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 16 February 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 232 182 131
Rank change year-on-year -50 -51 +44
Contract jobs citing LAN 468 444 836
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.17% 1.45% 1.87%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 11.35% 10.98% 13.93%
Number of daily rates quoted 309 272 505
10th Percentile £206 £223 £200
25th Percentile £309 £350 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £440 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year -7.37% +5.56% -
75th Percentile £538 £575 £588
90th Percentile £600 £675 £729
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £438 £450
% change year-on-year -2.86% -2.78% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 24 12 39
10th Percentile £12.53 £18.65 £15.67
25th Percentile £15.50 £20.00 £20.75
Median hourly rate £22.50 £20.19 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year +11.46% -49.53% -15.79%
75th Percentile £35.00 £34.06 £48.75
90th Percentile £64.77 £42.88 £63.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £20.75 £20.00 £40.00
% change year-on-year +3.75% -50.00% +21.21%

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 4,125 4,044 6,002
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 10.34% 13.18% 13.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,708 2,390 3,584
10th Percentile £204 £210 £205
25th Percentile £356 £360 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £483
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +3.63% -7.21%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £681 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £470 £475
% change year-on-year -4.26% -1.05% +1.06%
Number of hourly rates quoted 166 126 401
10th Percentile £15.50 £15.85 £14.36
25th Percentile £18.59 £21.46 £20.82
Median hourly rate £28.38 £32.50 £47.50
Median % change year-on-year -12.68% -31.58% +138.93%
75th Percentile £65.00 £60.09 £65.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £40.54 £26.00 £52.21
% change year-on-year +55.92% -50.20% +161.03%

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 16 February 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 16 February 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 16 February 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 -57 389 £450 -5.26% 225
UK excluding London -54 298 £425 -2.86% 198
London -29 129 £475 -5.00% 69
Work from Home 0 125 £445 -11.00% 87
South East -14 90 £448 +8.48% 64
North of England -77 58 £378 -15.17% 40
Midlands -52 45 £340 -32.00% 23
Scotland +34 41 £275 -31.25% 21
West Midlands -33 38 £450 -12.20% 22
East of England -24 33 £350 -34.88% 19
North West -46 30 £483 +7.22% 22
Yorkshire -55 28 £275 +18.39% 13
South West -42 17 £506 +21.62% 27
Wales +2 8 £335 +11.67% 10
East Midlands -35 7 £200 -42.86% 1
Northern Ireland +1 5 £475 -

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 35 (7.48%) SharePoint
2 27 (5.77%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (2.78%) Confluence
4 10 (2.14%) Skype for Business
5 8 (1.71%) OpenStack
6 1 (0.21%) Apache
6 1 (0.21%) IIS
Applications
1 42 (8.97%) Microsoft Office
2 24 (5.13%) MS Visio
3 16 (3.42%) Microsoft Excel
4 15 (3.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (1.07%) Acrobat
6 4 (0.85%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.21%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.43%) DELMIA
2 1 (0.21%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 100 (21.37%) Azure
2 67 (14.32%) Microsoft 365
3 54 (11.54%) AWS
4 34 (7.26%) Entra ID
5 20 (4.27%) GCP
6 15 (3.21%) SaaS
7 13 (2.78%) OneDrive
8 9 (1.92%) Virtual Private Cloud
9 7 (1.50%) PaaS
9 7 (1.50%) Power Platform
10 5 (1.07%) Nutanix
10 5 (1.07%) PowerApps
11 4 (0.85%) Azure DevOps
11 4 (0.85%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 4 (0.85%) Microsoft Purview
12 3 (0.64%) AWS Direct Connect
12 3 (0.64%) OpenShift
12 3 (0.64%) Serverless
12 3 (0.64%) WhatsApp
13 2 (0.43%) Azure Service Bus
Communications & Networking
1 381 (81.41%) WAN
2 182 (38.89%) Firewall
3 150 (32.05%) VPN
4 104 (22.22%) Wi-Fi
5 100 (21.37%) BGP
6 91 (19.44%) SD-WAN
7 87 (18.59%) OSPF
8 83 (17.74%) DNS
9 82 (17.52%) Network Security
10 74 (15.81%) TCP/IP
11 71 (15.17%) Wireless
12 69 (14.74%) MPLS
13 68 (14.53%) VLAN
14 63 (13.46%) DHCP
15 48 (10.26%) WLAN
16 42 (8.97%) IPsec
17 30 (6.41%) Cisco Nexus
18 29 (6.20%) Cisco ASA
18 29 (6.20%) Structured Cabling
19 20 (4.27%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (1.28%) SQL Server
2 4 (0.85%) MS Access
3 2 (0.43%) MariaDB
3 2 (0.43%) PostgreSQL
3 2 (0.43%) Power BI
4 1 (0.21%) Amazon RDS
4 1 (0.21%) Apache Cassandra
4 1 (0.21%) Data Warehouse
4 1 (0.21%) DynamoDB
4 1 (0.21%) MongoDB
4 1 (0.21%) MySQL
4 1 (0.21%) NoSQL
4 1 (0.21%) Oracle Database
4 1 (0.21%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 25 (5.34%) JIRA
2 2 (0.43%) Sonatype Nexus
3 1 (0.21%) Bitbucket
3 1 (0.21%) Git
3 1 (0.21%) GitLab
3 1 (0.21%) Jenkins
3 1 (0.21%) Tricentis qTest
General
1 148 (31.62%) Social Skills
2 53 (11.32%) Public Sector
3 52 (11.11%) Analytical Skills
4 40 (8.55%) Finance
4 40 (8.55%) Telecoms
5 37 (7.91%) Documentation Skills
6 27 (5.77%) Manufacturing
7 17 (3.63%) Military
8 14 (2.99%) Legal
9 12 (2.56%) Organisational Skills
10 11 (2.35%) Banking
11 9 (1.92%) Financial Institution
11 9 (1.92%) Presentation Skills
12 7 (1.50%) Local Government
13 6 (1.28%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 6 (1.28%) Law
13 6 (1.28%) Marketing
14 5 (1.07%) Electronics
14 5 (1.07%) Retail
15 4 (0.85%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 158 (33.76%) Network Engineer
2 76 (16.24%) Architect
3 55 (11.75%) Network Architect
4 42 (8.97%) Senior
5 38 (8.12%) Analyst
6 36 (7.69%) IT Support
7 34 (7.26%) Support Engineer
8 26 (5.56%) IT Engineer
9 24 (5.13%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 22 (4.70%) Lead
11 21 (4.49%) IT Support Engineer
11 21 (4.49%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
12 20 (4.27%) Cisco Engineer
12 20 (4.27%) Project Manager
13 19 (4.06%) 2nd Line Support
13 19 (4.06%) Cisco Network Engineer
14 18 (3.85%) Support Analyst
15 17 (3.63%) Field Engineer
15 17 (3.63%) Senior Network Engineer
15 17 (3.63%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (2.14%) LDAP
2 8 (1.71%) Microsoft Graph
3 7 (1.50%) Middleware
4 6 (1.28%) SAML
5 5 (1.07%) 802.1X
5 5 (1.07%) NETCONF
5 5 (1.07%) REST
5 5 (1.07%) YANG
6 2 (0.43%) ARM Templates
6 2 (0.43%) CSS
6 2 (0.43%) Django
6 2 (0.43%) HTML
6 2 (0.43%) RFC 2544
6 2 (0.43%) XMPP
6 2 (0.43%) YAML
7 1 (0.21%) .NET
7 1 (0.21%) EDI
7 1 (0.21%) Java RMI
7 1 (0.21%) LAMP
7 1 (0.21%) SOAP
Miscellaneous
1 90 (19.23%) Data Centre
2 21 (4.49%) Onboarding
3 19 (4.06%) Hybrid Cloud
4 18 (3.85%) Driving Licence
5 15 (3.21%) CMDB
6 14 (2.99%) Data Protection Act
6 14 (2.99%) NHS
7 9 (1.92%) Management Information System
7 9 (1.92%) Operational Technology
7 9 (1.92%) PKI
7 9 (1.92%) Virtual Team
8 8 (1.71%) IoT
8 8 (1.71%) Self-Motivation
9 7 (1.50%) Security Posture
10 6 (1.28%) Cloud Native
10 6 (1.28%) SCADA
11 5 (1.07%) CCTV
11 5 (1.07%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (1.07%) iPhone
11 5 (1.07%) Video Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 125 (26.71%) Windows
2 45 (9.62%) Windows Server
3 41 (8.76%) Windows 10
4 19 (4.06%) Linux
5 15 (3.21%) Windows Server 2019
6 12 (2.56%) Android
6 12 (2.56%) Windows Server 2016
7 10 (2.14%) Windows 7
8 8 (1.71%) Apple iOS
9 7 (1.50%) Mac OS
10 5 (1.07%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.85%) CatOS
12 3 (0.64%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 3 (0.64%) Ubuntu
12 3 (0.64%) VMS
13 2 (0.43%) Windows Server 2003
14 1 (0.21%) AIX
14 1 (0.21%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 74 (15.81%) Problem-Solving
2 61 (13.03%) ITIL
3 59 (12.61%) Migration
4 51 (10.90%) Network Design
5 48 (10.26%) Stakeholder Management
6 46 (9.83%) Network Architecture
7 41 (8.76%) Cybersecurity
8 40 (8.55%) ITSM
9 38 (8.12%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 36 (7.69%) Project Delivery
11 34 (7.26%) Change Management
11 34 (7.26%) High Availability
12 32 (6.84%) Network Monitoring
13 30 (6.41%) Customer Service
14 27 (5.77%) Continuous Improvement
14 27 (5.77%) Zero Trust
15 25 (5.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 24 (5.13%) Service Management
17 23 (4.91%) Agile
17 23 (4.91%) Disaster Recovery
Programming Languages
1 44 (9.40%) PowerShell
2 37 (7.91%) Python
3 11 (2.35%) SQL
3 11 (2.35%) VBScript
4 9 (1.92%) VB
5 3 (0.64%) JavaScript
5 3 (0.64%) Perl
6 2 (0.43%) Bash
6 2 (0.43%) Bicep
7 1 (0.21%) C#
7 1 (0.21%) Ruby
7 1 (0.21%) Shell Script
7 1 (0.21%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 138 (29.49%) Security Cleared
2 130 (27.78%) Cisco Certification
3 111 (23.72%) SC Cleared
4 107 (22.86%) CCNP
5 58 (12.39%) Degree
6 44 (9.40%) CCNA
7 42 (8.97%) CCIE
8 38 (8.12%) DV Cleared
9 16 (3.42%) JNCIE
10 12 (2.56%) JNCIP
10 12 (2.56%) JNCIS
11 11 (2.35%) AWS Certification
11 11 (2.35%) Network+ Certification
11 11 (2.35%) PMI Certification
11 11 (2.35%) PMP
12 10 (2.14%) Azure Certification
12 10 (2.14%) CCSE
12 10 (2.14%) Microsoft Certification
13 7 (1.50%) CISSP
14 6 (1.28%) ECDL
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 14 (2.99%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 10 (2.14%) NIST
2 10 (2.14%) SLA
3 9 (1.92%) GDPR
4 7 (1.50%) PCI DSS
4 7 (1.50%) QA
5 6 (1.28%) NCSC
6 5 (1.07%) PMO
7 4 (0.85%) Cyber Essentials
8 3 (0.64%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.43%) RMADS
10 1 (0.21%) Accessibility
10 1 (0.21%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.21%) GRC
10 1 (0.21%) MiFID
10 1 (0.21%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 88 (18.80%) Active Directory
2 34 (7.26%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (4.06%) VMware NSX
4 9 (1.92%) BitLocker
5 8 (1.71%) vSphere
6 7 (1.50%) Hyper-V
7 5 (1.07%) Virtual Desktop
8 4 (0.85%) Docker
8 4 (0.85%) VMware ESXi
9 2 (0.43%) KVM
9 2 (0.43%) ProxySG
10 1 (0.21%) Ceph
10 1 (0.21%) Citrix Presentation Server
10 1 (0.21%) Firmware
10 1 (0.21%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.21%) NFS
10 1 (0.21%) RHEV
10 1 (0.21%) Samba
10 1 (0.21%) VMware Workstation
10 1 (0.21%) Xen
Systems Management
1 36 (7.69%) Ansible
1 36 (7.69%) Microsoft Intune
2 28 (5.98%) Terraform
3 22 (4.70%) FortiGate
3 22 (4.70%) SCCM
4 11 (2.35%) Jamf Pro
5 9 (1.92%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (1.07%) Cisco Prime
7 4 (0.85%) Nagios
7 4 (0.85%) WSUS
8 3 (0.64%) Cisco CUCM
8 3 (0.64%) Endace
8 3 (0.64%) Grafana
8 3 (0.64%) SCOM
9 2 (0.43%) Check_MK
9 2 (0.43%) Nessus
9 2 (0.43%) vCenter Server
10 1 (0.21%) Backup Exec
10 1 (0.21%) Norton AntiVirus
10 1 (0.21%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 210 (44.87%) Cisco
2 105 (22.44%) Microsoft
3 92 (19.66%) Palo Alto
4 58 (12.39%) CheckPoint
5 54 (11.54%) Fortinet
6 51 (10.90%) Juniper
7 49 (10.47%) Aruba
7 49 (10.47%) VMware
8 41 (8.76%) F5
9 32 (6.84%) ServiceNow
10 31 (6.62%) Meraki
10 31 (6.62%) SolarWinds
11 21 (4.49%) Zscaler
12 14 (2.99%) Veeam
13 11 (2.35%) Arista
13 11 (2.35%) Citrix
14 10 (2.14%) Dell
14 10 (2.14%) Extreme Networks
15 8 (1.71%) SAP
16 7 (1.50%) CrowdStrike