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

6 months to
12 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 232 209 180
Rank change year-on-year -23 -29 -55
Contract jobs citing LAN 591 414 543
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.11% 1.26% 1.39%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.78% 10.55% 11.46%
Number of daily rates quoted 349 258 320
10th Percentile £236 £200 £247
25th Percentile £363 £311 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.56% -5.26% -
75th Percentile £540 £575 £625
90th Percentile £625 £629 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £400 £475
% change year-on-year +18.75% -15.79% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 19 30
10th Percentile £12.71 £23.15 £15.43
25th Percentile £16.25 £28.00 £15.75
Median hourly rate £24.61 £30.00 £23.80
Median % change year-on-year -17.97% +26.05% -52.40%
75th Percentile £57.00 £41.63 £37.38
90th Percentile £74.73 £55.63 £75.02
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.75 £30.00 £24.87
% change year-on-year -30.83% +20.63% -48.00%

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 5,015 3,925 4,737
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.40% 11.91% 12.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,970 2,397 2,875
10th Percentile £250 £248 £220
25th Percentile £400 £375 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £488 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.56% -2.50% -
75th Percentile £588 £600 £608
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £494 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.95% -5.00% +9.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 361 200 316
10th Percentile £15.25 £14.99 £14.16
25th Percentile £19.33 £25.15 £19.79
Median hourly rate £26.00 £46.88 £49.50
Median % change year-on-year -44.53% -5.30% -5.71%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £83.10 £74.38
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.14 £45.00 £55.00
% change year-on-year -41.91% -18.18% -2.64%

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 12 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 12 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 12 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 -30 494 £499 +10.83% 306
UK excluding London +8 425 £475 +18.75% 219
South East +1 154 £520 -3.26% 74
London -101 118 £513 +10.81% 134
Work from Home -35 106 £510 +2.00% 104
North of England -41 84 £500 +150.00% 43
Scotland +31 62 £350 -9.68% 26
Midlands -34 56 £335 -8.22% 41
North West -42 48 £519 +291.74% 14
West Midlands -38 42 £400 - 27
East of England +4 40 £338 +14.89% 10
Yorkshire -14 36 £450 +12.50% 22
South West -41 26 £513 +41.38% 25
East Midlands -1 11 £255 +39.73% 14
Wales -18 5 £425 +83.78% 2
Northern Ireland +7 1 £550 +15.79% 4
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 20 (3.38%) SharePoint
2 19 (3.21%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (1.52%) OpenStack
4 7 (1.18%) Skype for Business
5 4 (0.68%) Confluence
6 2 (0.34%) CMS
6 2 (0.34%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 27 (4.57%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (4.40%) MS Visio
3 19 (3.21%) Microsoft Excel
4 10 (1.69%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Cloud Services
1 123 (20.81%) Azure
2 78 (13.20%) Microsoft 365
3 57 (9.64%) AWS
4 33 (5.58%) Entra ID
5 13 (2.20%) SaaS
6 12 (2.03%) OneDrive
7 10 (1.69%) GCP
7 10 (1.69%) Virtual Private Cloud
8 7 (1.18%) Azure ExpressRoute
9 6 (1.02%) AWS Direct Connect
9 6 (1.02%) Azure DevOps
9 6 (1.02%) IaaS
9 6 (1.02%) PaaS
10 4 (0.68%) Microsoft Copilot
10 4 (0.68%) OpenShift
11 3 (0.51%) Azure Sentinel
11 3 (0.51%) Google Ads
11 3 (0.51%) Power Platform
12 2 (0.34%) Google Workspace
12 2 (0.34%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 496 (83.93%) WAN
2 295 (49.92%) Firewall
3 151 (25.55%) VPN
4 146 (24.70%) BGP
5 137 (23.18%) Wi-Fi
6 135 (22.84%) Network Security
7 125 (21.15%) SD-WAN
8 124 (20.98%) DNS
9 119 (20.14%) Wireless
10 117 (19.80%) OSPF
11 108 (18.27%) MPLS
12 101 (17.09%) DHCP
13 80 (13.54%) TCP/IP
14 78 (13.20%) VLAN
15 68 (11.51%) WLAN
16 54 (9.14%) Cisco ISE
16 54 (9.14%) IPsec
17 48 (8.12%) Cisco Nexus
18 40 (6.77%) BIG-IP
19 39 (6.60%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (1.35%) 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 15 (2.54%) JIRA
2 5 (0.85%) Browser DevTools
3 4 (0.68%) 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
1 177 (29.95%) Social Skills
2 79 (13.37%) Telecoms
3 57 (9.64%) Analytical Skills
3 57 (9.64%) Public Sector
4 42 (7.11%) Finance
5 24 (4.06%) Organisational Skills
6 20 (3.38%) Documentation Skills
7 17 (2.88%) Financial Institution
8 16 (2.71%) Banking
9 14 (2.37%) Legal
10 12 (2.03%) Retail
11 11 (1.86%) Manufacturing
12 9 (1.52%) Police
13 8 (1.35%) Influencing Skills
14 7 (1.18%) Local Government
15 6 (1.02%) Law
16 5 (0.85%) Military
17 3 (0.51%) Billing
17 3 (0.51%) German Language
18 2 (0.34%) Inclusion and Diversity
Job Titles
1 245 (41.46%) Network Engineer
2 79 (13.37%) Senior
3 78 (13.20%) Architect
4 55 (9.31%) Network Architect
5 45 (7.61%) Senior Network Engineer
6 35 (5.92%) IT Support
7 32 (5.41%) Support Engineer
8 25 (4.23%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 25 (4.23%) IT Engineer
9 24 (4.06%) Cisco Engineer
10 22 (3.72%) Telecoms Engineer
11 21 (3.55%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 21 (3.55%) Field Engineer
12 20 (3.38%) Consultant
12 20 (3.38%) Lead
13 19 (3.21%) IT Support Engineer
13 19 (3.21%) Network Specialist
13 19 (3.21%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
14 17 (2.88%) Analyst
14 17 (2.88%) Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (8.80%) 802.1X
2 13 (2.20%) NETCONF
3 9 (1.52%) YANG
4 8 (1.35%) SAML
5 6 (1.02%) Middleware
5 6 (1.02%) REST
6 5 (0.85%) LDAP
7 4 (0.68%) OpenConfig
7 4 (0.68%) RESTCONF
8 3 (0.51%) Java RMI
8 3 (0.51%) Software Packaging
9 2 (0.34%) .NET
9 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Graph
9 2 (0.34%) ODBC
10 1 (0.17%) .NET Framework
10 1 (0.17%) ARM Templates
10 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
10 1 (0.17%) RFC 2544
10 1 (0.17%) SailPoint
10 1 (0.17%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 108 (18.27%) Data Centre
2 35 (5.92%) PKI
3 31 (5.25%) Driving Licence
4 30 (5.08%) Hybrid Cloud
5 26 (4.40%) Clustering
6 21 (3.55%) Onboarding
7 16 (2.71%) Security Posture
8 15 (2.54%) Self-Motivation
9 14 (2.37%) Private Cloud
10 13 (2.20%) Cloud Native
10 13 (2.20%) Video Conferencing
11 12 (2.03%) Operational Technology
11 12 (2.03%) Public Cloud
12 11 (1.86%) Data Protection Act
13 10 (1.69%) Analytical Mindset
13 10 (1.69%) NHS
14 7 (1.18%) CCTV
14 7 (1.18%) IoT
14 7 (1.18%) Management Information System
14 7 (1.18%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 167 (28.26%) Windows
2 48 (8.12%) Windows Server
3 39 (6.60%) Linux
4 28 (4.74%) Windows 10
5 14 (2.37%) Mac OS
6 12 (2.03%) Windows 7
7 10 (1.69%) Windows Server 2019
8 7 (1.18%) Unix
9 6 (1.02%) Android
10 4 (0.68%) Apple iOS
10 4 (0.68%) Windows Server 2012
11 3 (0.51%) Ubuntu
11 3 (0.51%) VMS
12 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2003
12 2 (0.34%) Windows Server 2016
13 1 (0.17%) AIX
13 1 (0.17%) CatOS
13 1 (0.17%) CentOS
13 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
13 1 (0.17%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 107 (18.10%) Problem-Solving
2 100 (16.92%) ITIL
3 94 (15.91%) High Availability
4 73 (12.35%) Load Balancing
5 67 (11.34%) Project Delivery
6 58 (9.81%) Continuous Improvement
7 53 (8.97%) Roadmaps
8 50 (8.46%) Stakeholder Management
9 48 (8.12%) Network Architecture
10 44 (7.45%) Migration
10 44 (7.45%) Technical Leadership
11 43 (7.28%) Infrastructure Engineering
12 41 (6.94%) Change Management
13 40 (6.77%) Service Management
14 39 (6.60%) Network Monitoring
15 33 (5.58%) Network Design
15 33 (5.58%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 32 (5.41%) Mentoring
16 32 (5.41%) Zero Trust
17 31 (5.25%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 29 (4.91%) Python
2 26 (4.40%) PowerShell
3 8 (1.35%) SQL
4 7 (1.18%) VBScript
5 6 (1.02%) VB
6 2 (0.34%) C++
6 2 (0.34%) T-SQL
7 1 (0.17%) Bicep
7 1 (0.17%) C
7 1 (0.17%) Java
7 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 198 (33.50%) Security Cleared
2 170 (28.76%) Cisco Certification
3 108 (18.27%) SC Cleared
4 101 (17.09%) CCNP
5 71 (12.01%) DV Cleared
6 69 (11.68%) CCNA
7 42 (7.11%) CCIE
8 39 (6.60%) Degree
9 14 (2.37%) Azure Certification
9 14 (2.37%) Microsoft Certification
10 13 (2.20%) JNCIP
10 13 (2.20%) JNCIS
11 11 (1.86%) PMP
12 10 (1.69%) Computer Science Degree
12 10 (1.69%) JNCIE
13 9 (1.52%) AWS Certification
13 9 (1.52%) JNCIA
14 8 (1.35%) PMI Certification
15 6 (1.02%) BPSS Clearance
15 6 (1.02%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 27 (4.57%) SLA
2 14 (2.37%) QA
3 12 (2.03%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 11 (1.86%) NIST
5 10 (1.69%) NCSC
6 7 (1.18%) Disclosure Scotland
7 4 (0.68%) GDPR
7 4 (0.68%) JSP 440
7 4 (0.68%) PMO
8 3 (0.51%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.51%) GRC
9 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.17%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.17%) DICOM
10 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.17%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.17%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 85 (14.38%) Active Directory
2 51 (8.63%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (3.89%) VMware NSX
4 12 (2.03%) Firmware
4 12 (2.03%) vSphere
5 10 (1.69%) Hyper-V
6 8 (1.35%) Virtual Desktop
7 7 (1.18%) BitLocker
7 7 (1.18%) Virtual Machines
8 4 (0.68%) Virtual Servers
9 2 (0.34%) FreeRADIUS
9 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Virtual Server
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 56 (9.48%) FortiGate
2 27 (4.57%) Ansible
3 24 (4.06%) Microsoft Intune
4 16 (2.71%) Terraform
5 14 (2.37%) SCCM
6 11 (1.86%) Single Sign-On
7 6 (1.02%) Cisco Prime
8 4 (0.68%) Jamf Pro
8 4 (0.68%) Nagios
8 4 (0.68%) Progress Chef
8 4 (0.68%) vRealize Orchestrator
9 3 (0.51%) Cisco CUCM
9 3 (0.51%) vCenter Server
9 3 (0.51%) WSUS
10 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
10 2 (0.34%) CASB
10 2 (0.34%) Endace
10 2 (0.34%) VxRail
11 1 (0.17%) Grafana
11 1 (0.17%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 290 (49.07%) Cisco
2 146 (24.70%) Microsoft
3 97 (16.41%) Palo Alto
4 88 (14.89%) F5
5 77 (13.03%) VMware
6 76 (12.86%) Juniper
7 68 (11.51%) SolarWinds
8 65 (11.00%) Fortinet
9 53 (8.97%) Aruba
10 40 (6.77%) CheckPoint
11 30 (5.08%) Splunk
12 28 (4.74%) Extreme Networks
13 24 (4.06%) Meraki
13 24 (4.06%) ServiceNow
14 23 (3.89%) Zscaler
15 18 (3.05%) Nokia
16 16 (2.71%) Ekahau
17 11 (1.86%) HP
18 10 (1.69%) Citrix
19 9 (1.52%) Google