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

6 months to
2 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 218 206 167
Rank change year-on-year -12 -39 -34
Contract jobs citing LAN 598 402 630
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.16% 1.30% 1.45%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.20% 10.57% 11.62%
Number of daily rates quoted 368 244 347
10th Percentile £213 £207 £205
25th Percentile £358 £325 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year - -5.26% -
75th Percentile £538 £569 £638
90th Percentile £620 £625 £718
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +5.88% -10.53% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 33 19 47
10th Percentile £13.09 £22.07 £12.86
25th Percentile £17.92 £28.00 £15.76
Median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £23.80
Median % change year-on-year -25.00% +26.05% -61.61%
75th Percentile £31.00 £41.63 £40.00
90th Percentile £69.20 £55.63 £42.55
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £23.69
% change year-on-year -25.00% +26.66% -61.80%

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 4,900 3,805 5,424
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.52% 12.29% 12.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,984 2,324 3,203
10th Percentile £250 £230 £213
25th Percentile £400 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -1.38%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £483 £474 £490
% change year-on-year +1.95% -3.22% +3.05%
Number of hourly rates quoted 305 179 430
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.87
25th Percentile £19.34 £23.37 £17.69
Median hourly rate £26.44 £45.00 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -41.24% - +114.29%
75th Percentile £65.00 £62.38 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.00 £80.20 £73.30
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.22 £36.50 £47.50
% change year-on-year -28.16% -23.16% +115.91%

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 2 July 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 2 July 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 2 July 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 -19 507 £450 -5.26% 225
UK excluding London -13 424 £450 +5.88% 206
South East +6 167 £478 -8.61% 53
London -85 120 £500 +5.26% 62
Work from Home -28 118 £500 - 92
North of England -41 79 £463 +42.31% 43
Midlands -27 61 £285 -28.75% 44
Scotland +16 50 £431 +8.08% 20
West Midlands -47 44 £340 -15.00% 31
East of England +4 42 £338 -21.05% 16
North West -45 41 £525 +61.54% 22
Yorkshire -13 38 £382 -4.63% 17
South West -44 18 £363 -9.38% 18
East Midlands -10 14 £200 -61.90% 13
Wales -19 7 £475 +105.41% 4
Northern Ireland - 3 £468 - 13
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 31 (5.18%) SharePoint
2 22 (3.68%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (2.34%) Confluence
4 9 (1.51%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.84%) Skype for Business
6 2 (0.33%) CMS
6 2 (0.33%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 25 (4.18%) MS Visio
2 18 (3.01%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (2.51%) Microsoft Excel
4 8 (1.34%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.33%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.33%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 1 (0.17%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 136 (22.74%) Azure
2 86 (14.38%) Microsoft 365
3 63 (10.54%) AWS
4 39 (6.52%) Entra ID
5 19 (3.18%) OneDrive
5 19 (3.18%) SaaS
6 13 (2.17%) GCP
7 12 (2.01%) PaaS
8 10 (1.67%) Virtual Private Cloud
9 8 (1.34%) Power Platform
10 7 (1.17%) PowerApps
11 6 (1.00%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 5 (0.84%) AWS Direct Connect
12 5 (0.84%) Azure DevOps
12 5 (0.84%) IaaS
13 3 (0.50%) Azure Sentinel
13 3 (0.50%) Google Ads
13 3 (0.50%) Nutanix
14 2 (0.33%) IBM Watson
14 2 (0.33%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 492 (82.27%) WAN
2 289 (48.33%) Firewall
3 159 (26.59%) VPN
4 151 (25.25%) BGP
5 139 (23.24%) Wi-Fi
6 137 (22.91%) SD-WAN
7 131 (21.91%) OSPF
8 128 (21.40%) Network Security
9 126 (21.07%) DNS
10 116 (19.40%) Wireless
11 95 (15.89%) DHCP
12 92 (15.38%) MPLS
13 78 (13.04%) VLAN
14 77 (12.88%) WLAN
15 73 (12.21%) TCP/IP
16 52 (8.70%) IPsec
17 49 (8.19%) Cisco ISE
18 47 (7.86%) Cisco Nexus
19 46 (7.69%) BIG-IP
20 38 (6.35%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (0.84%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.17%) DTS
2 1 (0.17%) NoSQL
2 1 (0.17%) Oracle Reports
2 1 (0.17%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.17%) Power BI
2 1 (0.17%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 31 (5.18%) JIRA
2 5 (0.84%) Sonatype Nexus
3 4 (0.67%) Browser DevTools
4 2 (0.33%) Git
4 2 (0.33%) GitLab
4 2 (0.33%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.17%) Fiddler
5 1 (0.17%) MSI
5 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio
General
1 170 (28.43%) Social Skills
2 59 (9.87%) Telecoms
3 50 (8.36%) Public Sector
4 45 (7.53%) Analytical Skills
5 39 (6.52%) Finance
6 28 (4.68%) Documentation Skills
7 20 (3.34%) Legal
7 20 (3.34%) Manufacturing
8 19 (3.18%) Financial Institution
9 18 (3.01%) Organisational Skills
10 11 (1.84%) Banking
11 8 (1.34%) Military
11 8 (1.34%) Police
11 8 (1.34%) Retail
12 7 (1.17%) Law
13 6 (1.00%) Influencing Skills
14 4 (0.67%) Billing
15 3 (0.50%) German Language
15 3 (0.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 3 (0.50%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 242 (40.47%) Network Engineer
2 85 (14.21%) Architect
3 68 (11.37%) Senior
4 58 (9.70%) Network Architect
5 42 (7.02%) IT Support
5 42 (7.02%) Support Engineer
6 36 (6.02%) IT Engineer
7 31 (5.18%) Senior Network Engineer
8 30 (5.02%) IT Support Engineer
9 29 (4.85%) Cisco Engineer
10 27 (4.52%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
11 26 (4.35%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 26 (4.35%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 25 (4.18%) Analyst
13 24 (4.01%) Lead
14 18 (3.01%) Technical Architect
15 16 (2.68%) Consultant
15 16 (2.68%) Field Engineer
15 16 (2.68%) Network Manager
15 16 (2.68%) Project Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (8.36%) 802.1X
2 10 (1.67%) Microsoft Graph
2 10 (1.67%) SAML
3 9 (1.51%) LDAP
3 9 (1.51%) NETCONF
3 9 (1.51%) YANG
4 8 (1.34%) REST
5 4 (0.67%) Middleware
6 3 (0.50%) Software Packaging
7 2 (0.33%) .NET
7 2 (0.33%) Django
7 2 (0.33%) OpenConfig
7 2 (0.33%) RESTCONF
7 2 (0.33%) RFC 2544
7 2 (0.33%) XMPP
8 1 (0.17%) .NET Framework
8 1 (0.17%) CSS
8 1 (0.17%) Java RMI
8 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
8 1 (0.17%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 122 (20.40%) Data Centre
2 33 (5.52%) PKI
3 30 (5.02%) Hybrid Cloud
4 26 (4.35%) Clustering
5 22 (3.68%) Onboarding
6 15 (2.51%) Security Posture
6 15 (2.51%) Self-Motivation
7 14 (2.34%) Driving Licence
7 14 (2.34%) Virtual Team
8 13 (2.17%) Cloud Native
9 12 (2.01%) Data Protection Act
10 11 (1.84%) Public Cloud
11 10 (1.67%) NHS
11 10 (1.67%) Operational Technology
11 10 (1.67%) Private Cloud
12 8 (1.34%) Analytical Mindset
12 8 (1.34%) IoT
12 8 (1.34%) Video Conferencing
13 7 (1.17%) CCTV
13 7 (1.17%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 181 (30.27%) Windows
2 51 (8.53%) Windows Server
3 36 (6.02%) Linux
4 30 (5.02%) Windows 10
5 19 (3.18%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (2.51%) Mac OS
7 10 (1.67%) Android
8 9 (1.51%) Windows 7
9 7 (1.17%) Apple iOS
10 6 (1.00%) Windows Server 2012
11 5 (0.84%) Unix
11 5 (0.84%) VMS
12 3 (0.50%) CatOS
12 3 (0.50%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.50%) Windows Server 2003
12 3 (0.50%) Windows Server 2016
13 2 (0.33%) AIX
14 1 (0.17%) CentOS
14 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.17%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 96 (16.05%) ITIL
2 85 (14.21%) High Availability
3 81 (13.55%) Problem-Solving
4 72 (12.04%) Load Balancing
5 57 (9.53%) Project Delivery
6 56 (9.36%) Stakeholder Management
7 53 (8.86%) Migration
8 49 (8.19%) Continuous Improvement
8 49 (8.19%) Network Architecture
9 47 (7.86%) Roadmaps
10 45 (7.53%) Change Management
11 42 (7.02%) Technical Leadership
12 39 (6.52%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 39 (6.52%) ITSM
13 38 (6.35%) Agile
13 38 (6.35%) Service Management
14 37 (6.19%) Network Design
14 37 (6.19%) Network Monitoring
15 34 (5.69%) Disaster Recovery
16 31 (5.18%) Observability
Programming Languages
1 43 (7.19%) Python
2 42 (7.02%) PowerShell
3 8 (1.34%) SQL
4 5 (0.84%) VBScript
5 4 (0.67%) VB
6 2 (0.33%) C++
6 2 (0.33%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.17%) Bicep
7 1 (0.17%) C
7 1 (0.17%) Java
7 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 203 (33.95%) Security Cleared
2 184 (30.77%) Cisco Certification
3 129 (21.57%) SC Cleared
4 116 (19.40%) CCNP
5 70 (11.71%) CCNA
6 65 (10.87%) DV Cleared
7 49 (8.19%) CCIE
7 49 (8.19%) Degree
8 16 (2.68%) Microsoft Certification
9 15 (2.51%) PMP
10 13 (2.17%) Azure Certification
10 13 (2.17%) JNCIP
11 12 (2.01%) JNCIE
11 12 (2.01%) JNCIS
11 12 (2.01%) PMI Certification
12 11 (1.84%) JNCIA
13 10 (1.67%) AWS Certification
14 8 (1.34%) Computer Science Degree
15 6 (1.00%) CCSE
15 6 (1.00%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (2.68%) QA
1 16 (2.68%) SLA
2 10 (1.67%) NCSC
3 9 (1.51%) NIST
4 7 (1.17%) Disclosure Scotland
4 7 (1.17%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 4 (0.67%) GDPR
6 3 (0.50%) Cyber Essentials
6 3 (0.50%) PMO
7 2 (0.33%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 2 (0.33%) JSP 440
8 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
8 1 (0.17%) DICOM
8 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
8 1 (0.17%) NEBOSH
8 1 (0.17%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.17%) RMADS
System Software
1 105 (17.56%) Active Directory
2 60 (10.03%) VMware Infrastructure
3 27 (4.52%) VMware NSX
4 20 (3.34%) vSphere
5 10 (1.67%) Firmware
6 8 (1.34%) Hyper-V
7 7 (1.17%) Virtual Machines
8 5 (0.84%) Virtual Desktop
9 4 (0.67%) BitLocker
10 3 (0.50%) Virtual Servers
10 3 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
11 1 (0.17%) Citrix Presentation Server
11 1 (0.17%) Docker
11 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.17%) NFS
11 1 (0.17%) ProxySG
Systems Management
1 52 (8.70%) FortiGate
2 36 (6.02%) Ansible
3 30 (5.02%) Microsoft Intune
4 20 (3.34%) Terraform
5 16 (2.68%) SCCM
6 13 (2.17%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (1.84%) Jamf Pro
8 5 (0.84%) Cisco Prime
9 4 (0.67%) Progress Chef
9 4 (0.67%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 3 (0.50%) Cisco CUCM
10 3 (0.50%) Endace
10 3 (0.50%) Nagios
10 3 (0.50%) vCenter Server
11 2 (0.33%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.33%) CASB
11 2 (0.33%) Grafana
11 2 (0.33%) VxRail
11 2 (0.33%) WSUS
12 1 (0.17%) logstash
Vendors
1 295 (49.33%) Cisco
2 135 (22.58%) Microsoft
3 101 (16.89%) Palo Alto
4 95 (15.89%) F5
5 78 (13.04%) VMware
6 77 (12.88%) Juniper
7 65 (10.87%) SolarWinds
8 61 (10.20%) Fortinet
9 58 (9.70%) Aruba
10 55 (9.20%) CheckPoint
11 35 (5.85%) ServiceNow
12 32 (5.35%) Extreme Networks
13 29 (4.85%) Splunk
14 24 (4.01%) Meraki
15 20 (3.34%) Zscaler
16 16 (2.68%) Dell
16 16 (2.68%) Ekahau
17 11 (1.84%) Citrix
18 9 (1.51%) Arista
19 8 (1.34%) Nokia