LAN Contract Job Trends

Local Area Network (LAN)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring LAN skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 237 178 125
Rank change year-on-year -59 -53 +55
Contract jobs citing LAN 428 461 818
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.15% 1.47% 1.89%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 10.95% 11.44% 13.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 274 280 518
10th Percentile £213 £223 £202
25th Percentile £316 £350 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £450
75th Percentile £549 £569 £600
90th Percentile £638 £673 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £430 £445
% change year-on-year -1.16% -3.37% +2.89%
Number of hourly rates quoted 20 12 31
10th Percentile £12.97 £18.65 £17.22
25th Percentile £15.50 £20.00 £20.75
Median hourly rate £21.63 £20.19 £33.44
Median % change year-on-year +7.12% -39.63% +34.89%
75th Percentile £39.40 £34.06 £50.00
90th Percentile £71.49 £42.88 £67.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £16.00 £20.00 £27.75
% change year-on-year -20.00% -27.93% +20.65%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK

LAN 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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 3,908 4,028 5,905
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.48% 12.88% 13.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,574 2,340 3,619
10th Percentile £205 £213 £209
25th Percentile £356 £363 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -2.91%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £688 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £469 £475
% change year-on-year -4.00% -1.32% +2.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 165 138 353
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.95 £17.72
25th Percentile £19.00 £21.46 £23.09
Median hourly rate £30.00 £35.00 £56.49
Median % change year-on-year -14.29% -38.04% +156.77%
75th Percentile £65.00 £56.56 £65.98
90th Percentile £74.26 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.94 £32.50 £59.00
% change year-on-year +29.05% -44.92% +212.00%

LAN
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing LAN relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

LAN job vacancy trend in the UK

LAN
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing LAN.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing LAN

LAN
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing LAN over the 6 months to 20 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for LAN in the UK

LAN
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing LAN.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing LAN

LAN
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing LAN over the 6 months to 20 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for LAN in the UK

LAN
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 LAN within the UK over the 6 months to 20 January 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 -69 354 £450 - 243
UK excluding London -52 268 £425 -1.16% 236
London -31 123 £500 - 54
Work from Home +1 114 £450 -13.88% 96
South East -17 81 £455 +13.75% 72
North of England -79 55 £423 -6.11% 51
Scotland +34 40 £273 -31.88% 17
North West -40 38 £420 -8.50% 20
Midlands -58 38 £450 +1.41% 35
West Midlands -30 34 £450 -10.00% 20
East of England -24 31 £350 -31.71% 26
Yorkshire -64 16 £445 +91.40% 24
South West -27 11 £513 +24.24% 28
Wales 0 6 £335 +67.50% 8
Northern Ireland +2 5 £475 - 4
East Midlands -48 4 £200 -37.50% 15
North East -12 1 £550 - 7

LAN
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 26 (6.07%) SharePoint
2 17 (3.97%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (2.80%) OpenStack
4 10 (2.34%) Skype for Business
5 8 (1.87%) Confluence
6 1 (0.23%) Apache
6 1 (0.23%) CICS
6 1 (0.23%) IIS
6 1 (0.23%) Tomcat
6 1 (0.23%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.23%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 38 (8.88%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (6.31%) MS Visio
3 18 (4.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 17 (3.97%) Microsoft Excel
5 5 (1.17%) Acrobat
6 4 (0.93%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.47%) DELMIA
2 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 92 (21.50%) Azure
2 56 (13.08%) AWS
3 45 (10.51%) Microsoft 365
4 20 (4.67%) Entra ID
5 18 (4.21%) GCP
6 9 (2.10%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 7 (1.64%) SaaS
8 6 (1.40%) OpenShift
9 4 (0.93%) Azure DevOps
9 4 (0.93%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 4 (0.93%) Microsoft Purview
10 3 (0.70%) AWS Direct Connect
10 3 (0.70%) Nutanix
10 3 (0.70%) Serverless
11 2 (0.47%) AWS IoT
11 2 (0.47%) Azure Functions
11 2 (0.47%) Google Ads
11 2 (0.47%) Power Platform
11 2 (0.47%) Slack
11 2 (0.47%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 356 (83.18%) WAN
2 168 (39.25%) Firewall
3 135 (31.54%) VPN
4 89 (20.79%) SD-WAN
5 87 (20.33%) BGP
6 85 (19.86%) Wi-Fi
7 74 (17.29%) Wireless
8 70 (16.36%) DNS
8 70 (16.36%) Network Security
8 70 (16.36%) TCP/IP
9 69 (16.12%) OSPF
10 63 (14.72%) MPLS
11 55 (12.85%) DHCP
12 53 (12.38%) VLAN
13 45 (10.51%) WLAN
14 38 (8.88%) IPsec
15 32 (7.48%) Cisco Nexus
16 25 (5.84%) Cisco ASA
17 24 (5.61%) Structured Cabling
18 20 (4.67%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (1.87%) SQL Server
2 4 (0.93%) MS Access
3 3 (0.70%) Oracle Database
4 2 (0.47%) MariaDB
4 2 (0.47%) PostgreSQL
4 2 (0.47%) Power BI
5 1 (0.23%) Amazon RDS
5 1 (0.23%) Apache Cassandra
5 1 (0.23%) Data Warehouse
5 1 (0.23%) DynamoDB
5 1 (0.23%) MongoDB
5 1 (0.23%) MySQL
5 1 (0.23%) NoSQL
5 1 (0.23%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 10 (2.34%) JIRA
2 2 (0.47%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.23%) Git
3 1 (0.23%) Jenkins
3 1 (0.23%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 131 (30.61%) Social Skills
2 51 (11.92%) Public Sector
3 47 (10.98%) Analytical Skills
4 37 (8.64%) Telecoms
5 34 (7.94%) Finance
6 33 (7.71%) Documentation Skills
7 20 (4.67%) Manufacturing
8 17 (3.97%) Military
9 13 (3.04%) Legal
10 10 (2.34%) Banking
11 9 (2.10%) Organisational Skills
11 9 (2.10%) Presentation Skills
12 6 (1.40%) Law
12 6 (1.40%) Local Government
12 6 (1.40%) Marketing
13 5 (1.17%) Electronics
13 5 (1.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 4 (0.93%) Financial Institution
14 4 (0.93%) Influencing Skills
15 3 (0.70%) Retail
Job Titles
1 140 (32.71%) Network Engineer
2 89 (20.79%) Architect
3 63 (14.72%) Network Architect
4 34 (7.94%) Analyst
5 33 (7.71%) Senior
6 22 (5.14%) Support Analyst
7 21 (4.91%) IT Support
7 21 (4.91%) Lead
8 20 (4.67%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 19 (4.44%) Support Engineer
10 18 (4.21%) Project Manager
10 18 (4.21%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 18 (4.21%) Senior Network Engineer
10 18 (4.21%) Technical Architect
11 17 (3.97%) Field Engineer
12 16 (3.74%) 2nd Line Support
12 16 (3.74%) Cisco Engineer
12 16 (3.74%) Technical Support
13 15 (3.50%) Cisco Network Engineer
13 15 (3.50%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.34%) LDAP
2 8 (1.87%) Middleware
3 6 (1.40%) NETCONF
3 6 (1.40%) REST
3 6 (1.40%) SAML
3 6 (1.40%) YANG
4 3 (0.70%) 802.1X
5 2 (0.47%) ARM Templates
5 2 (0.47%) CSS
5 2 (0.47%) HTML
5 2 (0.47%) XMPP
5 2 (0.47%) YAML
6 1 (0.23%) .NET
6 1 (0.23%) EDI
6 1 (0.23%) Java RMI
6 1 (0.23%) LAMP
6 1 (0.23%) libvirt
6 1 (0.23%) Node.js
6 1 (0.23%) React
6 1 (0.23%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 79 (18.46%) Data Centre
2 22 (5.14%) Hybrid Cloud
3 20 (4.67%) Driving Licence
4 17 (3.97%) Onboarding
5 14 (3.27%) CMDB
6 12 (2.80%) Data Protection Act
6 12 (2.80%) NHS
7 10 (2.34%) Management Information System
8 8 (1.87%) Operational Technology
9 7 (1.64%) PKI
9 7 (1.64%) Security Posture
9 7 (1.64%) Self-Motivation
10 6 (1.40%) Cloud Native
10 6 (1.40%) SCADA
11 5 (1.17%) Analytical Mindset
11 5 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (1.17%) Public Cloud
11 5 (1.17%) Video Conferencing
11 5 (1.17%) Virtual Team
12 4 (0.93%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 102 (23.83%) Windows
2 40 (9.35%) Windows Server
3 32 (7.48%) Windows 10
4 20 (4.67%) Linux
5 12 (2.80%) Windows Server 2016
5 12 (2.80%) Windows Server 2019
6 10 (2.34%) Windows 7
7 7 (1.64%) Android
8 4 (0.93%) Apple iOS
8 4 (0.93%) CatOS
8 4 (0.93%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.93%) Windows Server 2012
9 3 (0.70%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.70%) Ubuntu
10 2 (0.47%) Windows Server 2003
11 1 (0.23%) AIX
11 1 (0.23%) MVS
11 1 (0.23%) Solaris
11 1 (0.23%) VMS
11 1 (0.23%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 66 (15.42%) Problem-Solving
2 59 (13.79%) ITIL
3 58 (13.55%) Network Design
4 56 (13.08%) Migration
5 49 (11.45%) Network Architecture
6 44 (10.28%) Cybersecurity
7 40 (9.35%) Stakeholder Management
8 36 (8.41%) Project Delivery
9 35 (8.18%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 34 (7.94%) ITSM
11 31 (7.24%) High Availability
12 29 (6.78%) Change Management
12 29 (6.78%) Network Monitoring
13 28 (6.54%) Customer Service
14 25 (5.84%) Zero Trust
15 24 (5.61%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 22 (5.14%) Continuous Improvement
16 22 (5.14%) Roadmaps
17 21 (4.91%) Network Management
17 21 (4.91%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 35 (8.18%) Python
2 30 (7.01%) PowerShell
3 11 (2.57%) SQL
4 10 (2.34%) VBScript
5 9 (2.10%) VB
6 6 (1.40%) Perl
7 2 (0.47%) Bash
7 2 (0.47%) Bicep
7 2 (0.47%) JavaScript
8 1 (0.23%) C#
8 1 (0.23%) Java
8 1 (0.23%) Ruby
8 1 (0.23%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.23%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 131 (30.61%) Security Cleared
2 127 (29.67%) Cisco Certification
3 101 (23.60%) CCNP
4 98 (22.90%) SC Cleared
5 48 (11.21%) Degree
6 46 (10.75%) CCIE
7 43 (10.05%) DV Cleared
8 38 (8.88%) CCNA
9 22 (5.14%) JNCIE
10 14 (3.27%) AWS Certification
11 13 (3.04%) JNCIP
12 12 (2.80%) CCSE
13 11 (2.57%) Network+ Certification
14 10 (2.34%) Azure Certification
14 10 (2.34%) JNCIS
15 8 (1.87%) BPSS Clearance
15 8 (1.87%) PMI Certification
16 7 (1.64%) CCDP
16 7 (1.64%) Microsoft Certification
16 7 (1.64%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (3.27%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 12 (2.80%) SLA
3 10 (2.34%) NIST
4 9 (2.10%) GDPR
5 7 (1.64%) PCI DSS
5 7 (1.64%) QA
6 5 (1.17%) PMO
7 4 (0.93%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.70%) JSP 440
8 3 (0.70%) NCSC
9 2 (0.47%) RMADS
10 1 (0.23%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.23%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.23%) GRC
10 1 (0.23%) MiFID
10 1 (0.23%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 65 (15.19%) Active Directory
2 33 (7.71%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (4.67%) VMware NSX
4 9 (2.10%) BitLocker
5 8 (1.87%) Hyper-V
6 6 (1.40%) Virtual Desktop
7 5 (1.17%) vSphere
8 3 (0.70%) Docker
8 3 (0.70%) KVM
9 2 (0.47%) Firmware
9 2 (0.47%) NFS
9 2 (0.47%) ProxySG
9 2 (0.47%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.47%) Xen
10 1 (0.23%) Ceph
10 1 (0.23%) RHEV
10 1 (0.23%) Samba
10 1 (0.23%) SRDF
10 1 (0.23%) Veritas Cluster Server
10 1 (0.23%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 38 (8.88%) Ansible
2 33 (7.71%) Terraform
3 23 (5.37%) Microsoft Intune
4 19 (4.44%) FortiGate
5 18 (4.21%) SCCM
6 10 (2.34%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (1.17%) Cisco Prime
8 4 (0.93%) Nagios
8 4 (0.93%) SCOM
9 3 (0.70%) Cisco CUCM
9 3 (0.70%) Endace
9 3 (0.70%) Jamf Pro
9 3 (0.70%) WSUS
10 2 (0.47%) Check_MK
10 2 (0.47%) Grafana
10 2 (0.47%) Nessus
10 2 (0.47%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.23%) Norton AntiVirus
11 1 (0.23%) Puppet
11 1 (0.23%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 198 (46.26%) Cisco
2 88 (20.56%) Microsoft
3 82 (19.16%) Palo Alto
4 56 (13.08%) Fortinet
5 54 (12.62%) Juniper
6 49 (11.45%) CheckPoint
7 46 (10.75%) VMware
8 45 (10.51%) F5
9 43 (10.05%) Aruba
10 34 (7.94%) Meraki
11 29 (6.78%) SolarWinds
12 28 (6.54%) ServiceNow
13 23 (5.37%) Zscaler
14 14 (3.27%) Citrix
14 14 (3.27%) Veeam
15 8 (1.87%) Arista
15 8 (1.87%) Remedy
16 7 (1.64%) SAP
17 6 (1.40%) Nokia
17 6 (1.40%) Oracle