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 6 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
6 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 254 168 123
Rank change year-on-year -86 -45 +57
Contract jobs citing LAN 406 544 923
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.11% 1.51% 2.04%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 10.23% 12.24% 14.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 268 313 597
10th Percentile £200 £223 £205
25th Percentile £301 £350 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £475 £475
Median % change year-on-year -10.53% - +5.56%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £627
90th Percentile £638 £672 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £368 £431 £448
% change year-on-year -14.78% -3.63% +3.77%
Number of hourly rates quoted 23 19 39
10th Percentile £13.48 £18.41 £17.72
25th Percentile £15.50 £20.00 £20.50
Median hourly rate £30.00 £22.50 £34.00
Median % change year-on-year +33.33% -33.82% +54.55%
75th Percentile £43.79 £40.25 £55.00
90th Percentile £70.13 £71.75 £71.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.38 £21.39 £33.00
% change year-on-year +18.64% -35.19% +50.00%

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 3,970 4,444 6,262
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.89% 12.35% 13.84%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,583 2,571 3,881
10th Percentile £206 £220 £211
25th Percentile £356 £373 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £584 £600 £613
90th Percentile £675 £686 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £475 £475
% change year-on-year -5.26% - +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 187 167 348
10th Percentile £15.50 £16.06 £17.72
25th Percentile £20.09 £22.75 £22.69
Median hourly rate £34.00 £41.00 £55.70
Median % change year-on-year -17.07% -26.39% +26.59%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £66.05
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.00 £76.15
UK excluding London median hourly rate £42.50 £48.03 £56.49
% change year-on-year -11.51% -14.98% +25.53%

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 6 December 2025.

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 6 December 2025.

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 6 December 2025. 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 -81 336 £450 -5.26% 266
UK excluding London -85 243 £368 -14.78% 251
London -15 131 £450 -14.29% 72
Work from Home -49 94 £440 -12.00% 110
South East -32 65 £475 +15.15% 96
North of England -87 50 £225 -50.00% 52
Midlands -62 42 £438 +9.38% 32
West Midlands -24 38 £475 -5.00% 23
Scotland +23 37 £273 -31.88% 14
North West -45 37 £133 -72.68% 32
East of England -18 29 £280 -49.09% 29
Yorkshire -65 11 £231 -3.65% 19
South West -27 10 £481 +16.67% 21
Wales +3 6 £293 +46.25% 9
Northern Ireland -5 4 £475 - 3
East Midlands -44 4 £200 -46.67% 9
North East -2 2 £550 +29.41% 1

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 (5.42%) SharePoint
2 13 (3.20%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (2.96%) OpenStack
4 6 (1.48%) Skype for Business
5 5 (1.23%) Confluence
6 1 (0.25%) Apache
6 1 (0.25%) CICS
6 1 (0.25%) IIS
6 1 (0.25%) Tomcat
6 1 (0.25%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.25%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 37 (9.11%) Microsoft Office
2 18 (4.43%) MS Visio
3 15 (3.69%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 14 (3.45%) Microsoft Excel
5 4 (0.99%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.49%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.25%) Acrobat
Business Applications
1 1 (0.25%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 74 (18.23%) Azure
2 51 (12.56%) AWS
3 39 (9.61%) Microsoft 365
4 18 (4.43%) Entra ID
5 15 (3.69%) GCP
6 7 (1.72%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 6 (1.48%) OpenShift
8 5 (1.23%) Azure DevOps
8 5 (1.23%) Microsoft Purview
9 4 (0.99%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 3 (0.74%) AWS Direct Connect
10 3 (0.74%) Cloud Computing
10 3 (0.74%) Power Platform
10 3 (0.74%) SaaS
10 3 (0.74%) Serverless
11 2 (0.49%) Akamai
11 2 (0.49%) Azure Sentinel
11 2 (0.49%) Azure Service Bus
11 2 (0.49%) GitHub
11 2 (0.49%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 313 (77.09%) WAN
2 174 (42.86%) Firewall
3 101 (24.88%) VPN
4 100 (24.63%) SD-WAN
5 90 (22.17%) Wi-Fi
6 75 (18.47%) Wireless
7 69 (17.00%) BGP
7 69 (17.00%) DNS
8 63 (15.52%) TCP/IP
9 62 (15.27%) MPLS
10 59 (14.53%) Network Security
11 57 (14.04%) DHCP
12 52 (12.81%) OSPF
13 48 (11.82%) VLAN
14 47 (11.58%) Cisco Nexus
15 43 (10.59%) WLAN
16 28 (6.90%) IPsec
17 25 (6.16%) Cisco ASA
18 23 (5.67%) Cisco IOS
19 20 (4.93%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (2.46%) SQL Server
2 6 (1.48%) Oracle Database
3 4 (0.99%) MS Access
4 3 (0.74%) Apache Cassandra
4 3 (0.74%) Power BI
5 2 (0.49%) PostgreSQL
6 1 (0.25%) Amazon RDS
6 1 (0.25%) MariaDB
6 1 (0.25%) MySQL
6 1 (0.25%) NoSQL
6 1 (0.25%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 9 (2.22%) JIRA
2 2 (0.49%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.25%) Git
3 1 (0.25%) Jenkins
General
1 118 (29.06%) Social Skills
2 50 (12.32%) Analytical Skills
3 48 (11.82%) Telecoms
4 47 (11.58%) Public Sector
5 34 (8.37%) Finance
6 24 (5.91%) Documentation Skills
7 18 (4.43%) Manufacturing
8 9 (2.22%) Banking
8 9 (2.22%) Military
8 9 (2.22%) Organisational Skills
9 8 (1.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 7 (1.72%) Presentation Skills
11 6 (1.48%) Marketing
11 6 (1.48%) Retail
12 5 (1.23%) Electronics
12 5 (1.23%) Legal
12 5 (1.23%) Local Government
13 4 (0.99%) Financial Institution
14 3 (0.74%) Influencing Skills
14 3 (0.74%) Law
Job Titles
1 116 (28.57%) Network Engineer
2 89 (21.92%) Architect
3 65 (16.01%) Network Architect
4 34 (8.37%) Analyst
5 26 (6.40%) Senior
5 26 (6.40%) Support Engineer
6 24 (5.91%) Support Analyst
7 21 (5.17%) Project Manager
7 21 (5.17%) Technical Support
8 20 (4.93%) IT Support
9 18 (4.43%) Field Engineer
10 17 (4.19%) 2nd Line Support
11 16 (3.94%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 16 (3.94%) IT Engineer
11 16 (3.94%) Senior Network Engineer
11 16 (3.94%) Technical Analyst
11 16 (3.94%) Technical Support Analyst
12 13 (3.20%) IT Technician
12 13 (3.20%) Solutions Architect
12 13 (3.20%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 7 (1.72%) Middleware
2 6 (1.48%) LDAP
2 6 (1.48%) NETCONF
2 6 (1.48%) REST
2 6 (1.48%) YANG
3 3 (0.74%) 802.1X
3 3 (0.74%) EDI
3 3 (0.74%) SAML
4 2 (0.49%) ARM Templates
5 1 (0.25%) Java RMI
5 1 (0.25%) LAMP
5 1 (0.25%) LAPP Stack
5 1 (0.25%) libvirt
5 1 (0.25%) Node.js
5 1 (0.25%) RFC 2544
5 1 (0.25%) SOAP
5 1 (0.25%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 61 (15.02%) Data Centre
2 21 (5.17%) Driving Licence
3 16 (3.94%) Hybrid Cloud
4 15 (3.69%) NHS
5 13 (3.20%) Virtual Team
6 12 (2.96%) CMDB
7 11 (2.71%) Onboarding
8 10 (2.46%) Management Information System
9 8 (1.97%) Cloud Native
10 7 (1.72%) Data Protection Act
10 7 (1.72%) Replication
11 6 (1.48%) Analytical Mindset
11 6 (1.48%) Operational Technology
11 6 (1.48%) SCADA
11 6 (1.48%) Video Conferencing
12 5 (1.23%) Self-Motivation
13 4 (0.99%) Fibre Optics
13 4 (0.99%) iPhone
14 3 (0.74%) 3D Printing
14 3 (0.74%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 91 (22.41%) Windows
2 32 (7.88%) Windows Server
3 23 (5.67%) Windows 10
4 20 (4.93%) Linux
5 12 (2.96%) Windows Server 2016
6 9 (2.22%) Windows Server 2019
7 7 (1.72%) Android
7 7 (1.72%) Mac OS
8 6 (1.48%) Windows 7
9 4 (0.99%) Apple iOS
9 4 (0.99%) Ubuntu
9 4 (0.99%) Windows Server 2012
10 3 (0.74%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.49%) CatOS
12 1 (0.25%) MVS
12 1 (0.25%) Solaris
12 1 (0.25%) VMS
12 1 (0.25%) Windows 8
12 1 (0.25%) Windows Server 2003
12 1 (0.25%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 71 (17.49%) Problem-Solving
2 68 (16.75%) Network Design
3 45 (11.08%) Migration
4 42 (10.34%) Network Architecture
5 39 (9.61%) ITIL
6 36 (8.87%) Cybersecurity
7 34 (8.37%) Stakeholder Management
8 33 (8.13%) Customer Service
9 31 (7.64%) Project Delivery
10 29 (7.14%) Service Management
11 28 (6.90%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 28 (6.90%) Network Monitoring
12 24 (5.91%) Change Management
13 23 (5.67%) Continuous Improvement
13 23 (5.67%) Load Balancing
13 23 (5.67%) Roadmaps
13 23 (5.67%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 21 (5.17%) High Availability
15 20 (4.93%) Agile
15 20 (4.93%) Project Management
Programming Languages
1 37 (9.11%) Python
2 20 (4.93%) PowerShell
3 9 (2.22%) SQL
4 7 (1.72%) VB
5 6 (1.48%) Perl
5 6 (1.48%) VBScript
6 2 (0.49%) Bicep
7 1 (0.25%) Bash
7 1 (0.25%) Java
7 1 (0.25%) Ruby
7 1 (0.25%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 109 (26.85%) Cisco Certification
2 104 (25.62%) Security Cleared
3 83 (20.44%) CCNP
4 65 (16.01%) SC Cleared
5 43 (10.59%) DV Cleared
6 40 (9.85%) CCNA
7 38 (9.36%) CCIE
7 38 (9.36%) Degree
8 19 (4.68%) JNCIE
9 12 (2.96%) AWS Certification
10 9 (2.22%) BPSS Clearance
10 9 (2.22%) JNCIP
10 9 (2.22%) Microsoft Certification
11 7 (1.72%) CCSA
11 7 (1.72%) CISSP
11 7 (1.72%) HNC
11 7 (1.72%) JNCIS
11 7 (1.72%) MCP
11 7 (1.72%) MCSE
11 7 (1.72%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (4.68%) SLA
2 12 (2.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 9 (2.22%) GDPR
4 8 (1.97%) NIST
5 7 (1.72%) PCI DSS
6 5 (1.23%) PMO
7 2 (0.49%) Accessibility
7 2 (0.49%) Cyber Essentials
8 1 (0.25%) California Consumer Privacy Act
8 1 (0.25%) COBIT
8 1 (0.25%) Disclosure Scotland
8 1 (0.25%) GRC
8 1 (0.25%) JSP 440
8 1 (0.25%) MiFID
8 1 (0.25%) NCSC
System Software
1 62 (15.27%) Active Directory
2 27 (6.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (4.19%) VMware NSX
4 10 (2.46%) Hyper-V
5 6 (1.48%) Firmware
5 6 (1.48%) Virtual Desktop
6 5 (1.23%) BitLocker
7 3 (0.74%) Docker
8 2 (0.49%) KVM
8 2 (0.49%) NFS
8 2 (0.49%) ProxySG
8 2 (0.49%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.25%) Ceph
9 1 (0.25%) iptables
9 1 (0.25%) Samba
9 1 (0.25%) SRDF
9 1 (0.25%) Veritas Cluster Server
9 1 (0.25%) Virtual Machines
9 1 (0.25%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.25%) Xen
Systems Management
1 36 (8.87%) Ansible
2 27 (6.65%) Terraform
3 19 (4.68%) FortiGate
4 15 (3.69%) SCCM
5 14 (3.45%) Microsoft Intune
6 7 (1.72%) Single Sign-On
7 4 (0.99%) Cisco CUCM
7 4 (0.99%) SCOM
8 3 (0.74%) CA Spectrum
8 3 (0.74%) Jamf Pro
9 2 (0.49%) Cisco Prime
9 2 (0.49%) HP ALM
9 2 (0.49%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.49%) WSUS
10 1 (0.25%) Backup Exec
10 1 (0.25%) CASB
10 1 (0.25%) Nessus
10 1 (0.25%) Norton AntiVirus
10 1 (0.25%) OpenView
10 1 (0.25%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 201 (49.51%) Cisco
2 80 (19.70%) Microsoft
3 61 (15.02%) Fortinet
4 56 (13.79%) Palo Alto
5 53 (13.05%) Juniper
6 42 (10.34%) VMware
7 41 (10.10%) F5
8 33 (8.13%) Meraki
9 30 (7.39%) CheckPoint
10 21 (5.17%) ServiceNow
11 20 (4.93%) Aruba
11 20 (4.93%) SolarWinds
12 19 (4.68%) Citrix
13 15 (3.69%) Zscaler
14 11 (2.71%) Oracle
15 9 (2.22%) Remedy
16 8 (1.97%) SAP
17 7 (1.72%) HP
17 7 (1.72%) LogicMonitor
18 6 (1.48%) Nokia