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

6 months to
24 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 245 220 181
Rank change year-on-year -25 -39 -56
Contract jobs citing LAN 582 415 541
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.09% 1.26% 1.39%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.50% 10.65% 11.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 350 257 312
10th Percentile £226 £190 £250
25th Percentile £350 £304 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% -5.26% -
75th Percentile £538 £575 £600
90th Percentile £625 £630 £675
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £399 £475
% change year-on-year +12.78% -16.00% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 35 21 31
10th Percentile £12.71 £20.75 £15.75
25th Percentile £16.25 £27.00 £15.76
Median hourly rate £26.72 £30.00 £23.80
Median % change year-on-year -10.93% +26.05% -40.50%
75th Percentile £65.50 £43.25 £34.50
90th Percentile £78.75 £67.25 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £19.42 £30.00 £23.64
% change year-on-year -35.27% +26.93% -40.91%

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 5,060 3,897 4,677
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.43% 11.81% 12.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,979 2,376 2,817
10th Percentile £250 £243 £221
25th Percentile £400 £368 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £483 £500
Median % change year-on-year +3.52% -3.40% -
75th Percentile £588 £600 £608
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £478 £470 £500
% change year-on-year +1.70% -6.00% +10.19%
Number of hourly rates quoted 375 201 302
10th Percentile £15.18 £14.99 £14.16
25th Percentile £19.33 £25.15 £20.50
Median hourly rate £26.14 £46.25 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year -43.48% -7.50% -10.56%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £81.35 £74.88
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.14 £44.50 £54.94
% change year-on-year -41.26% -19.00% -4.32%

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 August 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 August 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 August 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 -47 473 £500 +11.11% 179
UK excluding London -10 416 £450 +12.78% 152
South East -13 133 £525 +2.69% 57
London -101 119 £510 +10.27% 56
Work from Home -48 101 £505 +9.19% 67
North of England -29 90 £500 +166.67% 34
Scotland +29 71 £300 -22.58% 15
Midlands -30 56 £355 -2.74% 26
North West -38 51 £515 +288.68% 18
West Midlands -38 42 £406 -4.41% 15
Yorkshire -3 39 £450 +28.57% 12
East of England -6 36 £338 +42.11% 14
South West -41 25 £525 +61.54% 13
East Midlands -7 11 £255 +27.50% 11
Wales -21 7 £425 +83.78%
Northern Ireland +2 1 £550 +15.79%
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 22 (3.78%) SharePoint
2 18 (3.09%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (1.55%) OpenStack
4 7 (1.20%) Skype for Business
5 5 (0.86%) Confluence
6 3 (0.52%) IIS
7 2 (0.34%) CMS
8 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 30 (5.15%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (4.64%) MS Visio
3 24 (4.12%) Microsoft Excel
4 10 (1.72%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.69%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Cloud Services
1 119 (20.45%) Azure
2 81 (13.92%) Microsoft 365
3 55 (9.45%) AWS
4 32 (5.50%) Entra ID
5 13 (2.23%) SaaS
6 10 (1.72%) OneDrive
6 10 (1.72%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 8 (1.37%) GCP
8 7 (1.20%) Azure DevOps
9 6 (1.03%) PaaS
10 5 (0.86%) AWS Direct Connect
10 5 (0.86%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 5 (0.86%) IaaS
11 4 (0.69%) Microsoft Copilot
11 4 (0.69%) OpenShift
12 3 (0.52%) Azure Sentinel
12 3 (0.52%) Google Ads
12 3 (0.52%) Power Platform
13 2 (0.34%) PowerApps
13 2 (0.34%) Smartsheet
Communications & Networking
1 493 (84.71%) WAN
2 279 (47.94%) Firewall
3 146 (25.09%) VPN
4 142 (24.40%) Wi-Fi
5 133 (22.85%) Network Security
6 129 (22.16%) BGP
7 126 (21.65%) SD-WAN
7 126 (21.65%) Wireless
8 105 (18.04%) DNS
9 104 (17.87%) MPLS
10 100 (17.18%) OSPF
11 83 (14.26%) DHCP
12 82 (14.09%) TCP/IP
13 74 (12.71%) VLAN
14 70 (12.03%) WLAN
15 55 (9.45%) IPsec
16 52 (8.93%) Cisco Nexus
17 46 (7.90%) Cisco ISE
18 42 (7.22%) Cisco ASA
19 30 (5.15%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.20%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.17%) DTS
2 1 (0.17%) Oracle Reports
2 1 (0.17%) Power BI
2 1 (0.17%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 18 (3.09%) JIRA
2 5 (0.86%) Browser DevTools
3 4 (0.69%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.34%) Git
4 2 (0.34%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
5 1 (0.17%) Fiddler
5 1 (0.17%) GitLab
5 1 (0.17%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.17%) MSI
5 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio
General
1 189 (32.47%) Social Skills
2 90 (15.46%) Telecoms
3 62 (10.65%) Analytical Skills
4 57 (9.79%) Public Sector
5 40 (6.87%) Finance
6 23 (3.95%) Documentation Skills
6 23 (3.95%) Organisational Skills
7 15 (2.58%) Banking
8 14 (2.41%) Retail
9 13 (2.23%) Financial Institution
9 13 (2.23%) Legal
10 10 (1.72%) Manufacturing
10 10 (1.72%) Police
11 8 (1.37%) Influencing Skills
12 7 (1.20%) Local Government
13 3 (0.52%) Billing
13 3 (0.52%) German Language
13 3 (0.52%) Law
14 2 (0.34%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 1 (0.17%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 245 (42.10%) Network Engineer
2 76 (13.06%) Senior
3 74 (12.71%) Architect
4 52 (8.93%) Network Architect
5 45 (7.73%) Senior Network Engineer
6 37 (6.36%) IT Support
7 36 (6.19%) Support Engineer
8 28 (4.81%) IT Engineer
9 26 (4.47%) Cisco Engineer
10 25 (4.30%) Field Engineer
10 25 (4.30%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 24 (4.12%) Telecoms Engineer
12 22 (3.78%) Cisco Network Engineer
12 22 (3.78%) IT Support Engineer
13 21 (3.61%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
14 19 (3.26%) Consultant
15 18 (3.09%) Lead
16 17 (2.92%) Developer
16 17 (2.92%) Network Field Engineer
17 16 (2.75%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 38 (6.53%) 802.1X
2 15 (2.58%) Terraform
3 13 (2.23%) NETCONF
4 9 (1.55%) YANG
5 8 (1.37%) SAML
6 7 (1.20%) REST
7 6 (1.03%) Middleware
8 5 (0.86%) LDAP
9 4 (0.69%) OpenConfig
9 4 (0.69%) RESTCONF
10 3 (0.52%) Java RMI
10 3 (0.52%) RFC 2544
10 3 (0.52%) Software Packaging
11 2 (0.34%) .NET
11 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Graph
11 2 (0.34%) ODBC
12 1 (0.17%) .NET Framework
12 1 (0.17%) ARM Templates
12 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
12 1 (0.17%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 109 (18.73%) Data Centre
2 36 (6.19%) Driving Licence
3 29 (4.98%) Hybrid Cloud
4 25 (4.30%) Onboarding
5 24 (4.12%) PKI
6 17 (2.92%) Self-Motivation
7 14 (2.41%) Private Cloud
7 14 (2.41%) Security Posture
7 14 (2.41%) Video Conferencing
8 13 (2.23%) Cloud Native
8 13 (2.23%) Public Cloud
9 12 (2.06%) Operational Technology
10 11 (1.89%) Analytical Mindset
10 11 (1.89%) Data Protection Act
11 10 (1.72%) Clustering
11 10 (1.72%) IoT
12 9 (1.55%) NHS
13 8 (1.37%) Smartphone
14 7 (1.20%) Virtual Team
15 6 (1.03%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
Operating Systems
1 157 (26.98%) Windows
2 45 (7.73%) Windows Server
3 40 (6.87%) Linux
4 31 (5.33%) Windows 10
5 15 (2.58%) Mac OS
6 12 (2.06%) Windows 7
7 7 (1.20%) Unix
7 7 (1.20%) Windows Server 2019
8 4 (0.69%) Android
9 3 (0.52%) Ubuntu
9 3 (0.52%) VMS
9 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2012
10 2 (0.34%) Apple iOS
10 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
11 1 (0.17%) CatOS
11 1 (0.17%) CentOS
11 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 1 (0.17%) Solaris
11 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2003
Processes & Methodologies
1 108 (18.56%) Problem-Solving
2 98 (16.84%) ITIL
3 79 (13.57%) High Availability
4 75 (12.89%) Project Delivery
5 58 (9.97%) Continuous Improvement
5 58 (9.97%) Load Balancing
6 55 (9.45%) Stakeholder Management
7 54 (9.28%) Roadmaps
8 46 (7.90%) Network Architecture
9 45 (7.73%) Migration
10 44 (7.56%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 44 (7.56%) Technical Leadership
11 39 (6.70%) Change Management
12 38 (6.53%) Customer Service
12 38 (6.53%) Network Monitoring
13 36 (6.19%) Mentoring
13 36 (6.19%) Service Management
14 34 (5.84%) Incident Management
14 34 (5.84%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 32 (5.50%) Network Design
Programming Languages
1 31 (5.33%) Python
2 21 (3.61%) PowerShell
3 7 (1.20%) SQL
4 6 (1.03%) VB
4 6 (1.03%) VBScript
5 2 (0.34%) Bicep
5 2 (0.34%) C++
5 2 (0.34%) T-SQL
6 1 (0.17%) C
6 1 (0.17%) Java
6 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 189 (32.47%) Security Cleared
2 165 (28.35%) Cisco Certification
3 115 (19.76%) SC Cleared
4 103 (17.70%) CCNP
5 73 (12.54%) CCNA
6 58 (9.97%) DV Cleared
7 41 (7.04%) CCIE
8 38 (6.53%) Degree
9 15 (2.58%) Azure Certification
10 11 (1.89%) PMP
11 10 (1.72%) Computer Science Degree
11 10 (1.72%) Microsoft Certification
12 9 (1.55%) AWS Certification
12 9 (1.55%) JNCIE
13 8 (1.37%) JNCIS
13 8 (1.37%) PMI Certification
14 7 (1.20%) JNCIP
15 6 (1.03%) BPSS Clearance
15 6 (1.03%) JNCIA
15 6 (1.03%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (4.47%) SLA
2 15 (2.58%) QA
3 13 (2.23%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 10 (1.72%) NIST
5 7 (1.20%) Disclosure Scotland
5 7 (1.20%) NCSC
6 4 (0.69%) GDPR
6 4 (0.69%) JSP 440
6 4 (0.69%) PMO
7 3 (0.52%) Cyber Essentials
7 3 (0.52%) GRC
8 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.17%) DICOM
9 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
9 1 (0.17%) NEBOSH
9 1 (0.17%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 80 (13.75%) Active Directory
2 49 (8.42%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (3.95%) VMware NSX
4 13 (2.23%) Firmware
5 9 (1.55%) Hyper-V
5 9 (1.55%) Virtual Desktop
5 9 (1.55%) vSphere
6 7 (1.20%) BitLocker
6 7 (1.20%) Virtual Machines
7 4 (0.69%) Virtual Servers
8 3 (0.52%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.34%) FreeRADIUS
9 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.17%) NFS
10 1 (0.17%) ProxySG
Systems Management
1 39 (6.70%) FortiGate
2 28 (4.81%) Ansible
3 25 (4.30%) Microsoft Intune
4 13 (2.23%) SCCM
5 11 (1.89%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (0.86%) Cisco Prime
7 4 (0.69%) Jamf Pro
7 4 (0.69%) Progress Chef
7 4 (0.69%) vCenter Server
7 4 (0.69%) vRealize Orchestrator
8 3 (0.52%) Cisco CUCM
9 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
9 2 (0.34%) CASB
9 2 (0.34%) Endace
9 2 (0.34%) Nagios
9 2 (0.34%) VxRail
9 2 (0.34%) WSUS
10 1 (0.17%) Backup Exec
10 1 (0.17%) Grafana
10 1 (0.17%) Nessus
Vendors
1 282 (48.45%) Cisco
2 153 (26.29%) Microsoft
3 97 (16.67%) Palo Alto
4 76 (13.06%) VMware
5 70 (12.03%) F5
6 65 (11.17%) Fortinet
7 60 (10.31%) Juniper
8 52 (8.93%) SolarWinds
9 50 (8.59%) Aruba
10 43 (7.39%) CheckPoint
11 30 (5.15%) ServiceNow
12 27 (4.64%) Meraki
13 21 (3.61%) Zscaler
14 20 (3.44%) Nokia
15 17 (2.92%) Ekahau
16 16 (2.75%) Extreme Networks
16 16 (2.75%) Splunk
17 10 (1.72%) Google
17 10 (1.72%) HP
18 8 (1.37%) Citrix