating Systems
1 12 (18.18%) Linux
2 11 (16.67%) Windows
3 5 (7.58%) Unix
4 3 (4.55%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 3 (4.55%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 24 (36.36%) Load Balancing
2 20 (30.30%) Business Strategy
3 16 (24.24%) Incident Response
4 14 (21.21%) Cybersecurity
4 14 (21.21%) Design Patterns
4 14 (21.21%) Problem-Solving
5 9 (13.64%) Infrastructure Automation
5 9 (13.64%) SIEM
6 8 (12.12%) Change Management
7 7 (10.61%) Network Design
8 6 (9.09%) Zero Trust
9 5 (7.58%) ITSM
9 5 (7.58%) Task Automation
10 4 (6.06%) Cyber Threat Intelligence
10 4 (6.06%) Digital Forensics
10 4 (6.06%) MITRE ATT&CK
10 4 (6.06%) Penetration Testing
10 4 (6.06%) Performance Optimisation
10 4 (6.06%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 4 (6.06%) Vulnerability Assessment
Programming Languages
1 6 (9.09%) Python
2 5 (7.58%) Bash
3 4 (6.06%) PowerShell
4 3 (4.55%) Kusto Query Language
4 3 (4.55%) Perl
Qualifications
1 15 (22.73%) Cisco Certification
2 14 (21.21%) CCNP
3 8 (12.12%) SC Cleared
3 8 (12.12%) Security Cleared
4 7 (10.61%) CISSP
5 6 (9.09%) Degree
6 5 (7.58%) CCSA
6 5 (7.58%) CISM
7 3 (4.55%) CCDP
7 3 (4.55%) CISA
7 3 (4.55%) GSEC
8 2 (3.03%) CompTIA Security+
9 1 (1.52%) CCIE
9 1 (1.52%) CCNA
9 1 (1.52%) CCNA CyberOps
9 1 (1.52%) Check Point Certification
9 1 (1.52%) Computer Science Degree
9 1 (1.52%) MCSA
9 1 (1.52%) MCSE
9 1 (1.52%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 5 (7.58%) GDPR
2 3 (4.55%) HIPAA
2 3 (4.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 3 (4.55%) NIST
2 3 (4.55%) PCI DSS
3 2 (3.03%) Cyber Essentials
System Software
1 20 (30.30%) VMware Infrastructure
2 4 (6.06%) Docker
2 4 (6.06%) VMware NSX
3 1 (1.52%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 3 (4.55%) Kubernetes
1 3 (4.55%) QRadar
2 2 (3.03%) Terraform
3 1 (1.52%) Ansible
3 1 (1.52%) CASB
3 1 (1.52%) Microsoft Intune
3 1 (1.52%) Nessus
Vendors
1 30 (45.45%) F5
2 24 (36.36%) VMware
3 19 (28.79%) Palo Alto
4 15 (22.73%) Cisco
5 13 (19.70%) Zscaler
6 12 (18.18%) Microsoft
7 5 (7.58%) Meraki
8 4 (6.06%) Computacenter
8 4 (6.06%) Splunk
9 3 (4.55%) ArcSight
9 3 (4.55%) CheckPoint
9 3 (4.55%) Red Hat
9 3 (4.55%) SolarWinds
10 1 (1.52%) Apple
10 1 (1.52%) CyberArk
10 1 (1.52%) McAfee
10 1 (1.52%) Remedy
10 1 (1.52%) Tenable