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 3 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 228 198 124
Rank change year-on-year -30 -74 +49
Contract jobs citing LAN 497 406 837
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.19% 1.36% 1.88%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.71% 10.30% 13.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 322 258 510
10th Percentile £206 £223 £202
25th Percentile £313 £353 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £439 £458 £475
Median % change year-on-year -4.26% -3.53% +5.56%
75th Percentile £529 £574 £628
90th Percentile £612 £673 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £430 £430 £450
% change year-on-year - -4.44% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 28 11 38
10th Percentile £12.43 £15.33 £15.33
25th Percentile £15.50 £19.25 £20.50
Median hourly rate £22.50 £20.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +12.50% -50.00% -20.00%
75th Percentile £35.00 £34.38 £49.38
90th Percentile £70.59 £43.75 £64.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.50 £20.00 £40.00
% change year-on-year +7.50% -50.00% +21.21%

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 4,244 3,941 6,001
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.17% 13.20% 13.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,767 2,378 3,602
10th Percentile £204 £208 £205
25th Percentile £363 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £500 £480
Median % change year-on-year -4.00% +4.28% -7.79%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £680 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £469 £467 £475
% change year-on-year +0.43% -1.79% +1.06%
Number of hourly rates quoted 175 131 393
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.44 £14.29
25th Percentile £19.00 £21.46 £19.99
Median hourly rate £35.00 £35.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year - -12.50% +105.13%
75th Percentile £65.00 £62.50 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.00 £74.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.94 £31.08 £48.75
% change year-on-year +34.94% -36.25% +156.58%

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 3 March 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 3 March 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for LAN in the UK

LAN
Top 16 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 3 March 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 -44 410 £445 -6.32% 181
UK excluding London -35 324 £430 - 153
Work from Home -7 129 £445 -11.00% 63
London -24 129 £463 -7.50% 60
South East +9 107 £450 +9.09% 65
North of England -69 60 £430 -2.27% 32
Scotland +42 46 £294 -26.56% 7
Midlands -48 43 £321 -35.75% 19
East of England -21 37 £350 -33.33% 18
West Midlands -34 37 £423 -19.52% 13
North West -50 31 £500 +10.01% 17
Yorkshire -55 29 £275 +14.69% 13
South West -39 16 £513 +24.24% 13
Wales +1 10 £425 +41.67% 6
East Midlands -41 6 £200 -40.30% 6
Northern Ireland - 4 £430 -

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 33 (6.64%) SharePoint
2 25 (5.03%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (2.62%) Confluence
4 10 (2.01%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.80%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.20%) Apache
6 1 (0.20%) IIS
Applications
1 38 (7.65%) Microsoft Office
2 23 (4.63%) MS Visio
3 14 (2.82%) Microsoft Excel
4 13 (2.62%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.01%) Acrobat
6 4 (0.80%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 2 (0.40%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 107 (21.53%) Azure
2 70 (14.08%) Microsoft 365
3 51 (10.26%) AWS
4 35 (7.04%) Entra ID
5 21 (4.23%) GCP
6 15 (3.02%) SaaS
7 13 (2.62%) OneDrive
8 9 (1.81%) Virtual Private Cloud
9 8 (1.61%) PaaS
10 6 (1.21%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 6 (1.21%) Power Platform
11 5 (1.01%) Nutanix
11 5 (1.01%) PowerApps
12 4 (0.80%) AWS Direct Connect
12 4 (0.80%) Azure DevOps
12 4 (0.80%) IaaS
12 4 (0.80%) Microsoft Purview
13 3 (0.60%) Google Ads
13 3 (0.60%) Serverless
14 2 (0.40%) Azure Functions
Communications & Networking
1 410 (82.49%) WAN
2 214 (43.06%) Firewall
3 149 (29.98%) VPN
4 119 (23.94%) BGP
5 115 (23.14%) Wi-Fi
6 108 (21.73%) OSPF
7 96 (19.32%) SD-WAN
8 93 (18.71%) DNS
9 87 (17.51%) Network Security
10 78 (15.69%) DHCP
11 73 (14.69%) TCP/IP
11 73 (14.69%) VLAN
12 72 (14.49%) Wireless
13 69 (13.88%) MPLS
14 49 (9.86%) WLAN
15 42 (8.45%) IPsec
16 33 (6.64%) Cisco ASA
16 33 (6.64%) Cisco Nexus
16 33 (6.64%) VXLAN
17 31 (6.24%) Cisco ISE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.41%) SQL Server
2 4 (0.80%) MS Access
3 2 (0.40%) MariaDB
3 2 (0.40%) PostgreSQL
4 1 (0.20%) Amazon RDS
4 1 (0.20%) Apache Cassandra
4 1 (0.20%) Data Warehouse
4 1 (0.20%) DynamoDB
4 1 (0.20%) MongoDB
4 1 (0.20%) MySQL
4 1 (0.20%) NoSQL
4 1 (0.20%) Oracle Database
4 1 (0.20%) Power BI
4 1 (0.20%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 24 (4.83%) JIRA
2 2 (0.40%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.20%) Bitbucket
3 1 (0.20%) Git
3 1 (0.20%) GitLab
3 1 (0.20%) Jenkins
3 1 (0.20%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 145 (29.18%) Social Skills
2 50 (10.06%) Public Sector
3 48 (9.66%) Analytical Skills
4 44 (8.85%) Finance
5 37 (7.44%) Telecoms
6 34 (6.84%) Documentation Skills
7 27 (5.43%) Manufacturing
8 19 (3.82%) Legal
8 19 (3.82%) Military
9 14 (2.82%) Financial Institution
10 12 (2.41%) Banking
10 12 (2.41%) Organisational Skills
11 9 (1.81%) Presentation Skills
12 8 (1.61%) Law
13 7 (1.41%) Local Government
14 6 (1.21%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 5 (1.01%) Marketing
15 5 (1.01%) Retail
16 4 (0.80%) Electronics
16 4 (0.80%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 179 (36.02%) Network Engineer
2 73 (14.69%) Architect
3 52 (10.46%) Network Architect
3 52 (10.46%) Senior
4 40 (8.05%) Analyst
4 40 (8.05%) IT Support
5 34 (6.84%) Support Engineer
6 28 (5.63%) IT Engineer
7 25 (5.03%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 24 (4.83%) IT Support Engineer
8 24 (4.83%) Senior Network Engineer
9 23 (4.63%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 21 (4.23%) Cisco Engineer
10 21 (4.23%) Lead
11 20 (4.02%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 20 (4.02%) Project Manager
12 19 (3.82%) Technical Architect
13 18 (3.62%) Field Engineer
13 18 (3.62%) Support Analyst
14 17 (3.42%) 2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 26 (5.23%) 802.1X
2 10 (2.01%) LDAP
3 8 (1.61%) Microsoft Graph
4 7 (1.41%) Middleware
5 6 (1.21%) SAML
6 3 (0.60%) NETCONF
6 3 (0.60%) REST
6 3 (0.60%) YANG
7 2 (0.40%) ARM Templates
7 2 (0.40%) CSS
7 2 (0.40%) Django
7 2 (0.40%) HTML
7 2 (0.40%) RFC 2544
7 2 (0.40%) XMPP
7 2 (0.40%) YAML
8 1 (0.20%) .NET
8 1 (0.20%) EDI
8 1 (0.20%) Java RMI
8 1 (0.20%) Node.js
8 1 (0.20%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 100 (20.12%) Data Centre
2 23 (4.63%) PKI
3 19 (3.82%) Clustering
3 19 (3.82%) Driving Licence
3 19 (3.82%) Onboarding
4 17 (3.42%) Hybrid Cloud
5 15 (3.02%) CMDB
6 14 (2.82%) Data Protection Act
6 14 (2.82%) NHS
7 12 (2.41%) Security Posture
8 9 (1.81%) Management Information System
8 9 (1.81%) Operational Technology
9 8 (1.61%) IoT
9 8 (1.61%) Self-Motivation
9 8 (1.61%) Virtual Team
10 6 (1.21%) Enterprise Software
10 6 (1.21%) Public Cloud
11 5 (1.01%) CCTV
11 5 (1.01%) iPhone
11 5 (1.01%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 144 (28.97%) Windows
2 49 (9.86%) Windows Server
3 39 (7.85%) Windows 10
4 21 (4.23%) Linux
5 17 (3.42%) Windows Server 2019
6 11 (2.21%) Android
6 11 (2.21%) Windows 7
7 10 (2.01%) Windows Server 2016
8 7 (1.41%) Apple iOS
9 6 (1.21%) Mac OS
10 5 (1.01%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.80%) CatOS
11 4 (0.80%) VMS
12 3 (0.60%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 3 (0.60%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.60%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.40%) AIX
14 1 (0.20%) Data ONTAP
14 1 (0.20%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 83 (16.70%) Problem-Solving
2 68 (13.68%) ITIL
3 59 (11.87%) Migration
4 54 (10.87%) High Availability
5 48 (9.66%) Network Design
6 45 (9.05%) ITSM
6 45 (9.05%) Stakeholder Management
7 41 (8.25%) Network Architecture
8 40 (8.05%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 39 (7.85%) Change Management
10 37 (7.44%) Cybersecurity
11 36 (7.24%) Load Balancing
11 36 (7.24%) Network Monitoring
12 35 (7.04%) Project Delivery
13 31 (6.24%) Service Management
14 30 (6.04%) Customer Service
15 27 (5.43%) Zero Trust
16 26 (5.23%) Continuous Improvement
16 26 (5.23%) Mentoring
17 25 (5.03%) Network Management
Programming Languages
1 49 (9.86%) PowerShell
2 33 (6.64%) Python
3 12 (2.41%) SQL
4 11 (2.21%) VBScript
5 9 (1.81%) VB
6 3 (0.60%) JavaScript
6 3 (0.60%) Perl
7 2 (0.40%) Bash
7 2 (0.40%) Bicep
8 1 (0.20%) C#
8 1 (0.20%) Ruby
8 1 (0.20%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.20%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 158 (31.79%) Security Cleared
2 147 (29.58%) Cisco Certification
3 116 (23.34%) SC Cleared
4 114 (22.94%) CCNP
5 61 (12.27%) Degree
6 50 (10.06%) DV Cleared
7 49 (9.86%) CCNA
8 37 (7.44%) CCIE
9 18 (3.62%) JNCIP
9 18 (3.62%) JNCIS
10 13 (2.62%) Network+ Certification
11 12 (2.41%) Microsoft Certification
12 11 (2.21%) JNCIE
12 11 (2.21%) PMI Certification
12 11 (2.21%) PMP
13 10 (2.01%) Azure Certification
13 10 (2.01%) CCSE
13 10 (2.01%) JNCIA
14 9 (1.81%) AWS Certification
14 9 (1.81%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (2.82%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 13 (2.62%) SLA
3 11 (2.21%) NIST
4 9 (1.81%) GDPR
4 9 (1.81%) QA
5 7 (1.41%) NCSC
5 7 (1.41%) PCI DSS
6 5 (1.01%) PMO
7 4 (0.80%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.60%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.40%) Disclosure Scotland
9 2 (0.40%) RMADS
10 1 (0.20%) GRC
10 1 (0.20%) MiFID
10 1 (0.20%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 92 (18.51%) Active Directory
2 36 (7.24%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (3.42%) VMware NSX
4 12 (2.41%) vSphere
5 9 (1.81%) BitLocker
6 6 (1.21%) Hyper-V
7 5 (1.01%) Virtual Desktop
8 4 (0.80%) Docker
8 4 (0.80%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.40%) KVM
9 2 (0.40%) ProxySG
10 1 (0.20%) Ceph
10 1 (0.20%) Citrix Presentation Server
10 1 (0.20%) Firmware
10 1 (0.20%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.20%) NFS
10 1 (0.20%) RHEV
10 1 (0.20%) Samba
10 1 (0.20%) VMware Workstation
10 1 (0.20%) Xen
Systems Management
1 43 (8.65%) FortiGate
2 36 (7.24%) Microsoft Intune
3 33 (6.64%) Ansible
4 27 (5.43%) Terraform
5 21 (4.23%) SCCM
6 11 (2.21%) Jamf Pro
7 9 (1.81%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (1.21%) Cisco Prime
8 6 (1.21%) Nagios
9 4 (0.80%) WSUS
10 3 (0.60%) Cisco CUCM
10 3 (0.60%) Endace
10 3 (0.60%) Grafana
10 3 (0.60%) vCenter Server
11 2 (0.40%) Check_MK
11 2 (0.40%) Nessus
11 2 (0.40%) SCOM
12 1 (0.20%) Backup Exec
12 1 (0.20%) Norton AntiVirus
12 1 (0.20%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 237 (47.69%) Cisco
2 106 (21.33%) Microsoft
3 103 (20.72%) Palo Alto
4 68 (13.68%) Juniper
5 63 (12.68%) F5
6 61 (12.27%) CheckPoint
7 57 (11.47%) Aruba
8 50 (10.06%) Fortinet
8 50 (10.06%) VMware
9 47 (9.46%) SolarWinds
10 31 (6.24%) ServiceNow
11 29 (5.84%) Meraki
12 23 (4.63%) Extreme Networks
12 23 (4.63%) Zscaler
13 21 (4.23%) Splunk
14 14 (2.82%) Veeam
15 13 (2.62%) Dell
16 12 (2.41%) Citrix
17 11 (2.21%) Arista
18 7 (1.41%) SAP