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

6 months to
22 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 227 214 173
Rank change year-on-year -13 -41 -47
Contract jobs citing LAN 592 419 595
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.12% 1.28% 1.44%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.86% 10.56% 11.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 365 258 331
10th Percentile £213 £200 £205
25th Percentile £325 £325 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year - -5.26% -
75th Percentile £538 £575 £638
90th Percentile £620 £625 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +5.88% -10.53% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 34 19 40
10th Percentile £13.43 £23.15 £12.86
25th Percentile £16.47 £28.00 £15.75
Median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £23.80
Median % change year-on-year -25.00% +26.05% -61.61%
75th Percentile £50.45 £41.63 £40.00
90th Percentile £73.00 £55.63 £71.63
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.50 £30.00 £24.87
% change year-on-year -28.33% +20.63% -59.89%

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 4,993 3,967 5,141
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.47% 12.16% 12.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,011 2,422 3,069
10th Percentile £250 £235 £213
25th Percentile £400 £375 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £489 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.25% -2.20% -
75th Percentile £588 £589 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £490 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.05% -5.00% +9.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 324 193 383
10th Percentile £16.00 £14.99 £13.90
25th Percentile £19.34 £25.15 £17.66
Median hourly rate £26.00 £46.25 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year -43.78% +15.63% -16.67%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.26 £83.80 £73.65
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.55 £42.50 £47.50
% change year-on-year -37.53% -10.53% -16.91%

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 22 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 22 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 22 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 -29 496 £455 -0.27% 179
UK excluding London +9 425 £450 +5.88% 162
South East +8 162 £490 -8.62% 46
London -99 118 £500 +6.67% 55
Work from Home -39 111 £500 +2.56% 58
North of England -43 80 £450 +38.46% 38
Scotland +16 58 £375 -6.02% 21
Midlands -37 56 £275 -23.08% 28
East of England +4 41 £325 -7.14% 13
Yorkshire -14 41 £438 +9.38% 22
North West -47 39 £525 +100.00% 15
West Midlands -50 39 £335 -12.42% 21
South West -42 22 £450 +24.14% 19
East Midlands -3 14 £205 +12.33% 7
Wales -22 7 £475 +105.41% 3
Northern Ireland - 2 £550 - 3
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 (5.24%) SharePoint
2 20 (3.38%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.86%) Confluence
4 9 (1.52%) OpenStack
5 2 (0.34%) CMS
5 2 (0.34%) IIS
6 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
6 1 (0.17%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 24 (4.05%) MS Visio
2 19 (3.21%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (2.70%) Microsoft Excel
4 8 (1.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Cloud Services
1 131 (22.13%) Azure
2 91 (15.37%) Microsoft 365
3 58 (9.80%) AWS
4 43 (7.26%) Entra ID
5 22 (3.72%) OneDrive
6 19 (3.21%) SaaS
7 12 (2.03%) GCP
7 12 (2.03%) PaaS
8 10 (1.69%) Virtual Private Cloud
9 8 (1.35%) Power Platform
10 7 (1.18%) PowerApps
11 6 (1.01%) Azure DevOps
11 6 (1.01%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 5 (0.84%) AWS Direct Connect
12 5 (0.84%) IaaS
13 4 (0.68%) Microsoft Copilot
13 4 (0.68%) OpenShift
14 3 (0.51%) Azure Sentinel
14 3 (0.51%) Google Ads
14 3 (0.51%) Nutanix
Communications & Networking
1 486 (82.09%) WAN
2 295 (49.83%) Firewall
3 153 (25.84%) BGP
4 149 (25.17%) VPN
5 146 (24.66%) Wi-Fi
6 134 (22.64%) Network Security
7 128 (21.62%) OSPF
8 126 (21.28%) SD-WAN
9 119 (20.10%) DNS
9 119 (20.10%) Wireless
10 105 (17.74%) MPLS
11 94 (15.88%) DHCP
12 80 (13.51%) TCP/IP
13 76 (12.84%) VLAN
14 74 (12.50%) WLAN
15 55 (9.29%) IPsec
16 54 (9.12%) Cisco ISE
17 46 (7.77%) Cisco Nexus
18 39 (6.59%) BIG-IP
19 38 (6.42%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.18%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.17%) DTS
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 29 (4.90%) JIRA
2 5 (0.84%) Browser DevTools
3 4 (0.68%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.34%) Git
5 1 (0.17%) Fiddler
5 1 (0.17%) GitLab
5 1 (0.17%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.17%) MSI
5 1 (0.17%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
5 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio
General
1 176 (29.73%) Social Skills
2 77 (13.01%) Telecoms
3 54 (9.12%) Public Sector
4 49 (8.28%) Analytical Skills
5 37 (6.25%) Finance
6 26 (4.39%) Documentation Skills
7 24 (4.05%) Organisational Skills
8 19 (3.21%) Financial Institution
9 16 (2.70%) Manufacturing
10 13 (2.20%) Banking
11 12 (2.03%) Legal
12 9 (1.52%) Police
13 8 (1.35%) Retail
14 6 (1.01%) Influencing Skills
14 6 (1.01%) Law
15 5 (0.84%) Local Government
15 5 (0.84%) Military
16 3 (0.51%) Billing
16 3 (0.51%) German Language
16 3 (0.51%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 245 (41.39%) Network Engineer
2 79 (13.34%) Senior
3 77 (13.01%) Architect
4 55 (9.29%) Network Architect
5 42 (7.09%) IT Support
6 40 (6.76%) Support Engineer
7 39 (6.59%) Senior Network Engineer
8 35 (5.91%) IT Engineer
9 29 (4.90%) IT Support Engineer
10 27 (4.56%) Cisco Engineer
11 25 (4.22%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 24 (4.05%) Cisco Network Engineer
13 23 (3.89%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
14 21 (3.55%) Analyst
14 21 (3.55%) Field Engineer
15 19 (3.21%) Consultant
15 19 (3.21%) Telecoms Engineer
16 18 (3.04%) Network Manager
17 17 (2.87%) Lead
18 16 (2.70%) Network Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 51 (8.61%) 802.1X
2 11 (1.86%) NETCONF
3 10 (1.69%) Microsoft Graph
4 9 (1.52%) YANG
5 8 (1.35%) SAML
6 6 (1.01%) REST
7 5 (0.84%) LDAP
8 4 (0.68%) Middleware
8 4 (0.68%) OpenConfig
8 4 (0.68%) RESTCONF
9 3 (0.51%) Java RMI
9 3 (0.51%) Software Packaging
10 2 (0.34%) .NET
10 2 (0.34%) RFC 2544
11 1 (0.17%) .NET Framework
11 1 (0.17%) ARM Templates
11 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
11 1 (0.17%) ODBC
11 1 (0.17%) SailPoint
11 1 (0.17%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 120 (20.27%) Data Centre
2 35 (5.91%) PKI
3 30 (5.07%) Driving Licence
4 29 (4.90%) Hybrid Cloud
5 26 (4.39%) Clustering
6 21 (3.55%) Onboarding
7 17 (2.87%) Self-Motivation
8 14 (2.36%) Security Posture
9 12 (2.03%) Data Protection Act
9 12 (2.03%) IoT
9 12 (2.03%) Private Cloud
9 12 (2.03%) Public Cloud
10 11 (1.86%) Cloud Native
10 11 (1.86%) NHS
10 11 (1.86%) Video Conferencing
10 11 (1.86%) Virtual Team
11 10 (1.69%) Analytical Mindset
11 10 (1.69%) Operational Technology
12 8 (1.35%) CCTV
13 7 (1.18%) Management Information System
Operating Systems
1 175 (29.56%) Windows
2 48 (8.11%) Windows Server
3 36 (6.08%) Linux
4 26 (4.39%) Windows 10
5 16 (2.70%) Mac OS
6 13 (2.20%) Windows Server 2019
7 10 (1.69%) Android
8 7 (1.18%) Apple iOS
9 6 (1.01%) Unix
10 5 (0.84%) VMS
11 4 (0.68%) Windows 7
11 4 (0.68%) Windows Server 2012
12 3 (0.51%) Ubuntu
13 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
14 1 (0.17%) AIX
14 1 (0.17%) CentOS
14 1 (0.17%) Data ONTAP
14 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.17%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 97 (16.39%) ITIL
2 96 (16.22%) Problem-Solving
3 89 (15.03%) High Availability
4 72 (12.16%) Load Balancing
5 65 (10.98%) Project Delivery
6 55 (9.29%) Stakeholder Management
7 49 (8.28%) Continuous Improvement
7 49 (8.28%) Migration
8 47 (7.94%) Network Architecture
9 46 (7.77%) Roadmaps
10 43 (7.26%) Change Management
11 40 (6.76%) Infrastructure Engineering
11 40 (6.76%) Network Monitoring
11 40 (6.76%) Technical Leadership
12 38 (6.42%) Agile
12 38 (6.42%) Service Management
13 32 (5.41%) Network Design
14 31 (5.24%) Disaster Recovery
15 30 (5.07%) Customer Service
15 30 (5.07%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 39 (6.59%) Python
2 32 (5.41%) PowerShell
3 7 (1.18%) SQL
4 2 (0.34%) C++
5 1 (0.17%) Bicep
5 1 (0.17%) C
5 1 (0.17%) Java
5 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
5 1 (0.17%) T-SQL
5 1 (0.17%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 197 (33.28%) Security Cleared
2 176 (29.73%) Cisco Certification
3 112 (18.92%) SC Cleared
4 107 (18.07%) CCNP
5 71 (11.99%) CCNA
6 70 (11.82%) DV Cleared
7 42 (7.09%) CCIE
8 40 (6.76%) Degree
9 16 (2.70%) Microsoft Certification
10 14 (2.36%) JNCIP
10 14 (2.36%) JNCIS
10 14 (2.36%) PMP
11 13 (2.20%) Azure Certification
12 10 (1.69%) JNCIE
12 10 (1.69%) PMI Certification
13 9 (1.52%) AWS Certification
13 9 (1.52%) Computer Science Degree
13 9 (1.52%) JNCIA
14 6 (1.01%) BPSS Clearance
14 6 (1.01%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (3.89%) SLA
2 14 (2.36%) QA
3 12 (2.03%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 11 (1.86%) NIST
5 9 (1.52%) NCSC
6 7 (1.18%) Disclosure Scotland
7 4 (0.68%) GDPR
8 3 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.51%) PMO
9 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.17%) DICOM
10 1 (0.17%) GRC
10 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.17%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.17%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.17%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 98 (16.55%) Active Directory
2 51 (8.61%) VMware Infrastructure
3 24 (4.05%) VMware NSX
4 15 (2.53%) vSphere
5 10 (1.69%) Firmware
6 8 (1.35%) Hyper-V
7 7 (1.18%) Virtual Machines
8 4 (0.68%) Virtual Desktop
9 2 (0.34%) Virtual Servers
9 2 (0.34%) VMware ESXi
10 1 (0.17%) Citrix Presentation Server
10 1 (0.17%) NFS
10 1 (0.17%) ProxySG
Systems Management
1 51 (8.61%) FortiGate
2 32 (5.41%) Microsoft Intune
3 30 (5.07%) Ansible
4 16 (2.70%) Terraform
5 11 (1.86%) Jamf Pro
5 11 (1.86%) SCCM
5 11 (1.86%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (0.84%) Cisco Prime
7 4 (0.68%) Nagios
7 4 (0.68%) Progress Chef
7 4 (0.68%) vRealize Orchestrator
8 3 (0.51%) Cisco CUCM
8 3 (0.51%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
9 2 (0.34%) CASB
9 2 (0.34%) Endace
9 2 (0.34%) VxRail
9 2 (0.34%) WSUS
10 1 (0.17%) Grafana
10 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 294 (49.66%) Cisco
2 139 (23.48%) Microsoft
3 101 (17.06%) Palo Alto
4 89 (15.03%) F5
5 79 (13.34%) Juniper
6 71 (11.99%) VMware
7 66 (11.15%) SolarWinds
8 61 (10.30%) Fortinet
9 53 (8.95%) Aruba
10 46 (7.77%) CheckPoint
11 31 (5.24%) Extreme Networks
12 28 (4.73%) Splunk
13 24 (4.05%) Meraki
13 24 (4.05%) ServiceNow
14 21 (3.55%) Zscaler
15 16 (2.70%) Ekahau
16 15 (2.53%) Nokia
17 11 (1.86%) Citrix
17 11 (1.86%) Dell
18 10 (1.69%) HP