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

6 months to
7 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 241 168 122
Rank change year-on-year -73 -46 +59
Contract jobs citing LAN 403 544 930
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.11% 1.52% 2.05%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 10.21% 12.29% 14.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 266 314 601
10th Percentile £200 £223 £205
25th Percentile £304 £350 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £475 £471
Median % change year-on-year -10.53% +0.85% +4.67%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £627
90th Percentile £638 £672 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £374 £439 £448
% change year-on-year -14.81% -1.96% +4.68%
Number of hourly rates quoted 22 19 39
10th Percentile £13.22 £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 £35.00 £40.25 £55.00
90th Percentile £69.72 £71.75 £71.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.75 £21.39 £33.00
% change year-on-year -2.98% -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 3,946 4,427 6,289
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.88% 12.40% 13.83%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,569 2,561 3,890
10th Percentile £206 £220 £211
25th Percentile £356 £370 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% - -
75th Percentile £584 £600 £613
90th Percentile £675 £685 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £475 £475
% change year-on-year -5.26% - +5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 186 165 349
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.95 £17.72
25th Percentile £20.04 £22.50 £22.75
Median hourly rate £33.39 £41.00 £55.00
Median % change year-on-year -18.57% -25.45% +25.00%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £65.98
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.00 £76.13
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 7 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 7 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 7 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 -87 333 £450 -5.26% 263
UK excluding London -78 240 £374 -14.81% 249
London -20 131 £450 -14.29% 71
Work from Home -47 93 £440 -12.00% 110
South East -39 64 £475 +15.15% 103
North of England -84 49 £225 -50.00% 48
Midlands -59 41 £450 +4.35% 32
West Midlands -26 38 £475 -5.00% 21
Scotland +25 37 £273 -31.88% 15
North West -36 36 £133 -72.68% 27
East of England -20 29 £280 -49.09% 25
Yorkshire -71 11 £231 -3.65% 20
South West -37 10 £481 +16.67% 19
Wales +6 6 £293 +46.25% 9
Northern Ireland -7 4 £475 - 3
East Midlands -45 3 £258 -31.33% 11
North East -3 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 (5.46%) SharePoint
2 13 (3.23%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (2.98%) OpenStack
4 6 (1.49%) Skype for Business
5 5 (1.24%) 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 (9.18%) Microsoft Office
2 18 (4.47%) MS Visio
3 15 (3.72%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 14 (3.47%) Microsoft Excel
5 4 (0.99%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.50%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.25%) Acrobat
Business Applications
1 1 (0.25%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 74 (18.36%) Azure
2 51 (12.66%) AWS
3 39 (9.68%) Microsoft 365
4 18 (4.47%) Entra ID
5 15 (3.72%) GCP
6 7 (1.74%) Virtual Private Cloud
7 6 (1.49%) OpenShift
8 5 (1.24%) Azure DevOps
8 5 (1.24%) 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 (0.50%) AWS IoT
11 2 (0.50%) Azure Functions
11 2 (0.50%) Azure Sentinel
11 2 (0.50%) Azure Service Bus
11 2 (0.50%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 310 (76.92%) WAN
2 172 (42.68%) Firewall
3 101 (25.06%) VPN
4 100 (24.81%) SD-WAN
5 90 (22.33%) Wi-Fi
6 75 (18.61%) Wireless
7 69 (17.12%) BGP
7 69 (17.12%) DNS
8 62 (15.38%) MPLS
8 62 (15.38%) TCP/IP
9 58 (14.39%) Network Security
10 57 (14.14%) DHCP
11 52 (12.90%) OSPF
12 47 (11.66%) Cisco Nexus
12 47 (11.66%) VLAN
13 43 (10.67%) WLAN
14 28 (6.95%) IPsec
15 25 (6.20%) Cisco ASA
16 23 (5.71%) Cisco IOS
17 19 (4.71%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (2.48%) SQL Server
2 6 (1.49%) Oracle Database
3 4 (0.99%) MS Access
4 3 (0.74%) Apache Cassandra
4 3 (0.74%) Power BI
5 2 (0.50%) 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 8 (1.99%) JIRA
2 2 (0.50%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.25%) Git
3 1 (0.25%) Jenkins
General
1 117 (29.03%) Social Skills
2 50 (12.41%) Analytical Skills
3 48 (11.91%) Telecoms
4 47 (11.66%) Public Sector
5 34 (8.44%) Finance
6 24 (5.96%) Documentation Skills
7 18 (4.47%) Manufacturing
8 9 (2.23%) Banking
8 9 (2.23%) Military
8 9 (2.23%) Organisational Skills
9 8 (1.99%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 7 (1.74%) Presentation Skills
11 6 (1.49%) Marketing
11 6 (1.49%) Retail
12 5 (1.24%) Electronics
12 5 (1.24%) Legal
12 5 (1.24%) Local Government
13 4 (0.99%) Financial Institution
14 3 (0.74%) Influencing Skills
14 3 (0.74%) Law
Job Titles
1 115 (28.54%) Network Engineer
2 89 (22.08%) Architect
3 65 (16.13%) Network Architect
4 34 (8.44%) Analyst
5 26 (6.45%) Senior
5 26 (6.45%) Support Engineer
6 24 (5.96%) Support Analyst
7 21 (5.21%) Project Manager
7 21 (5.21%) Technical Support
8 20 (4.96%) IT Support
9 17 (4.22%) 2nd Line Support
9 17 (4.22%) Field Engineer
10 16 (3.97%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 16 (3.97%) Senior Network Engineer
10 16 (3.97%) Technical Analyst
10 16 (3.97%) Technical Support Analyst
11 15 (3.72%) IT Engineer
12 13 (3.23%) IT Technician
12 13 (3.23%) Solutions Architect
12 13 (3.23%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 7 (1.74%) Middleware
2 6 (1.49%) LDAP
2 6 (1.49%) NETCONF
2 6 (1.49%) REST
2 6 (1.49%) YANG
3 3 (0.74%) 802.1X
3 3 (0.74%) EDI
3 3 (0.74%) SAML
4 2 (0.50%) 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%) SOAP
5 1 (0.25%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 60 (14.89%) Data Centre
2 21 (5.21%) Driving Licence
3 16 (3.97%) Hybrid Cloud
4 15 (3.72%) NHS
5 12 (2.98%) CMDB
5 12 (2.98%) Virtual Team
6 11 (2.73%) Onboarding
7 10 (2.48%) Management Information System
8 8 (1.99%) Cloud Native
9 7 (1.74%) Data Protection Act
9 7 (1.74%) Replication
10 6 (1.49%) Analytical Mindset
10 6 (1.49%) Operational Technology
10 6 (1.49%) SCADA
10 6 (1.49%) Video Conferencing
11 5 (1.24%) Self-Motivation
12 4 (0.99%) iPhone
13 3 (0.74%) 3D Printing
13 3 (0.74%) IoT
13 3 (0.74%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 91 (22.58%) Windows
2 32 (7.94%) Windows Server
3 23 (5.71%) Windows 10
4 20 (4.96%) Linux
5 12 (2.98%) Windows Server 2016
6 9 (2.23%) Windows Server 2019
7 7 (1.74%) Android
7 7 (1.74%) Mac OS
8 6 (1.49%) 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 (0.50%) 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 70 (17.37%) Problem-Solving
2 67 (16.63%) Network Design
3 45 (11.17%) Migration
4 42 (10.42%) Network Architecture
5 38 (9.43%) ITIL
6 36 (8.93%) Cybersecurity
7 33 (8.19%) Customer Service
7 33 (8.19%) Stakeholder Management
8 30 (7.44%) Project Delivery
9 28 (6.95%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 28 (6.95%) Network Monitoring
10 27 (6.70%) Service Management
11 23 (5.71%) Change Management
11 23 (5.71%) Load Balancing
11 23 (5.71%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 22 (5.46%) Continuous Improvement
12 22 (5.46%) Roadmaps
13 21 (5.21%) High Availability
14 20 (4.96%) Project Management
15 19 (4.71%) Agile
Programming Languages
1 37 (9.18%) Python
2 20 (4.96%) PowerShell
3 9 (2.23%) SQL
4 7 (1.74%) VB
5 6 (1.49%) Perl
5 6 (1.49%) VBScript
6 2 (0.50%) Bicep
7 1 (0.25%) Bash
7 1 (0.25%) Java
7 1 (0.25%) Ruby
7 1 (0.25%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 108 (26.80%) Cisco Certification
2 103 (25.56%) Security Cleared
3 82 (20.35%) CCNP
4 64 (15.88%) SC Cleared
5 43 (10.67%) DV Cleared
6 39 (9.68%) CCNA
7 38 (9.43%) CCIE
8 37 (9.18%) Degree
9 19 (4.71%) JNCIE
10 12 (2.98%) AWS Certification
11 9 (2.23%) BPSS Clearance
11 9 (2.23%) JNCIP
11 9 (2.23%) Microsoft Certification
12 7 (1.74%) CCSA
12 7 (1.74%) CISSP
12 7 (1.74%) HNC
12 7 (1.74%) JNCIS
12 7 (1.74%) MCP
12 7 (1.74%) MCSE
12 7 (1.74%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (4.71%) SLA
2 12 (2.98%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 8 (1.99%) GDPR
3 8 (1.99%) NIST
4 7 (1.74%) PCI DSS
5 5 (1.24%) PMO
6 2 (0.50%) Accessibility
6 2 (0.50%) Cyber Essentials
7 1 (0.25%) COBIT
7 1 (0.25%) Disclosure Scotland
7 1 (0.25%) GRC
7 1 (0.25%) JSP 440
7 1 (0.25%) MiFID
7 1 (0.25%) NCSC
System Software
1 62 (15.38%) Active Directory
2 27 (6.70%) VMware Infrastructure
3 17 (4.22%) VMware NSX
4 10 (2.48%) Hyper-V
5 6 (1.49%) Firmware
5 6 (1.49%) Virtual Desktop
6 5 (1.24%) BitLocker
7 3 (0.74%) Docker
8 2 (0.50%) KVM
8 2 (0.50%) NFS
8 2 (0.50%) ProxySG
8 2 (0.50%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.25%) Ceph
9 1 (0.25%) iptables
9 1 (0.25%) Samba
9 1 (0.25%) Slurm Workload Manager
9 1 (0.25%) SRDF
9 1 (0.25%) Veritas Cluster Server
9 1 (0.25%) VMware ESXi
9 1 (0.25%) Xen
Systems Management
1 36 (8.93%) Ansible
2 27 (6.70%) Terraform
3 19 (4.71%) FortiGate
4 15 (3.72%) SCCM
5 14 (3.47%) Microsoft Intune
6 7 (1.74%) 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 (0.50%) Cisco Prime
9 2 (0.50%) HP ALM
9 2 (0.50%) vCenter Server
9 2 (0.50%) 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
1 200 (49.63%) Cisco
2 80 (19.85%) Microsoft
3 61 (15.14%) Fortinet
4 56 (13.90%) Palo Alto
5 53 (13.15%) Juniper
6 42 (10.42%) VMware
7 41 (10.17%) F5
8 33 (8.19%) Meraki
9 30 (7.44%) CheckPoint
10 20 (4.96%) Aruba
10 20 (4.96%) ServiceNow
10 20 (4.96%) SolarWinds
11 19 (4.71%) Citrix
12 15 (3.72%) Zscaler
13 11 (2.73%) Oracle
14 9 (2.23%) Remedy
15 8 (1.99%) SAP
16 7 (1.74%) HP
16 7 (1.74%) LogicMonitor
17 6 (1.49%) Nokia