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

6 months to
11 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 220 200 127
Rank change year-on-year -20 -73 +40
Contract jobs citing LAN 526 400 844
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.24% 1.36% 1.89%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.26% 10.18% 13.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 339 263 507
10th Percentile £206 £225 £204
25th Percentile £313 £350 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £443 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year -1.67% -5.26% +5.56%
75th Percentile £538 £574 £638
90th Percentile £620 £668 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £428 £430 £475
% change year-on-year -0.58% -9.47% +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 29 8 46
10th Percentile £12.43 £14.30 £13.61
25th Percentile £15.50 £17.71 £16.23
Median hourly rate £22.50 £26.25 £24.87
Median % change year-on-year -14.29% +5.55% -50.26%
75th Percentile £44.06 £37.19 £45.63
90th Percentile £70.39 £52.75 £61.25
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £19.00 £24.87
% change year-on-year +15.79% -23.60% -25.20%

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 4,291 3,930 6,037
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.08% 13.33% 13.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,780 2,405 3,620
10th Percentile £206 £208 £205
25th Percentile £363 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £481 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -3.75% +5.26% -9.09%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £469 £473 £475
% change year-on-year -0.74% -0.53% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 176 140 399
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.32 £14.27
25th Percentile £20.28 £21.46 £18.97
Median hourly rate £40.02 £35.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +14.34% -12.50% +110.53%
75th Percentile £67.31 £63.38 £65.00
90th Percentile £79.75 £75.00 £72.90
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.25 £33.75 £47.50
% change year-on-year +25.19% -28.95% +151.19%

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 11 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 11 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 11 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 -40 434 £450 -5.37% 214
UK excluding London -22 346 £428 -0.58% 197
London -24 133 £475 -1.04% 40
Work from Home -1 131 £447 -10.55% 51
South East +7 121 £445 +4.71% 73
North of England -72 61 £450 +3.99% 40
Midlands -47 50 £303 -39.50% 32
Scotland +48 46 £294 -26.56% 6
West Midlands -34 43 £413 -21.43% 18
East of England -14 39 £350 -33.33% 25
North West -45 34 £500 +11.11% 19
Yorkshire -60 27 £313 +27.76% 17
South West -40 16 £513 +24.24% 17
Wales 0 10 £425 +41.67% 11
East Midlands -39 6 £200 -40.30% 12
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 30 (5.70%) SharePoint
2 26 (4.94%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (2.47%) Confluence
4 10 (1.90%) Skype for Business
5 2 (0.38%) IIS
5 2 (0.38%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.19%) Apache
Applications
1 36 (6.84%) Microsoft Office
2 24 (4.56%) MS Visio
3 14 (2.66%) Microsoft Excel
4 13 (2.47%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.95%) Acrobat
6 4 (0.76%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.19%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.38%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 117 (22.24%) Azure
2 80 (15.21%) Microsoft 365
3 53 (10.08%) AWS
4 37 (7.03%) Entra ID
5 21 (3.99%) GCP
6 16 (3.04%) SaaS
7 13 (2.47%) OneDrive
8 11 (2.09%) PaaS
9 9 (1.71%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 7 (1.33%) Azure DevOps
11 6 (1.14%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 6 (1.14%) IaaS
11 6 (1.14%) Nutanix
11 6 (1.14%) Power Platform
12 5 (0.95%) PowerApps
13 4 (0.76%) AWS Direct Connect
13 4 (0.76%) Microsoft Purview
14 3 (0.57%) Azure Monitor
14 3 (0.57%) Google Ads
14 3 (0.57%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 431 (81.94%) WAN
2 231 (43.92%) Firewall
3 153 (29.09%) VPN
4 125 (23.76%) BGP
5 124 (23.57%) Wi-Fi
6 115 (21.86%) OSPF
7 105 (19.96%) SD-WAN
8 100 (19.01%) DNS
9 95 (18.06%) Network Security
10 82 (15.59%) DHCP
11 76 (14.45%) TCP/IP
12 75 (14.26%) Wireless
13 74 (14.07%) VLAN
14 69 (13.12%) MPLS
15 50 (9.51%) WLAN
16 43 (8.17%) IPsec
17 35 (6.65%) VXLAN
18 34 (6.46%) BIG-IP
18 34 (6.46%) Cisco ASA
19 33 (6.27%) Cisco ISE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (1.52%) SQL Server
2 4 (0.76%) MS Access
3 2 (0.38%) MariaDB
3 2 (0.38%) PostgreSQL
4 1 (0.19%) Amazon RDS
4 1 (0.19%) Apache Cassandra
4 1 (0.19%) Data Warehouse
4 1 (0.19%) DynamoDB
4 1 (0.19%) MongoDB
4 1 (0.19%) MySQL
4 1 (0.19%) NoSQL
4 1 (0.19%) Oracle Database
4 1 (0.19%) Power BI
4 1 (0.19%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 28 (5.32%) JIRA
2 2 (0.38%) Browser DevTools
2 2 (0.38%) GitLab
2 2 (0.38%) Jenkins
2 2 (0.38%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.19%) Bitbucket
3 1 (0.19%) Git
3 1 (0.19%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 149 (28.33%) Social Skills
2 52 (9.89%) Public Sector
3 51 (9.70%) Analytical Skills
4 50 (9.51%) Finance
5 36 (6.84%) Telecoms
6 33 (6.27%) Documentation Skills
7 28 (5.32%) Manufacturing
8 20 (3.80%) Legal
9 18 (3.42%) Military
10 17 (3.23%) Financial Institution
11 14 (2.66%) Banking
12 12 (2.28%) Organisational Skills
13 9 (1.71%) Presentation Skills
14 8 (1.52%) Law
15 6 (1.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 6 (1.14%) Local Government
16 5 (0.95%) Influencing Skills
16 5 (0.95%) Marketing
16 5 (0.95%) Retail
17 4 (0.76%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 184 (34.98%) Network Engineer
2 76 (14.45%) Architect
3 56 (10.65%) Senior
4 53 (10.08%) Network Architect
5 43 (8.17%) Analyst
5 43 (8.17%) IT Support
6 38 (7.22%) Support Engineer
7 33 (6.27%) IT Engineer
8 28 (5.32%) IT Support Engineer
9 26 (4.94%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 25 (4.75%) Senior Network Engineer
11 24 (4.56%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 22 (4.18%) Cisco Engineer
12 22 (4.18%) Lead
13 21 (3.99%) Cisco Network Engineer
13 21 (3.99%) Project Manager
13 21 (3.99%) Technical Architect
14 19 (3.61%) Support Analyst
15 18 (3.42%) Field Engineer
16 17 (3.23%) Network Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (6.27%) 802.1X
2 11 (2.09%) LDAP
3 8 (1.52%) Microsoft Graph
3 8 (1.52%) SAML
4 7 (1.33%) Middleware
5 3 (0.57%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.38%) CSS
6 2 (0.38%) Django
6 2 (0.38%) HTML
6 2 (0.38%) NETCONF
6 2 (0.38%) REST
6 2 (0.38%) RFC 2544
6 2 (0.38%) XMPP
6 2 (0.38%) YAML
6 2 (0.38%) YANG
7 1 (0.19%) .NET
7 1 (0.19%) EDI
7 1 (0.19%) Java RMI
7 1 (0.19%) LAMP
7 1 (0.19%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 101 (19.20%) Data Centre
2 24 (4.56%) PKI
3 22 (4.18%) Onboarding
4 21 (3.99%) Clustering
5 20 (3.80%) Driving Licence
6 16 (3.04%) Hybrid Cloud
7 15 (2.85%) CMDB
8 14 (2.66%) NHS
9 13 (2.47%) Data Protection Act
10 12 (2.28%) Security Posture
11 10 (1.90%) Operational Technology
12 9 (1.71%) Management Information System
12 9 (1.71%) Self-Motivation
13 8 (1.52%) Enterprise Software
13 8 (1.52%) IoT
13 8 (1.52%) Public Cloud
13 8 (1.52%) Virtual Team
14 7 (1.33%) iPhone
15 6 (1.14%) Analytical Mindset
16 5 (0.95%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 160 (30.42%) Windows
2 53 (10.08%) Windows Server
3 37 (7.03%) Windows 10
4 25 (4.75%) Linux
5 14 (2.66%) Windows Server 2019
6 11 (2.09%) Android
6 11 (2.09%) Windows 7
7 10 (1.90%) Mac OS
8 7 (1.33%) Apple iOS
8 7 (1.33%) Windows Server 2016
9 6 (1.14%) VMS
10 5 (0.95%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.76%) CatOS
12 3 (0.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 3 (0.57%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.57%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.38%) AIX
14 1 (0.19%) Data ONTAP
14 1 (0.19%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 85 (16.16%) Problem-Solving
2 77 (14.64%) ITIL
3 60 (11.41%) High Availability
3 60 (11.41%) Migration
4 48 (9.13%) Stakeholder Management
5 47 (8.94%) ITSM
6 46 (8.75%) Network Design
7 45 (8.56%) Change Management
8 41 (7.79%) Network Architecture
9 40 (7.60%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 39 (7.41%) Cybersecurity
10 39 (7.41%) Load Balancing
11 36 (6.84%) Project Delivery
12 34 (6.46%) Network Monitoring
12 34 (6.46%) Service Management
13 30 (5.70%) Customer Service
14 28 (5.32%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 27 (5.13%) Continuous Improvement
15 27 (5.13%) Disaster Recovery
15 27 (5.13%) Mentoring
Programming Languages
1 50 (9.51%) PowerShell
2 33 (6.27%) Python
3 15 (2.85%) SQL
4 11 (2.09%) VBScript
5 9 (1.71%) VB
6 3 (0.57%) JavaScript
6 3 (0.57%) Perl
7 2 (0.38%) Bash
7 2 (0.38%) Bicep
8 1 (0.19%) C#
8 1 (0.19%) Ruby
8 1 (0.19%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.19%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 176 (33.46%) Security Cleared
2 149 (28.33%) Cisco Certification
3 129 (24.52%) SC Cleared
4 116 (22.05%) CCNP
5 59 (11.22%) Degree
6 58 (11.03%) DV Cleared
7 50 (9.51%) CCNA
8 36 (6.84%) CCIE
9 18 (3.42%) JNCIP
9 18 (3.42%) JNCIS
10 13 (2.47%) Network+ Certification
11 12 (2.28%) Microsoft Certification
11 12 (2.28%) PMP
12 11 (2.09%) Azure Certification
12 11 (2.09%) PMI Certification
13 10 (1.90%) CCSE
13 10 (1.90%) JNCIA
14 9 (1.71%) Computer Science Degree
14 9 (1.71%) JNCIE
15 8 (1.52%) AWS Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 17 (3.23%) SLA
2 15 (2.85%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 11 (2.09%) NIST
4 10 (1.90%) GDPR
5 9 (1.71%) QA
6 7 (1.33%) NCSC
7 5 (0.95%) PCI DSS
7 5 (0.95%) PMO
8 4 (0.76%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.57%) JSP 440
10 2 (0.38%) Disclosure Scotland
10 2 (0.38%) RMADS
11 1 (0.19%) GRC
11 1 (0.19%) MiFID
11 1 (0.19%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 99 (18.82%) Active Directory
2 40 (7.60%) VMware Infrastructure
3 18 (3.42%) VMware NSX
4 12 (2.28%) vSphere
5 9 (1.71%) BitLocker
6 5 (0.95%) Hyper-V
6 5 (0.95%) Virtual Desktop
7 4 (0.76%) Docker
7 4 (0.76%) VMware ESXi
8 2 (0.38%) KVM
8 2 (0.38%) ProxySG
9 1 (0.19%) Ceph
9 1 (0.19%) Citrix Presentation Server
9 1 (0.19%) iptables
9 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Virtual Server
9 1 (0.19%) RHEV
9 1 (0.19%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 1 (0.19%) Virtual Machines
9 1 (0.19%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.19%) Xen
Systems Management
1 41 (7.79%) FortiGate
2 38 (7.22%) Microsoft Intune
3 32 (6.08%) Ansible
4 27 (5.13%) Terraform
5 22 (4.18%) SCCM
6 12 (2.28%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (2.09%) Jamf Pro
8 6 (1.14%) Cisco Prime
8 6 (1.14%) Nagios
9 4 (0.76%) WSUS
10 3 (0.57%) Cisco CUCM
10 3 (0.57%) Endace
10 3 (0.57%) Grafana
10 3 (0.57%) vCenter Server
11 2 (0.38%) Check_MK
11 2 (0.38%) Nessus
11 2 (0.38%) Progress Chef
11 2 (0.38%) SCOM
11 2 (0.38%) vRealize Orchestrator
12 1 (0.19%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 241 (45.82%) Cisco
2 121 (23.00%) Microsoft
3 103 (19.58%) Palo Alto
4 70 (13.31%) Juniper
5 68 (12.93%) F5
6 63 (11.98%) Aruba
6 63 (11.98%) CheckPoint
7 53 (10.08%) VMware
8 51 (9.70%) Fortinet
9 48 (9.13%) SolarWinds
10 35 (6.65%) ServiceNow
11 30 (5.70%) Meraki
12 25 (4.75%) Extreme Networks
12 25 (4.75%) Zscaler
13 23 (4.37%) Splunk
14 14 (2.66%) Dell
14 14 (2.66%) Veeam
15 13 (2.47%) Citrix
16 11 (2.09%) Arista
17 9 (1.71%) Ekahau