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 19 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 215 219 142
Rank change year-on-year +4 -77 +11
Contract jobs citing LAN 558 359 733
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.21% 1.22% 1.68%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 12.44% 9.51% 12.81%
Number of daily rates quoted 354 219 425
10th Percentile £213 £234 £203
25th Percentile £325 £325 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £445 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year -1.11% -5.26% +5.56%
75th Percentile £538 £550 £650
90th Percentile £625 £625 £745
UK excluding London median daily rate £441 £425 £475
% change year-on-year +3.82% -10.53% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 23 7 47
10th Percentile £12.43 £13.96 £12.86
25th Percentile £19.34 £16.92 £15.76
Median hourly rate £22.50 £27.00 £24.87
Median % change year-on-year -16.67% +8.56% -61.74%
75th Percentile £53.29 £46.88 £46.75
90th Percentile £79.24 £50.80 £63.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.50 £15.33 £24.87
% change year-on-year +46.77% -38.36% -60.83%

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 4,485 3,775 5,721
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.71% 12.83% 13.09%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,814 2,340 3,428
10th Percentile £238 £213 £205
25th Percentile £400 £363 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £488 £488
Median % change year-on-year +2.56% - -5.89%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £463 £475
% change year-on-year +2.70% -2.63% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 205 170 422
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.85
25th Percentile £20.75 £21.00 £17.69
Median hourly rate £47.50 £37.50 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +26.67% -6.25% +110.53%
75th Percentile £70.00 £61.44 £62.38
90th Percentile £75.00 £75.00 £69.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £55.00 £28.00 £47.50
% change year-on-year +96.43% -41.05% +156.76%

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 19 April 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 19 April 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 19 April 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 -11 470 £450 -0.11% 173
UK excluding London -4 382 £441 +3.82% 162
South East +16 148 £450 -5.26% 60
Work from Home +6 134 £450 -10.10% 70
London -25 128 £475 - 33
North of England -63 67 £450 +20.00% 35
Midlands -36 54 £320 -26.86% 28
West Midlands -33 45 £370 -15.43% 25
East of England -9 43 £338 -21.51% 16
Scotland +23 39 £388 -2.88% 10
Yorkshire -36 34 £327 +22.06% 13
North West -47 33 £500 +17.65% 17
South West -39 16 £500 +21.21% 10
Wales -1 12 £425 +6.25% 8
East Midlands -31 6 £200 -61.90% 3
Northern Ireland - 4 £468 - 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 31 (5.56%) SharePoint
2 29 (5.20%) Microsoft Exchange
3 15 (2.69%) Confluence
4 10 (1.79%) Skype for Business
5 2 (0.36%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.18%) Apache
6 1 (0.18%) IIS
6 1 (0.18%) Oracle Workflow
Applications
1 24 (4.30%) Microsoft Office
2 18 (3.23%) MS Visio
3 7 (1.25%) Microsoft Excel
4 6 (1.08%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.90%) Acrobat
6 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.18%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.36%) DELMIA
Cloud Services
1 136 (24.37%) Azure
2 86 (15.41%) Microsoft 365
3 61 (10.93%) AWS
4 42 (7.53%) Entra ID
5 18 (3.23%) SaaS
6 17 (3.05%) GCP
7 15 (2.69%) OneDrive
8 13 (2.33%) PaaS
9 9 (1.61%) Virtual Private Cloud
10 8 (1.43%) Azure ExpressRoute
10 8 (1.43%) Power Platform
11 7 (1.25%) Azure DevOps
11 7 (1.25%) PowerApps
12 6 (1.08%) IaaS
13 5 (0.90%) Nutanix
14 4 (0.72%) Google Ads
15 3 (0.54%) AWS Direct Connect
15 3 (0.54%) Microsoft Purview
16 2 (0.36%) Azure Monitor
16 2 (0.36%) IBM Watson
Communications & Networking
1 462 (82.80%) WAN
2 266 (47.67%) Firewall
3 163 (29.21%) VPN
4 147 (26.34%) BGP
5 139 (24.91%) OSPF
6 133 (23.84%) Wi-Fi
7 127 (22.76%) SD-WAN
8 114 (20.43%) DNS
9 108 (19.35%) Network Security
10 93 (16.67%) DHCP
11 87 (15.59%) Wireless
12 79 (14.16%) VLAN
13 75 (13.44%) TCP/IP
14 70 (12.54%) WLAN
15 65 (11.65%) MPLS
16 48 (8.60%) IPsec
17 44 (7.89%) Cisco ISE
18 43 (7.71%) BIG-IP
19 42 (7.53%) VXLAN
20 39 (6.99%) Cisco Nexus
Database & Business Intelligence
1 7 (1.25%) SQL Server
2 2 (0.36%) MariaDB
2 2 (0.36%) PostgreSQL
3 1 (0.18%) Amazon RDS
3 1 (0.18%) Data Warehouse
3 1 (0.18%) DynamoDB
3 1 (0.18%) MongoDB
3 1 (0.18%) MySQL
3 1 (0.18%) NoSQL
3 1 (0.18%) Oracle Reports
3 1 (0.18%) Power BI
3 1 (0.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 33 (5.91%) JIRA
2 4 (0.72%) Browser DevTools
3 3 (0.54%) Sonatype Nexus
4 2 (0.36%) GitLab
4 2 (0.36%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.18%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.18%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 153 (27.42%) Social Skills
2 59 (10.57%) Public Sector
3 49 (8.78%) Analytical Skills
4 42 (7.53%) Finance
5 32 (5.73%) Documentation Skills
6 28 (5.02%) Manufacturing
6 28 (5.02%) Telecoms
7 20 (3.58%) Legal
8 19 (3.41%) Financial Institution
9 17 (3.05%) Military
10 12 (2.15%) Organisational Skills
11 10 (1.79%) Banking
11 10 (1.79%) Law
12 8 (1.43%) Retail
13 6 (1.08%) Local Government
14 5 (0.90%) Influencing Skills
14 5 (0.90%) Police
15 4 (0.72%) Marketing
15 4 (0.72%) Presentation Skills
16 3 (0.54%) Billing
Job Titles
1 210 (37.63%) Network Engineer
2 90 (16.13%) Architect
3 64 (11.47%) Senior
4 63 (11.29%) Network Architect
5 47 (8.42%) IT Support
6 35 (6.27%) Support Engineer
7 34 (6.09%) IT Engineer
8 33 (5.91%) Analyst
9 29 (5.20%) IT Support Engineer
9 29 (5.20%) Lead
10 28 (5.02%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 28 (5.02%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 28 (5.02%) Senior Network Engineer
11 25 (4.48%) Cisco Engineer
11 25 (4.48%) Technical Architect
12 24 (4.30%) Cisco Network Engineer
13 18 (3.23%) Project Manager
14 17 (3.05%) Network Manager
15 14 (2.51%) Network Specialist
16 13 (2.33%) Firewall Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 40 (7.17%) 802.1X
2 13 (2.33%) LDAP
3 11 (1.97%) SAML
4 10 (1.79%) Microsoft Graph
5 8 (1.43%) Middleware
6 2 (0.36%) .NET
6 2 (0.36%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.36%) CSS
6 2 (0.36%) Django
6 2 (0.36%) HTML
6 2 (0.36%) NETCONF
6 2 (0.36%) REST
6 2 (0.36%) RFC 2544
6 2 (0.36%) XMPP
6 2 (0.36%) YANG
7 1 (0.18%) Apache NiFi
7 1 (0.18%) LAPP Stack
7 1 (0.18%) libvirt
7 1 (0.18%) React
7 1 (0.18%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 114 (20.43%) Data Centre
2 28 (5.02%) PKI
3 25 (4.48%) Clustering
4 23 (4.12%) Onboarding
5 18 (3.23%) Hybrid Cloud
6 14 (2.51%) Data Protection Act
7 13 (2.33%) Public Cloud
8 11 (1.97%) Security Posture
8 11 (1.97%) Self-Motivation
9 10 (1.79%) Enterprise Software
9 10 (1.79%) IoT
9 10 (1.79%) Operational Technology
10 9 (1.61%) Driving Licence
11 8 (1.43%) CMDB
11 8 (1.43%) NHS
11 8 (1.43%) Virtual Team
12 7 (1.25%) Analytical Mindset
12 7 (1.25%) iPhone
13 6 (1.08%) Smartphone
13 6 (1.08%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 175 (31.36%) Windows
2 51 (9.14%) Windows Server
3 39 (6.99%) Windows 10
4 35 (6.27%) Linux
5 15 (2.69%) Windows Server 2019
6 12 (2.15%) Android
7 11 (1.97%) Mac OS
7 11 (1.97%) Windows 7
8 8 (1.43%) Apple iOS
9 7 (1.25%) Windows Server 2016
10 6 (1.08%) VMS
11 4 (0.72%) CatOS
11 4 (0.72%) Ubuntu
11 4 (0.72%) Unix
11 4 (0.72%) Windows Server 2012
12 3 (0.54%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
13 2 (0.36%) AIX
13 2 (0.36%) Windows Server 2003
14 1 (0.18%) CentOS
14 1 (0.18%) Data ONTAP
Processes & Methodologies
1 93 (16.67%) ITIL
2 83 (14.87%) Problem-Solving
3 75 (13.44%) High Availability
4 65 (11.65%) Migration
5 56 (10.04%) Load Balancing
6 52 (9.32%) Change Management
6 52 (9.32%) ITSM
7 51 (9.14%) Stakeholder Management
8 43 (7.71%) Network Architecture
8 43 (7.71%) Network Design
9 38 (6.81%) Cybersecurity
9 38 (6.81%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 38 (6.81%) Service Management
10 34 (6.09%) Continuous Improvement
10 34 (6.09%) Disaster Recovery
11 33 (5.91%) Technical Leadership
12 32 (5.73%) Project Delivery
13 31 (5.56%) Network Monitoring
13 31 (5.56%) Roadmaps
14 30 (5.38%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 50 (8.96%) PowerShell
2 34 (6.09%) Python
3 14 (2.51%) SQL
4 11 (1.97%) VBScript
5 9 (1.61%) VB
6 3 (0.54%) JavaScript
7 2 (0.36%) Bash
7 2 (0.36%) Perl
8 1 (0.18%) Bicep
8 1 (0.18%) C
8 1 (0.18%) C#
8 1 (0.18%) C++
8 1 (0.18%) Java
8 1 (0.18%) Ruby
8 1 (0.18%) Shell Script
8 1 (0.18%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 205 (36.74%) Security Cleared
2 160 (28.67%) Cisco Certification
3 150 (26.88%) SC Cleared
4 123 (22.04%) CCNP
5 62 (11.11%) DV Cleared
6 61 (10.93%) Degree
7 49 (8.78%) CCNA
8 45 (8.06%) CCIE
9 17 (3.05%) JNCIS
10 16 (2.87%) JNCIP
11 15 (2.69%) PMP
12 12 (2.15%) Azure Certification
12 12 (2.15%) JNCIA
13 11 (1.97%) PMI Certification
14 10 (1.79%) CCSE
14 10 (1.79%) Computer Science Degree
14 10 (1.79%) Microsoft Certification
14 10 (1.79%) Network+ Certification
15 9 (1.61%) JNCIE
16 8 (1.43%) AWS Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (2.69%) SLA
2 13 (2.33%) QA
3 12 (2.15%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 11 (1.97%) NIST
5 10 (1.79%) GDPR
6 6 (1.08%) NCSC
7 5 (0.90%) Disclosure Scotland
7 5 (0.90%) PCI DSS
8 4 (0.72%) JSP 440
9 3 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials
9 3 (0.54%) PMO
10 2 (0.36%) RMADS
11 1 (0.18%) DICOM
11 1 (0.18%) GRC
11 1 (0.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 104 (18.64%) Active Directory
2 53 (9.50%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (3.94%) VMware NSX
4 14 (2.51%) vSphere
5 9 (1.61%) BitLocker
6 7 (1.25%) Hyper-V
7 5 (0.90%) Virtual Desktop
8 4 (0.72%) Docker
8 4 (0.72%) VMware ESXi
9 3 (0.54%) Virtual Machines
9 3 (0.54%) Virtual Servers
10 2 (0.36%) Firmware
10 2 (0.36%) KVM
10 2 (0.36%) ProxySG
11 1 (0.18%) Citrix Presentation Server
11 1 (0.18%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.18%) NFS
11 1 (0.18%) Samba
11 1 (0.18%) VMware Workstation
11 1 (0.18%) Xen
Systems Management
1 47 (8.42%) FortiGate
2 38 (6.81%) Microsoft Intune
3 31 (5.56%) Ansible
4 23 (4.12%) SCCM
4 23 (4.12%) Terraform
5 13 (2.33%) Jamf Pro
6 12 (2.15%) Single Sign-On
7 7 (1.25%) Nagios
8 6 (1.08%) Cisco Prime
9 5 (0.90%) Endace
9 5 (0.90%) WSUS
10 4 (0.72%) Progress Chef
10 4 (0.72%) vRealize Orchestrator
11 3 (0.54%) Cisco CUCM
11 3 (0.54%) vCenter Server
12 2 (0.36%) Check_MK
12 2 (0.36%) Grafana
12 2 (0.36%) Nessus
12 2 (0.36%) SCOM
13 1 (0.18%) WhatsUp Gold
Vendors
1 264 (47.31%) Cisco
2 119 (21.33%) Microsoft
3 112 (20.07%) Palo Alto
4 87 (15.59%) F5
5 84 (15.05%) Juniper
6 71 (12.72%) CheckPoint
7 69 (12.37%) Aruba
8 67 (12.01%) VMware
9 56 (10.04%) SolarWinds
10 55 (9.86%) Fortinet
11 33 (5.91%) ServiceNow
12 30 (5.38%) Extreme Networks
13 29 (5.20%) Meraki
14 28 (5.02%) Splunk
15 22 (3.94%) Zscaler
16 16 (2.87%) Dell
17 15 (2.69%) Ekahau
17 15 (2.69%) Veeam
18 10 (1.79%) Citrix
19 9 (1.61%) Arista