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 30 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
30 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 226 207 166
Rank change year-on-year -19 -41 -33
Contract jobs citing LAN 596 395 627
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.16% 1.29% 1.45%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.22% 10.48% 11.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 368 236 347
10th Percentile £213 £206 £205
25th Percentile £350 £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 4,877 3,770 5,390
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.50% 12.32% 12.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,980 2,297 3,176
10th Percentile £250 £225 £213
25th Percentile £400 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -1.19%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £473 £490
% change year-on-year +1.72% -3.57% +3.16%
Number of hourly rates quoted 298 179 432
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.87
25th Percentile £19.34 £21.99 £17.69
Median hourly rate £26.69 £45.00 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -40.69% - +113.17%
75th Percentile £65.00 £61.75 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.00 £80.20 £73.21
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.44 £36.57 £47.50
% change year-on-year -27.71% -23.01% +114.64%

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 30 June 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 30 June 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 30 June 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 -18 506 £450 -5.26% 161
UK excluding London -2 424 £450 +5.88% 162
South East +5 167 £475 -5.00% 45
London -96 118 £500 +5.26% 32
Work from Home -23 117 £500 - 68
North of England -43 79 £450 +38.46% 31
Midlands -37 61 £285 -28.75% 32
Scotland +11 49 £431 +8.08% 12
West Midlands -43 44 £340 -15.00% 22
East of England -2 43 £350 -18.13% 17
North West -42 40 £525 +61.54% 15
Yorkshire -20 39 £425 +6.25% 12
South West -40 18 £363 -9.38% 17
East Midlands -8 14 £200 -61.90% 10
Wales -19 7 £475 +105.41% 3
Northern Ireland - 3 £468 - 10
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 (5.20%) SharePoint
2 22 (3.69%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (2.35%) Confluence
4 9 (1.51%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.84%) Skype for Business
6 2 (0.34%) CMS
6 2 (0.34%) IIS
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 25 (4.19%) MS Visio
2 18 (3.02%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (2.52%) Microsoft Excel
4 8 (1.34%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.34%) Acrobat
5 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 1 (0.17%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 138 (23.15%) Azure
2 88 (14.77%) Microsoft 365
3 63 (10.57%) AWS
4 40 (6.71%) Entra ID
5 21 (3.52%) SaaS
6 19 (3.19%) OneDrive
7 13 (2.18%) GCP
8 12 (2.01%) PaaS
9 10 (1.68%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 8 (1.34%) Power Platform
11 7 (1.17%) PowerApps
12 6 (1.01%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 5 (0.84%) AWS Direct Connect
13 5 (0.84%) Azure DevOps
13 5 (0.84%) IaaS
14 3 (0.50%) Azure Sentinel
14 3 (0.50%) Google Ads
14 3 (0.50%) Nutanix
15 2 (0.34%) IBM Watson
15 2 (0.34%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 491 (82.38%) WAN
2 287 (48.15%) Firewall
3 159 (26.68%) VPN
4 148 (24.83%) BGP
5 140 (23.49%) Wi-Fi
6 138 (23.15%) SD-WAN
7 129 (21.64%) OSPF
8 126 (21.14%) Network Security
9 125 (20.97%) DNS
10 111 (18.62%) Wireless
11 94 (15.77%) DHCP
12 90 (15.10%) MPLS
13 77 (12.92%) VLAN
14 75 (12.58%) TCP/IP
14 75 (12.58%) WLAN
15 50 (8.39%) IPsec
16 49 (8.22%) Cisco ISE
17 45 (7.55%) BIG-IP
17 45 (7.55%) Cisco Nexus
18 38 (6.38%) 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 (5.20%) JIRA
2 5 (0.84%) Sonatype Nexus
3 4 (0.67%) Browser DevTools
4 2 (0.34%) Git
4 2 (0.34%) GitLab
4 2 (0.34%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.17%) Fiddler
5 1 (0.17%) MSI
5 1 (0.17%) Visual Studio
General
1 169 (28.36%) Social Skills
2 58 (9.73%) Telecoms
3 50 (8.39%) Public Sector
4 45 (7.55%) Analytical Skills
5 38 (6.38%) Finance
6 28 (4.70%) Documentation Skills
7 20 (3.36%) Legal
8 19 (3.19%) Financial Institution
8 19 (3.19%) Manufacturing
9 18 (3.02%) Organisational Skills
10 11 (1.85%) Banking
11 8 (1.34%) Military
12 7 (1.17%) Law
12 7 (1.17%) Police
12 7 (1.17%) Retail
13 6 (1.01%) 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
1 241 (40.44%) Network Engineer
2 86 (14.43%) Architect
3 67 (11.24%) Senior
4 58 (9.73%) Network Architect
5 42 (7.05%) IT Support
5 42 (7.05%) Support Engineer
6 36 (6.04%) IT Engineer
7 30 (5.03%) IT Support Engineer
7 30 (5.03%) Senior Network Engineer
8 29 (4.87%) Cisco Engineer
9 27 (4.53%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 27 (4.53%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 26 (4.36%) Cisco Network Engineer
11 25 (4.19%) Analyst
11 25 (4.19%) Lead
12 19 (3.19%) Technical Architect
13 16 (2.68%) Field Engineer
13 16 (2.68%) LAN Engineer
13 16 (2.68%) Network Manager
14 15 (2.52%) Network Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (8.39%) 802.1X
2 10 (1.68%) Microsoft Graph
2 10 (1.68%) 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 (0.34%) .NET
7 2 (0.34%) Django
7 2 (0.34%) OpenConfig
7 2 (0.34%) RESTCONF
7 2 (0.34%) RFC 2544
7 2 (0.34%) XMPP
8 1 (0.17%) Apache NiFi
8 1 (0.17%) CSS
8 1 (0.17%) HTML
8 1 (0.17%) ModSecurity
8 1 (0.17%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 119 (19.97%) Data Centre
2 32 (5.37%) PKI
3 30 (5.03%) Hybrid Cloud
4 26 (4.36%) Clustering
5 24 (4.03%) Onboarding
6 15 (2.52%) Security Posture
7 14 (2.35%) Driving Licence
7 14 (2.35%) Self-Motivation
8 13 (2.18%) Cloud Native
8 13 (2.18%) Virtual Team
9 11 (1.85%) Data Protection Act
9 11 (1.85%) Public Cloud
10 10 (1.68%) NHS
10 10 (1.68%) Operational Technology
10 10 (1.68%) Private Cloud
11 8 (1.34%) Analytical Mindset
11 8 (1.34%) IoT
11 8 (1.34%) Video Conferencing
12 7 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
12 7 (1.17%) Smartphone
Operating Systems
1 183 (30.70%) Windows
2 51 (8.56%) Windows Server
3 36 (6.04%) Linux
4 30 (5.03%) Windows 10
5 19 (3.19%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (2.52%) Mac OS
7 10 (1.68%) Android
8 9 (1.51%) Windows 7
9 7 (1.17%) Apple iOS
10 6 (1.01%) 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 (0.34%) AIX
14 1 (0.17%) CentOS
14 1 (0.17%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.17%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 98 (16.44%) ITIL
2 85 (14.26%) High Availability
3 83 (13.93%) Problem-Solving
4 72 (12.08%) Load Balancing
5 55 (9.23%) Project Delivery
6 54 (9.06%) Stakeholder Management
7 53 (8.89%) Migration
8 50 (8.39%) Continuous Improvement
9 49 (8.22%) Network Architecture
10 47 (7.89%) Change Management
10 47 (7.89%) Roadmaps
11 42 (7.05%) ITSM
11 42 (7.05%) Technical Leadership
12 40 (6.71%) Infrastructure Engineering
13 38 (6.38%) Agile
14 37 (6.21%) Network Design
14 37 (6.21%) Network Monitoring
14 37 (6.21%) Service Management
15 33 (5.54%) Disaster Recovery
16 31 (5.20%) Observability
Programming Languages
1 43 (7.21%) Python
2 42 (7.05%) PowerShell
3 8 (1.34%) SQL
4 5 (0.84%) VBScript
5 4 (0.67%) VB
6 2 (0.34%) C++
6 2 (0.34%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.17%) Bicep
7 1 (0.17%) C
7 1 (0.17%) Java
7 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 201 (33.72%) Security Cleared
2 183 (30.70%) Cisco Certification
3 129 (21.64%) SC Cleared
4 115 (19.30%) CCNP
5 70 (11.74%) CCNA
6 64 (10.74%) DV Cleared
7 49 (8.22%) CCIE
7 49 (8.22%) Degree
8 16 (2.68%) Microsoft Certification
9 15 (2.52%) PMP
10 13 (2.18%) Azure Certification
10 13 (2.18%) JNCIP
11 12 (2.01%) JNCIE
11 12 (2.01%) JNCIS
11 12 (2.01%) PMI Certification
12 11 (1.85%) JNCIA
13 10 (1.68%) AWS Certification
14 8 (1.34%) Computer Science Degree
15 6 (1.01%) CCSE
15 6 (1.01%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (2.68%) QA
1 16 (2.68%) SLA
2 10 (1.68%) 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 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 2 (0.34%) 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 (17.62%) Active Directory
2 60 (10.07%) VMware Infrastructure
3 27 (4.53%) VMware NSX
4 20 (3.36%) vSphere
5 10 (1.68%) 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 (8.72%) FortiGate
2 36 (6.04%) Ansible
3 33 (5.54%) Microsoft Intune
4 20 (3.36%) Terraform
5 16 (2.68%) SCCM
6 13 (2.18%) Single Sign-On
7 11 (1.85%) Jamf Pro
8 4 (0.67%) Cisco Prime
8 4 (0.67%) Progress Chef
8 4 (0.67%) vRealize Orchestrator
9 3 (0.50%) Cisco CUCM
9 3 (0.50%) Endace
9 3 (0.50%) Nagios
9 3 (0.50%) vCenter Server
10 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
10 2 (0.34%) CASB
10 2 (0.34%) Grafana
10 2 (0.34%) VxRail
10 2 (0.34%) WSUS
11 1 (0.17%) Iperf
Vendors
1 295 (49.50%) Cisco
2 138 (23.15%) Microsoft
3 100 (16.78%) Palo Alto
4 94 (15.77%) F5
5 78 (13.09%) VMware
6 76 (12.75%) Juniper
7 65 (10.91%) SolarWinds
8 60 (10.07%) Fortinet
9 57 (9.56%) Aruba
10 54 (9.06%) CheckPoint
11 34 (5.70%) ServiceNow
12 32 (5.37%) Extreme Networks
13 29 (4.87%) Splunk
14 27 (4.53%) Meraki
15 20 (3.36%) Zscaler
16 16 (2.68%) Dell
16 16 (2.68%) Ekahau
17 11 (1.85%) Citrix
18 10 (1.68%) Veeam
19 9 (1.51%) Arista