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 29 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
29 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 234 182 127
Rank change year-on-year -52 -55 +47
Contract jobs citing LAN 442 468 816
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.15% 1.49% 1.86%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 10.97% 11.45% 13.59%
Number of daily rates quoted 283 283 502
10th Percentile £209 £223 £203
25th Percentile £311 £350 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £443 £450 £450
Median % change year-on-year -1.67% - -
75th Percentile £538 £570 £597
90th Percentile £611 £668 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £430 £450
% change year-on-year -1.16% -4.44% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 22 12 39
10th Percentile £13.22 £18.65 £15.43
25th Percentile £15.50 £20.00 £20.10
Median hourly rate £22.50 £20.19 £38.04
Median % change year-on-year +11.46% -46.93% +14.41%
75th Percentile £35.00 £34.06 £48.75
90th Percentile £69.72 £42.88 £63.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.75 £20.00 £31.25
% change year-on-year +3.75% -36.00% +12.61%

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 4,031 4,089 6,004
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.47% 12.99% 13.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,652 2,376 3,641
10th Percentile £204 £213 £206
25th Percentile £356 £363 £356
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £495
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +1.01% -3.88%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £685 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £468 £475
% change year-on-year -3.74% -1.58% +2.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 164 139 388
10th Percentile £15.50 £17.76 £16.25
25th Percentile £18.97 £21.46 £22.00
Median hourly rate £30.00 £35.00 £51.65
Median % change year-on-year -14.29% -32.24% +149.47%
75th Percentile £65.00 £58.69 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £40.54 £31.79 £56.45
% change year-on-year +27.52% -43.68% +186.89%

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 29 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 29 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 29 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 -79 368 £450 -1.80% 209
UK excluding London -54 285 £425 -1.16% 200
London -30 121 £500 - 57
Work from Home -1 113 £450 -10.00% 92
South East -18 87 £450 +12.50% 60
North of England -78 60 £420 -6.67% 46
Scotland +29 42 £275 -31.25% 16
Midlands -72 40 £425 -10.53% 30
North West -42 36 £423 -8.80% 20
West Midlands -31 35 £450 -10.00% 24
East of England -17 33 £350 -31.71% 18
Yorkshire -57 23 £275 +22.33% 21
South West -37 12 £513 +24.24% 23
Wales 0 5 £293 +46.25% 6
Northern Ireland 0 5 £475 - 3
East Midlands -48 5 £200 -42.86% 6
North East -15 1 £550 - 5

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 28 (6.33%) SharePoint
2 22 (4.98%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (3.17%) OpenStack
4 10 (2.26%) Confluence
4 10 (2.26%) Skype for Business
5 1 (0.23%) Apache
5 1 (0.23%) CICS
5 1 (0.23%) IIS
5 1 (0.23%) Tomcat
5 1 (0.23%) WebSphere
5 1 (0.23%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 40 (9.05%) Microsoft Office
2 25 (5.66%) MS Visio
3 17 (3.85%) Microsoft Excel
4 16 (3.62%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.13%) Acrobat
6 4 (0.90%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.45%) DELMIA
2 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 96 (21.72%) Azure
2 57 (12.90%) AWS
3 54 (12.22%) Microsoft 365
4 26 (5.88%) Entra ID
5 18 (4.07%) GCP
6 11 (2.49%) SaaS
7 9 (2.04%) Virtual Private Cloud
8 6 (1.36%) OneDrive
8 6 (1.36%) OpenShift
9 4 (0.90%) Azure DevOps
9 4 (0.90%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 4 (0.90%) Microsoft Purview
9 4 (0.90%) Power Platform
10 3 (0.68%) AWS Direct Connect
10 3 (0.68%) Nutanix
10 3 (0.68%) PaaS
10 3 (0.68%) Serverless
11 2 (0.45%) Akamai
11 2 (0.45%) Azure Functions
11 2 (0.45%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 370 (83.71%) WAN
2 167 (37.78%) Firewall
3 137 (31.00%) VPN
4 91 (20.59%) BGP
5 89 (20.14%) Wi-Fi
6 87 (19.68%) SD-WAN
7 73 (16.52%) DNS
7 73 (16.52%) OSPF
7 73 (16.52%) TCP/IP
7 73 (16.52%) Wireless
8 70 (15.84%) MPLS
8 70 (15.84%) Network Security
9 56 (12.67%) DHCP
9 56 (12.67%) VLAN
10 47 (10.63%) WLAN
11 39 (8.82%) IPsec
12 30 (6.79%) Cisco Nexus
13 27 (6.11%) Cisco ASA
14 26 (5.88%) Structured Cabling
15 21 (4.75%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.58%) SQL Server
2 4 (0.90%) MS Access
3 2 (0.45%) MariaDB
3 2 (0.45%) NoSQL
3 2 (0.45%) Oracle Database
3 2 (0.45%) PostgreSQL
3 2 (0.45%) Power BI
4 1 (0.23%) Amazon RDS
4 1 (0.23%) Apache Cassandra
4 1 (0.23%) Data Warehouse
4 1 (0.23%) DynamoDB
4 1 (0.23%) MongoDB
4 1 (0.23%) MySQL
4 1 (0.23%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 17 (3.85%) JIRA
2 3 (0.68%) Sonatype Nexus
3 2 (0.45%) Jenkins
4 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
4 1 (0.23%) Git
4 1 (0.23%) GitLab
4 1 (0.23%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 142 (32.13%) Social Skills
2 51 (11.54%) Public Sector
3 50 (11.31%) Analytical Skills
4 38 (8.60%) Finance
5 35 (7.92%) Documentation Skills
6 34 (7.69%) Telecoms
7 24 (5.43%) Manufacturing
8 16 (3.62%) Military
9 13 (2.94%) Legal
10 10 (2.26%) Banking
11 9 (2.04%) Organisational Skills
11 9 (2.04%) Presentation Skills
12 6 (1.36%) Financial Institution
12 6 (1.36%) Law
12 6 (1.36%) Local Government
12 6 (1.36%) Marketing
13 5 (1.13%) Electronics
13 5 (1.13%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 4 (0.90%) Influencing Skills
15 3 (0.68%) Police
Job Titles
1 145 (32.81%) Network Engineer
2 81 (18.33%) Architect
3 56 (12.67%) Network Architect
4 37 (8.37%) Senior
5 36 (8.14%) Analyst
6 26 (5.88%) IT Support
7 25 (5.66%) Support Engineer
8 23 (5.20%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 22 (4.98%) Lead
10 21 (4.75%) Support Analyst
11 19 (4.30%) Project Manager
12 18 (4.07%) 2nd Line Support
12 18 (4.07%) IT Engineer
12 18 (4.07%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 18 (4.07%) Senior Network Engineer
13 17 (3.85%) Field Engineer
13 17 (3.85%) Technical Architect
13 17 (3.85%) Technical Support
14 16 (3.62%) Cisco Engineer
14 16 (3.62%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 11 (2.49%) LDAP
2 8 (1.81%) Middleware
2 8 (1.81%) NETCONF
2 8 (1.81%) REST
2 8 (1.81%) YANG
3 6 (1.36%) SAML
4 4 (0.90%) Microsoft Graph
5 3 (0.68%) 802.1X
6 2 (0.45%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.45%) CSS
6 2 (0.45%) Django
6 2 (0.45%) HTML
6 2 (0.45%) XMPP
6 2 (0.45%) YAML
7 1 (0.23%) .NET
7 1 (0.23%) EDI
7 1 (0.23%) Java RMI
7 1 (0.23%) LAMP
7 1 (0.23%) Node.js
7 1 (0.23%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 84 (19.00%) Data Centre
2 24 (5.43%) Hybrid Cloud
3 20 (4.52%) Driving Licence
4 18 (4.07%) Onboarding
5 16 (3.62%) CMDB
6 13 (2.94%) Data Protection Act
6 13 (2.94%) NHS
7 9 (2.04%) Cloud Native
7 9 (2.04%) Management Information System
8 8 (1.81%) Operational Technology
9 7 (1.58%) PKI
9 7 (1.58%) Security Posture
9 7 (1.58%) Virtual Team
10 6 (1.36%) SCADA
10 6 (1.36%) Self-Motivation
11 5 (1.13%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (1.13%) IoT
11 5 (1.13%) iPhone
11 5 (1.13%) Public Cloud
11 5 (1.13%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 112 (25.34%) Windows
2 43 (9.73%) Windows Server
3 37 (8.37%) Windows 10
4 20 (4.52%) Linux
5 15 (3.39%) Windows Server 2019
6 13 (2.94%) Windows Server 2016
7 10 (2.26%) Windows 7
8 9 (2.04%) Android
9 6 (1.36%) Apple iOS
9 6 (1.36%) Mac OS
10 5 (1.13%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.90%) CatOS
12 3 (0.68%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 3 (0.68%) Ubuntu
13 2 (0.45%) Windows Server 2003
14 1 (0.23%) AIX
14 1 (0.23%) MVS
14 1 (0.23%) Solaris
14 1 (0.23%) VMS
14 1 (0.23%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 69 (15.61%) Problem-Solving
2 59 (13.35%) ITIL
3 57 (12.90%) Network Design
4 55 (12.44%) Migration
5 49 (11.09%) Network Architecture
6 44 (9.95%) Stakeholder Management
7 43 (9.73%) Cybersecurity
8 37 (8.37%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 37 (8.37%) ITSM
9 35 (7.92%) Project Delivery
10 31 (7.01%) Change Management
10 31 (7.01%) High Availability
11 30 (6.79%) Network Monitoring
12 28 (6.33%) Customer Service
13 26 (5.88%) Zero Trust
14 24 (5.43%) Roadmaps
15 23 (5.20%) Continuous Improvement
15 23 (5.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 22 (4.98%) Network Segmentation
16 22 (4.98%) Service Management
Programming Languages
1 41 (9.28%) Python
2 36 (8.14%) PowerShell
3 12 (2.71%) SQL
4 10 (2.26%) VBScript
5 9 (2.04%) VB
6 5 (1.13%) Perl
7 3 (0.68%) JavaScript
8 2 (0.45%) Bash
8 2 (0.45%) Bicep
9 1 (0.23%) C#
9 1 (0.23%) Java
9 1 (0.23%) Ruby
9 1 (0.23%) Shell Script
9 1 (0.23%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 127 (28.73%) Security Cleared
2 125 (28.28%) Cisco Certification
3 101 (22.85%) SC Cleared
4 97 (21.95%) CCNP
5 55 (12.44%) Degree
6 45 (10.18%) CCIE
7 39 (8.82%) CCNA
8 37 (8.37%) DV Cleared
9 21 (4.75%) JNCIE
10 14 (3.17%) AWS Certification
11 11 (2.49%) JNCIS
11 11 (2.49%) Network+ Certification
12 10 (2.26%) Azure Certification
12 10 (2.26%) JNCIP
13 9 (2.04%) CCSE
14 8 (1.81%) PMI Certification
14 8 (1.81%) PMP
15 7 (1.58%) BPSS Clearance
15 7 (1.58%) CISSP
15 7 (1.58%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (3.17%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 10 (2.26%) NIST
2 10 (2.26%) SLA
3 9 (2.04%) GDPR
4 7 (1.58%) PCI DSS
4 7 (1.58%) QA
5 5 (1.13%) PMO
6 4 (0.90%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.68%) JSP 440
7 3 (0.68%) NCSC
8 2 (0.45%) RMADS
9 1 (0.23%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.23%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.23%) GRC
9 1 (0.23%) MiFID
9 1 (0.23%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 76 (17.19%) Active Directory
2 35 (7.92%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (4.98%) VMware NSX
4 9 (2.04%) BitLocker
5 7 (1.58%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.58%) vSphere
6 6 (1.36%) Virtual Desktop
7 4 (0.90%) Docker
8 3 (0.68%) KVM
8 3 (0.68%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.45%) Firmware
9 2 (0.45%) NFS
9 2 (0.45%) ProxySG
9 2 (0.45%) Xen
10 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.23%) Samba
10 1 (0.23%) SRDF
10 1 (0.23%) Veritas Cluster Server
10 1 (0.23%) Virtual Machines
10 1 (0.23%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 41 (9.28%) Ansible
2 31 (7.01%) Terraform
3 28 (6.33%) Microsoft Intune
4 20 (4.52%) SCCM
5 19 (4.30%) FortiGate
6 10 (2.26%) Single Sign-On
7 7 (1.58%) Jamf Pro
8 5 (1.13%) Cisco Prime
9 4 (0.90%) Nagios
9 4 (0.90%) SCOM
10 3 (0.68%) Cisco CUCM
10 3 (0.68%) Endace
10 3 (0.68%) Grafana
10 3 (0.68%) WSUS
11 2 (0.45%) Check_MK
11 2 (0.45%) Kubernetes
11 2 (0.45%) Nessus
11 2 (0.45%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.23%) Puppet
12 1 (0.23%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 198 (44.80%) Cisco
2 98 (22.17%) Microsoft
3 85 (19.23%) Palo Alto
4 55 (12.44%) Fortinet
5 51 (11.54%) CheckPoint
6 50 (11.31%) VMware
7 48 (10.86%) Juniper
8 45 (10.18%) Aruba
9 44 (9.95%) F5
10 33 (7.47%) Meraki
11 30 (6.79%) SolarWinds
12 27 (6.11%) ServiceNow
13 20 (4.52%) Zscaler
14 14 (3.17%) Veeam
15 12 (2.71%) Citrix
16 11 (2.49%) Arista
17 8 (1.81%) Dell
17 8 (1.81%) SAP
18 6 (1.36%) LogicMonitor
18 6 (1.36%) Nokia