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 24 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
24 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 215 215 164
Rank change year-on-year 0 -51 -32
Contract jobs citing LAN 588 381 617
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.16% 1.27% 1.42%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.20% 10.24% 11.48%
Number of daily rates quoted 369 226 341
10th Percentile £223 £207 £205
25th Percentile £363 £325 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year - -5.26% +1.60%
75th Percentile £538 £573 £638
90th Percentile £619 £625 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £425 £458
% change year-on-year +5.88% -7.10% +7.65%
Number of hourly rates quoted 32 17 46
10th Percentile £12.76 £20.38 £12.86
25th Percentile £18.36 £27.00 £15.75
Median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £23.15
Median % change year-on-year -25.00% +29.59% -64.38%
75th Percentile £34.26 £40.00 £40.00
90th Percentile £70.60 £50.80 £43.13
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £22.50
% change year-on-year -25.00% +33.33% -64.57%

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 4,820 3,719 5,374
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.47% 12.38% 12.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,962 2,279 3,175
10th Percentile £250 £225 £213
25th Percentile £400 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £480 £470 £490
% change year-on-year +2.13% -3.98% +3.05%
Number of hourly rates quoted 298 176 426
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.50
25th Percentile £20.56 £21.00 £17.69
Median hourly rate £27.94 £45.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year -37.91% +12.50% +110.53%
75th Percentile £65.00 £61.50 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.08 £77.50 £72.70
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.72 £36.50 £47.50
% change year-on-year -26.79% -23.16% +150.00%

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 24 June 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 24 June 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 24 June 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 -14 502 £450 -5.26% 157
UK excluding London +4 418 £450 +5.88% 174
South East +12 168 £475 -5.00% 50
London -72 119 £500 +2.04% 30
Work from Home -24 115 £490 -2.00% 65
North of England -46 80 £450 +38.46% 29
Midlands -31 58 £295 -32.57% 31
Scotland +7 46 £450 +14.43% 18
West Midlands -43 43 £340 -15.00% 20
East of England -4 42 £350 -18.60% 16
North West -43 42 £525 +61.54% 16
Yorkshire -21 38 £438 +9.38% 9
South West -42 17 £450 +12.50% 17
East Midlands -11 12 £200 -61.90% 11
Wales -18 7 £475 +105.41% 8
Northern Ireland - 3 £468 - 12
Channel Islands - 1 £575 -

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 30 (5.10%) SharePoint
2 22 (3.74%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (2.38%) Confluence
4 8 (1.36%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.85%) Skype for Business
6 2 (0.34%) CMS
6 2 (0.34%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 21 (3.57%) MS Visio
2 17 (2.89%) Microsoft Office
3 12 (2.04%) Microsoft Excel
4 7 (1.19%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.68%) Acrobat
6 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.34%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 136 (23.13%) Azure
2 87 (14.80%) Microsoft 365
3 62 (10.54%) AWS
4 40 (6.80%) Entra ID
5 23 (3.91%) SaaS
6 18 (3.06%) OneDrive
7 12 (2.04%) PaaS
8 11 (1.87%) GCP
9 10 (1.70%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 8 (1.36%) Power Platform
11 7 (1.19%) PowerApps
12 6 (1.02%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 5 (0.85%) AWS Direct Connect
13 5 (0.85%) Azure DevOps
13 5 (0.85%) IaaS
14 4 (0.68%) Nutanix
15 3 (0.51%) Azure Sentinel
15 3 (0.51%) Google Ads
16 2 (0.34%) IBM Watson
17 1 (0.17%) Amazon Bedrock
Communications & Networking
1 486 (82.65%) WAN
2 282 (47.96%) Firewall
3 156 (26.53%) VPN
4 147 (25.00%) BGP
5 141 (23.98%) Wi-Fi
6 139 (23.64%) SD-WAN
7 129 (21.94%) OSPF
8 124 (21.09%) Network Security
9 120 (20.41%) DNS
10 108 (18.37%) Wireless
11 91 (15.48%) DHCP
12 84 (14.29%) MPLS
13 77 (13.10%) VLAN
14 73 (12.41%) WLAN
15 70 (11.90%) TCP/IP
16 51 (8.67%) IPsec
17 47 (7.99%) Cisco ISE
18 44 (7.48%) BIG-IP
18 44 (7.48%) Cisco Nexus
19 38 (6.46%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (0.85%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.17%) DTS
2 1 (0.17%) NoSQL
2 1 (0.17%) Oracle Reports
2 1 (0.17%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.17%) Power BI
2 1 (0.17%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 31 (5.27%) JIRA
2 4 (0.68%) Browser DevTools
2 4 (0.68%) Sonatype Nexus
3 2 (0.34%) Git
3 2 (0.34%) GitLab
3 2 (0.34%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
4 1 (0.17%) Fiddler
4 1 (0.17%) MSI
4 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio
General
1 163 (27.72%) Social Skills
2 48 (8.16%) Telecoms
3 47 (7.99%) Public Sector
4 41 (6.97%) Analytical Skills
5 37 (6.29%) Finance
6 31 (5.27%) Documentation Skills
7 22 (3.74%) Legal
7 22 (3.74%) Manufacturing
8 17 (2.89%) Financial Institution
9 16 (2.72%) Organisational Skills
10 9 (1.53%) Banking
10 9 (1.53%) Law
10 9 (1.53%) Military
11 7 (1.19%) Retail
12 6 (1.02%) Police
13 5 (0.85%) Influencing Skills
14 3 (0.51%) German Language
14 3 (0.51%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 3 (0.51%) Local Government
15 2 (0.34%) Billing
Job Titles
1 241 (40.99%) Network Engineer
2 80 (13.61%) Architect
3 64 (10.88%) Senior
4 55 (9.35%) Network Architect
5 41 (6.97%) IT Support
5 41 (6.97%) Support Engineer
6 35 (5.95%) IT Engineer
7 30 (5.10%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
8 29 (4.93%) Cisco Engineer
8 29 (4.93%) IT Support Engineer
8 29 (4.93%) Senior Network Engineer
9 28 (4.76%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 26 (4.42%) Analyst
10 26 (4.42%) Cisco Network Engineer
10 26 (4.42%) Lead
11 19 (3.23%) Technical Architect
12 16 (2.72%) LAN Engineer
12 16 (2.72%) Network Manager
13 15 (2.55%) Network Specialist
13 15 (2.55%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 49 (8.33%) 802.1X
2 10 (1.70%) Microsoft Graph
2 10 (1.70%) SAML
3 9 (1.53%) LDAP
4 8 (1.36%) NETCONF
4 8 (1.36%) REST
4 8 (1.36%) YANG
5 5 (0.85%) Middleware
6 3 (0.51%) Software Packaging
6 3 (0.51%) XMPP
7 2 (0.34%) .NET
7 2 (0.34%) Django
7 2 (0.34%) RFC 2544
8 1 (0.17%) .NET Framework
8 1 (0.17%) Apache NiFi
8 1 (0.17%) CSS
8 1 (0.17%) HTML
8 1 (0.17%) Java RMI
8 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
8 1 (0.17%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 118 (20.07%) Data Centre
2 31 (5.27%) PKI
3 28 (4.76%) Hybrid Cloud
4 26 (4.42%) Clustering
5 25 (4.25%) Onboarding
6 17 (2.89%) Security Posture
7 14 (2.38%) Driving Licence
8 13 (2.21%) Self-Motivation
9 12 (2.04%) Cloud Native
10 11 (1.87%) Public Cloud
11 10 (1.70%) Data Protection Act
11 10 (1.70%) NHS
11 10 (1.70%) Operational Technology
11 10 (1.70%) Virtual Team
12 9 (1.53%) Enterprise Software
13 8 (1.36%) IoT
13 8 (1.36%) Private Cloud
14 7 (1.19%) Analytical Mindset
14 7 (1.19%) CMDB
15 6 (1.02%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 181 (30.78%) Windows
2 50 (8.50%) Windows Server
3 37 (6.29%) Linux
4 30 (5.10%) Windows 10
5 18 (3.06%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (2.55%) Mac OS
7 10 (1.70%) Android
8 8 (1.36%) Windows 7
9 7 (1.19%) Apple iOS
10 5 (0.85%) VMS
10 5 (0.85%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.68%) Unix
12 3 (0.51%) CatOS
12 3 (0.51%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.51%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.34%) AIX
13 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
14 1 (0.17%) CentOS
14 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.17%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (16.67%) ITIL
2 85 (14.46%) High Availability
3 82 (13.95%) Problem-Solving
4 71 (12.07%) Load Balancing
5 54 (9.18%) Migration
6 53 (9.01%) Stakeholder Management
7 52 (8.84%) Project Delivery
8 51 (8.67%) Continuous Improvement
9 49 (8.33%) Change Management
10 47 (7.99%) Network Architecture
11 45 (7.65%) ITSM
12 44 (7.48%) Roadmaps
13 40 (6.80%) Infrastructure Engineering
14 39 (6.63%) Technical Leadership
15 38 (6.46%) Agile
15 38 (6.46%) Network Monitoring
16 37 (6.29%) Network Design
17 35 (5.95%) Service Management
18 33 (5.61%) Disaster Recovery
19 31 (5.27%) Observability
Programming Languages
1 41 (6.97%) PowerShell
1 41 (6.97%) Python
2 10 (1.70%) SQL
3 5 (0.85%) VBScript
4 4 (0.68%) VB
5 2 (0.34%) C++
5 2 (0.34%) JavaScript
6 1 (0.17%) Bicep
6 1 (0.17%) C
6 1 (0.17%) Java
6 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 195 (33.16%) Security Cleared
2 175 (29.76%) Cisco Certification
3 126 (21.43%) SC Cleared
4 110 (18.71%) CCNP
5 63 (10.71%) CCNA
5 63 (10.71%) DV Cleared
6 46 (7.82%) CCIE
7 45 (7.65%) Degree
8 17 (2.89%) PMP
9 14 (2.38%) Azure Certification
9 14 (2.38%) Microsoft Certification
9 14 (2.38%) PMI Certification
10 13 (2.21%) JNCIP
11 12 (2.04%) JNCIS
12 11 (1.87%) JNCIA
12 11 (1.87%) JNCIE
13 9 (1.53%) AWS Certification
14 7 (1.19%) Computer Science Degree
15 6 (1.02%) CCSE
16 5 (0.85%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (2.89%) QA
2 14 (2.38%) SLA
3 11 (1.87%) NIST
4 9 (1.53%) NCSC
5 8 (1.36%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 7 (1.19%) Disclosure Scotland
7 5 (0.85%) GDPR
8 3 (0.51%) PMO
9 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.34%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.17%) DICOM
10 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.17%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.17%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.17%) RMADS
10 1 (0.17%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 100 (17.01%) Active Directory
2 57 (9.69%) VMware Infrastructure
3 26 (4.42%) VMware NSX
4 20 (3.40%) vSphere
5 9 (1.53%) Firmware
6 8 (1.36%) Hyper-V
7 6 (1.02%) Virtual Machines
8 4 (0.68%) BitLocker
8 4 (0.68%) Virtual Desktop
9 3 (0.51%) Virtual Servers
10 2 (0.34%) VMware ESXi
11 1 (0.17%) Citrix Presentation Server
11 1 (0.17%) Docker
11 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.17%) ProxySG
Systems Management
1 50 (8.50%) FortiGate
2 35 (5.95%) Ansible
3 34 (5.78%) Microsoft Intune
4 18 (3.06%) Terraform
5 15 (2.55%) SCCM
6 13 (2.21%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (1.87%) Jamf Pro
8 6 (1.02%) Cisco Prime
9 4 (0.68%) Cisco CUCM
9 4 (0.68%) Progress Chef
9 4 (0.68%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 3 (0.51%) Endace
10 3 (0.51%) Nagios
11 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.34%) CASB
11 2 (0.34%) Grafana
11 2 (0.34%) vCenter Server
11 2 (0.34%) WSUS
12 1 (0.17%) Iperf
12 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 293 (49.83%) Cisco
2 131 (22.28%) Microsoft
3 103 (17.52%) Palo Alto
4 92 (15.65%) F5
5 74 (12.59%) Juniper
5 74 (12.59%) VMware
6 67 (11.39%) SolarWinds
7 63 (10.71%) Aruba
8 60 (10.20%) Fortinet
9 57 (9.69%) CheckPoint
10 33 (5.61%) ServiceNow
11 32 (5.44%) Extreme Networks
12 28 (4.76%) Meraki
12 28 (4.76%) Splunk
13 18 (3.06%) Zscaler
14 16 (2.72%) Dell
14 16 (2.72%) Ekahau
15 13 (2.21%) Veeam
16 10 (1.70%) Arista
17 9 (1.53%) Citrix