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 29 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
29 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 221 219 168
Rank change year-on-year -2 -51 -23
Contract jobs citing LAN 592 354 629
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.21% 1.23% 1.47%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.45% 9.77% 11.56%
Number of daily rates quoted 371 210 371
10th Percentile £225 £250 £200
25th Percentile £349 £363 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £463 £450
Median % change year-on-year -2.70% +2.78% -5.26%
75th Percentile £538 £569 £644
90th Percentile £603 £629 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £445 £438 £444
% change year-on-year +1.71% -1.46% +4.47%
Number of hourly rates quoted 28 11 41
10th Percentile £12.43 £15.33 £12.86
25th Percentile £18.36 £25.38 £15.75
Median hourly rate £22.50 £30.00 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year -25.00% +33.33% -65.65%
75th Percentile £52.94 £39.38 £40.00
90th Percentile £79.13 £50.00 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £22.67 £22.50
% change year-on-year -0.73% +0.73% -65.91%

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 4,756 3,624 5,441
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.72% 12.60% 12.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,917 2,243 3,264
10th Percentile £263 £213 £206
25th Percentile £400 £362 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £480 £500
Median % change year-on-year +4.17% -4.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £463 £481
% change year-on-year +2.70% -3.90% +1.32%
Number of hourly rates quoted 281 158 418
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.50
25th Percentile £21.25 £17.42 £16.30
Median hourly rate £28.88 £39.66 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year -27.18% -0.85% +118.16%
75th Percentile £65.00 £58.75 £63.75
90th Percentile £75.00 £76.50 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.86 £30.32 £45.88
% change year-on-year +11.68% -33.91% +162.17%

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 29 May 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 29 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for LAN in the UK

LAN
Top 16 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 29 May 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 -6 508 £450 -6.25% 161
UK excluding London +15 413 £445 +1.71% 151
South East +22 177 £475 -5.00% 62
London -64 124 £500 - 42
Work from Home +7 121 £450 -5.37% 74
North of England -51 67 £450 +12.43% 28
Midlands -23 61 £285 -40.78% 20
West Midlands -33 47 £335 -23.43% 15
East of England -3 43 £350 -18.60% 10
Scotland +14 40 £431 +8.08% 11
Yorkshire -26 34 £425 +6.18% 14
North West -35 33 £498 +17.06% 11
South West -43 15 £500 +21.21% 14
East Midlands -21 11 £200 -61.90% 5
Wales -15 8 £475 +61.70% 10
Northern Ireland - 3 £468 - 2

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 21 (3.55%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (2.53%) Confluence
4 5 (0.84%) OpenStack
4 5 (0.84%) Skype for Business
5 2 (0.34%) IIS
6 1 (0.17%) CMS
6 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 24 (4.05%) MS Visio
2 15 (2.53%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (1.01%) Microsoft Excel
4 4 (0.68%) Acrobat
4 4 (0.68%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.34%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.34%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 139 (23.48%) Azure
2 86 (14.53%) Microsoft 365
3 62 (10.47%) AWS
4 37 (6.25%) Entra ID
5 19 (3.21%) SaaS
6 15 (2.53%) OneDrive
7 12 (2.03%) PaaS
8 11 (1.86%) GCP
9 8 (1.35%) Power Platform
10 7 (1.18%) PowerApps
10 7 (1.18%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 6 (1.01%) Azure DevOps
12 5 (0.84%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 5 (0.84%) IaaS
12 5 (0.84%) Nutanix
13 4 (0.68%) Google Ads
14 2 (0.34%) AWS Direct Connect
14 2 (0.34%) IBM Watson
15 1 (0.17%) Azure Monitor
15 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 488 (82.43%) WAN
2 286 (48.31%) Firewall
3 164 (27.70%) VPN
4 152 (25.68%) BGP
5 139 (23.48%) OSPF
6 138 (23.31%) Wi-Fi
7 132 (22.30%) SD-WAN
8 123 (20.78%) Network Security
9 116 (19.59%) DNS
10 102 (17.23%) Wireless
11 90 (15.20%) DHCP
12 76 (12.84%) WLAN
13 75 (12.67%) VLAN
14 68 (11.49%) MPLS
15 66 (11.15%) TCP/IP
16 58 (9.80%) IPsec
17 48 (8.11%) Cisco ISE
18 46 (7.77%) BIG-IP
19 43 (7.26%) Cisco Nexus
19 43 (7.26%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.18%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.17%) Amazon RDS
2 1 (0.17%) Data Warehouse
2 1 (0.17%) DynamoDB
2 1 (0.17%) MariaDB
2 1 (0.17%) MongoDB
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 33 (5.57%) JIRA
2 4 (0.68%) Browser DevTools
3 3 (0.51%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.34%) GitLab
4 2 (0.34%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.17%) Git
5 1 (0.17%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 152 (25.68%) Social Skills
2 46 (7.77%) Public Sector
3 43 (7.26%) Analytical Skills
4 38 (6.42%) Finance
5 35 (5.91%) Telecoms
6 31 (5.24%) Documentation Skills
7 25 (4.22%) Manufacturing
8 21 (3.55%) Legal
9 17 (2.87%) Financial Institution
10 13 (2.20%) Military
11 12 (2.03%) Organisational Skills
12 9 (1.52%) Banking
12 9 (1.52%) Law
13 7 (1.18%) Retail
14 6 (1.01%) Police
15 4 (0.68%) Local Government
16 3 (0.51%) Influencing Skills
17 2 (0.34%) German Language
17 2 (0.34%) Inclusion and Diversity
17 2 (0.34%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 239 (40.37%) Network Engineer
2 87 (14.70%) Architect
3 65 (10.98%) Senior
4 63 (10.64%) Network Architect
5 44 (7.43%) IT Support
6 39 (6.59%) Support Engineer
7 33 (5.57%) IT Engineer
7 33 (5.57%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
8 31 (5.24%) Cisco Engineer
9 30 (5.07%) Lead
9 30 (5.07%) Senior Network Engineer
10 29 (4.90%) Analyst
10 29 (4.90%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 29 (4.90%) IT Support Engineer
11 28 (4.73%) Cisco Network Engineer
12 19 (3.21%) Technical Architect
13 14 (2.36%) Firewall Specialist
13 14 (2.36%) Network Specialist
13 14 (2.36%) Project Manager
13 14 (2.36%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 48 (8.11%) 802.1X
2 13 (2.20%) LDAP
2 13 (2.20%) SAML
3 10 (1.69%) Microsoft Graph
4 6 (1.01%) Middleware
5 5 (0.84%) NETCONF
5 5 (0.84%) REST
5 5 (0.84%) YANG
6 3 (0.51%) Software Packaging
6 3 (0.51%) XMPP
7 2 (0.34%) .NET
7 2 (0.34%) CSS
7 2 (0.34%) Django
7 2 (0.34%) HTML
7 2 (0.34%) RFC 2544
8 1 (0.17%) Apache NiFi
8 1 (0.17%) ARM Templates
8 1 (0.17%) Java RMI
8 1 (0.17%) React
8 1 (0.17%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 123 (20.78%) Data Centre
2 32 (5.41%) PKI
3 26 (4.39%) Clustering
3 26 (4.39%) Onboarding
4 23 (3.89%) Hybrid Cloud
5 16 (2.70%) Security Posture
6 13 (2.20%) Self-Motivation
7 12 (2.03%) Data Protection Act
8 11 (1.86%) Operational Technology
8 11 (1.86%) Public Cloud
9 10 (1.69%) Driving Licence
9 10 (1.69%) Virtual Team
10 9 (1.52%) Enterprise Software
11 8 (1.35%) NHS
12 7 (1.18%) Cloud Native
12 7 (1.18%) CMDB
12 7 (1.18%) IoT
13 6 (1.01%) Smartphone
13 6 (1.01%) Video Conferencing
14 5 (0.84%) Analytical Mindset
Operating Systems
1 178 (30.07%) Windows
2 50 (8.45%) Windows Server
3 42 (7.09%) Linux
4 32 (5.41%) Windows 10
5 16 (2.70%) Windows Server 2019
6 13 (2.20%) Mac OS
7 9 (1.52%) Android
8 8 (1.35%) Windows 7
9 7 (1.18%) Apple iOS
10 5 (0.84%) CatOS
10 5 (0.84%) VMS
10 5 (0.84%) Windows Server 2012
10 5 (0.84%) Windows Server 2016
11 4 (0.68%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.51%) Unix
12 3 (0.51%) Windows Server 2003
13 2 (0.34%) AIX
13 2 (0.34%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
14 1 (0.17%) CentOS
14 1 (0.17%) Data ONTAP
Processes & Methodologies
1 95 (16.05%) ITIL
2 88 (14.86%) High Availability
3 81 (13.68%) Problem-Solving
4 64 (10.81%) Load Balancing
5 58 (9.80%) Migration
6 50 (8.45%) ITSM
7 47 (7.94%) Stakeholder Management
8 46 (7.77%) Change Management
8 46 (7.77%) Continuous Improvement
9 44 (7.43%) Project Delivery
10 42 (7.09%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 42 (7.09%) Network Architecture
10 42 (7.09%) Network Monitoring
10 42 (7.09%) Technical Leadership
11 37 (6.25%) Network Design
11 37 (6.25%) Roadmaps
12 33 (5.57%) Agile
12 33 (5.57%) Disaster Recovery
12 33 (5.57%) Service Management
13 31 (5.24%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 37 (6.25%) PowerShell
2 36 (6.08%) Python
3 13 (2.20%) SQL
4 5 (0.84%) VBScript
5 4 (0.68%) VB
6 3 (0.51%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.17%) Bash
7 1 (0.17%) C
7 1 (0.17%) C#
7 1 (0.17%) C++
7 1 (0.17%) Java
7 1 (0.17%) Shell Script
7 1 (0.17%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 213 (35.98%) Security Cleared
2 180 (30.41%) Cisco Certification
3 145 (24.49%) SC Cleared
4 126 (21.28%) CCNP
5 64 (10.81%) DV Cleared
6 55 (9.29%) CCNA
7 52 (8.78%) Degree
8 48 (8.11%) CCIE
9 15 (2.53%) PMP
10 14 (2.36%) JNCIP
11 13 (2.20%) JNCIS
11 13 (2.20%) Microsoft Certification
12 12 (2.03%) Azure Certification
12 12 (2.03%) JNCIA
13 11 (1.86%) CCSE
13 11 (1.86%) PMI Certification
14 10 (1.69%) Computer Science Degree
14 10 (1.69%) JNCIE
15 6 (1.01%) AWS Certification
15 6 (1.01%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (3.38%) QA
2 13 (2.20%) SLA
3 12 (2.03%) NIST
4 8 (1.35%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 7 (1.18%) Disclosure Scotland
6 6 (1.01%) NCSC
7 4 (0.68%) GDPR
7 4 (0.68%) JSP 440
8 2 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.34%) PMO
8 2 (0.34%) RMADS
9 1 (0.17%) DICOM
9 1 (0.17%) GRC
9 1 (0.17%) ISO 9001
9 1 (0.17%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 108 (18.24%) Active Directory
2 56 (9.46%) VMware Infrastructure
3 25 (4.22%) VMware NSX
4 18 (3.04%) vSphere
5 9 (1.52%) Hyper-V
6 7 (1.18%) Virtual Machines
7 5 (0.84%) Firmware
8 4 (0.68%) BitLocker
9 3 (0.51%) Virtual Servers
9 3 (0.51%) VMware ESXi
10 2 (0.34%) Docker
10 2 (0.34%) Virtual Desktop
11 1 (0.17%) Citrix Presentation Server
11 1 (0.17%) KVM
11 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.17%) ProxySG
11 1 (0.17%) RHEV
11 1 (0.17%) Xen
Systems Management
1 49 (8.28%) FortiGate
2 33 (5.57%) Microsoft Intune
3 32 (5.41%) Ansible
4 19 (3.21%) Terraform
5 14 (2.36%) SCCM
5 14 (2.36%) Single Sign-On
6 11 (1.86%) Jamf Pro
7 7 (1.18%) Nagios
8 6 (1.01%) Cisco Prime
9 5 (0.84%) Endace
10 4 (0.68%) Cisco CUCM
10 4 (0.68%) Progress Chef
10 4 (0.68%) vRealize Orchestrator
10 4 (0.68%) WSUS
11 3 (0.51%) vCenter Server
12 2 (0.34%) AirWatch
12 2 (0.34%) Backup Exec
12 2 (0.34%) Grafana
13 1 (0.17%) Nessus
13 1 (0.17%) Norton AntiVirus
Vendors
1 294 (49.66%) Cisco
2 121 (20.44%) Microsoft
3 118 (19.93%) Palo Alto
4 92 (15.54%) F5
5 83 (14.02%) Juniper
6 73 (12.33%) Aruba
7 72 (12.16%) CheckPoint
8 71 (11.99%) VMware
9 65 (10.98%) SolarWinds
10 63 (10.64%) Fortinet
11 35 (5.91%) ServiceNow
12 29 (4.90%) Extreme Networks
13 28 (4.73%) Splunk
14 26 (4.39%) Meraki
15 22 (3.72%) Zscaler
16 16 (2.70%) Dell
16 16 (2.70%) Ekahau
17 15 (2.53%) Veeam
18 9 (1.52%) Arista
18 9 (1.52%) Citrix