VLAN Contract Job Trends

Virtual LAN (VLAN)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring VLAN skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 19 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 366 373 426
Rank change year-on-year +7 +53 -45
Contract jobs citing VLAN 320 184 155
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 0.60% 0.56% 0.37%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 6.36% 4.62% 2.95%
Number of daily rates quoted 218 110 103
10th Percentile £304 £189 £190
25th Percentile £400 £325 £271
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £474 £425 £425
Median % change year-on-year +11.57% - -10.53%
75th Percentile £584 £519 £550
90th Percentile £632 £639 £623
UK excluding London median daily rate £498 £447 £375
% change year-on-year +11.30% +19.20% -16.67%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 1 0
10th Percentile £12.43 - -
25th Percentile £18.50 £56.25 -
Median hourly rate £47.00 £57.50 -
Median % change year-on-year -18.26% - -
75th Percentile £74.00 £58.75 -
90th Percentile £76.50 - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £47.00 - -

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK

VLAN 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 5,032 3,979 5,251
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.50% 12.14% 12.48%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,041 2,428 3,120
10th Percentile £250 £235 £213
25th Percentile £400 £375 £357
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £488 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.56% -2.50% -
75th Percentile £588 £594 £600
90th Percentile £670 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £487 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +2.53% -5.00% +8.70%
Number of hourly rates quoted 332 192 401
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.50
25th Percentile £19.34 £25.11 £16.86
Median hourly rate £26.22 £48.75 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year -46.22% +21.88% -11.11%
75th Percentile £65.00 £65.00 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.26 £83.90 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £26.22 £42.50 £47.50
% change year-on-year -38.31% -10.53% -16.67%

VLAN
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing VLAN relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

VLAN job vacancy trend in the UK

VLAN
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing VLAN.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing VLAN

VLAN
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing VLAN over the 6 months to 19 July 2026.

Daily rate histogram for VLAN in the UK

VLAN
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing VLAN.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing VLAN

VLAN
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing VLAN over the 6 months to 19 July 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for VLAN in the UK

VLAN
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 VLAN within the UK over the 6 months to 19 July 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 -13 285 £475 +11.76% 147
UK excluding London -31 179 £498 +11.30% 132
Work from Home +4 87 £425 +6.25% 39
London -52 84 £450 +12.43% 49
North of England -33 55 £500 +11.86% 20
South East -54 42 £525 +16.67% 58
North West -26 36 £575 +23.66% 12
South West -14 31 £495 +65.00% 15
Midlands -45 29 £413 -7.30% 17
Yorkshire -33 18 £413 +37.39% 6
East Midlands -7 14 £275 -57.69% 6
West Midlands -63 14 £413 +13.01% 11
East of England -22 12 £581 +144.74% 15
Scotland -12 9 £388 -14.84% 8
Wales -11 3 £175 -61.54% 4
North East -36 1 - - 2

VLAN
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 13 (4.06%) Microsoft Exchange
2 12 (3.75%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.94%) Apache
3 3 (0.94%) FactoryTalk
3 3 (0.94%) OpenStack
4 2 (0.63%) CloudStack
5 1 (0.31%) JBoss
5 1 (0.31%) Oracle Workflow
5 1 (0.31%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 2 (0.63%) Microsoft Excel
1 2 (0.63%) Microsoft Office
1 2 (0.63%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 1 (0.31%) Remedy ITSM
Cloud Services
1 86 (26.88%) Azure
2 41 (12.81%) AWS
3 29 (9.06%) Microsoft 365
4 28 (8.75%) Entra ID
5 17 (5.31%) GCP
6 15 (4.69%) GitHub
7 13 (4.06%) IaaS
8 12 (3.75%) Azure ExpressRoute
8 12 (3.75%) Nutanix
9 8 (2.50%) PaaS
9 8 (2.50%) SaaS
10 7 (2.19%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (2.19%) Datadog
10 7 (2.19%) Virtual Private Cloud
11 6 (1.88%) OneDrive
12 5 (1.56%) Cohesity
13 4 (1.25%) Azure Monitor
13 4 (1.25%) Azure Sentinel
13 4 (1.25%) Azure Stack
14 3 (0.94%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 201 (62.81%) Firewall
2 120 (37.50%) BGP
3 114 (35.63%) DNS
4 111 (34.69%) OSPF
5 100 (31.25%) VPN
6 94 (29.38%) DHCP
7 88 (27.50%) WAN
8 77 (24.06%) LAN
9 75 (23.44%) Network Security
9 75 (23.44%) TCP/IP
10 57 (17.81%) Wireless
11 48 (15.00%) SAN
12 43 (13.44%) Wi-Fi
13 36 (11.25%) SD-WAN
14 32 (10.00%) Cisco Nexus
15 31 (9.69%) VXLAN
16 29 (9.06%) NX-OS
17 28 (8.75%) MPLS
18 26 (8.13%) NAS
19 24 (7.50%) Cisco IOS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 15 (4.69%) SQL Server
2 1 (0.31%) OpenStack Swift
Development Applications
1 9 (2.81%) Git
1 9 (2.81%) JIRA
2 8 (2.50%) Jenkins
3 7 (2.19%) Chocolatey
4 4 (1.25%) Sonatype Nexus
5 2 (0.63%) Browser DevTools
5 2 (0.63%) GitLab
6 1 (0.31%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.31%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.31%) MSI
General
1 85 (26.56%) Social Skills
2 32 (10.00%) Analytical Skills
3 25 (7.81%) Documentation Skills
4 21 (6.56%) Finance
5 15 (4.69%) Telecoms
6 14 (4.38%) Public Sector
7 11 (3.44%) Banking
8 9 (2.81%) Manufacturing
9 8 (2.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 8 (2.50%) Legal
10 7 (2.19%) Organisational Skills
10 7 (2.19%) Pharmaceutical
10 7 (2.19%) Retail
11 5 (1.56%) Police
12 3 (0.94%) Influencing Skills
13 2 (0.63%) Automotive
13 2 (0.63%) Aviation
13 2 (0.63%) French Language
13 2 (0.63%) Law
13 2 (0.63%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 146 (45.63%) Network Engineer
2 52 (16.25%) Infrastructure Engineer
3 47 (14.69%) Senior
4 37 (11.56%) Architect
5 31 (9.69%) Senior Network Engineer
6 25 (7.81%) IT Engineer
7 23 (7.19%) Network Architect
8 16 (5.00%) Support Engineer
9 15 (4.69%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
10 14 (4.38%) Cisco Engineer
11 13 (4.06%) IT Support
11 13 (4.06%) Senior Data Warehouse Specialist
11 13 (4.06%) Technical Architect
12 12 (3.75%) Azure Engineer
12 12 (3.75%) Cisco Network Engineer
12 12 (3.75%) Network Specialist
13 11 (3.44%) Network Infrastructure Engineer
13 11 (3.44%) Security Engineer
14 10 (3.13%) Network Security Engineer
15 9 (2.81%) Senior Network Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (5.00%) 802.1X
2 6 (1.88%) REST
3 2 (0.63%) .NET
3 2 (0.63%) cloud-init
3 2 (0.63%) Microsoft Graph
3 2 (0.63%) ModSecurity
3 2 (0.63%) NETCONF
3 2 (0.63%) RFC 2544
4 1 (0.31%) CSS
4 1 (0.31%) HTML
4 1 (0.31%) LDAP
4 1 (0.31%) Model Context Protocol
Miscellaneous
1 103 (32.19%) Data Centre
2 20 (6.25%) Replication
3 17 (5.31%) Hybrid Cloud
3 17 (5.31%) Onboarding
4 13 (4.06%) Self-Motivation
5 12 (3.75%) Driving Licence
5 12 (3.75%) Operational Technology
6 11 (3.44%) PKI
7 9 (2.81%) Cloud Native
7 9 (2.81%) Linux Command Line
8 8 (2.50%) Virtual Team
9 7 (2.19%) Cyber Threat
9 7 (2.19%) SCADA
10 6 (1.88%) Life Science
10 6 (1.88%) Private Cloud
11 5 (1.56%) Analytical Mindset
11 5 (1.56%) Clustering
11 5 (1.56%) Digital Signage
12 4 (1.25%) Management Information System
12 4 (1.25%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 64 (20.00%) Windows
2 36 (11.25%) Windows Server
3 30 (9.38%) Linux
4 17 (5.31%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 9 (2.81%) Windows 10
6 7 (2.19%) VMS
7 6 (1.88%) Rocky
7 6 (1.88%) Ubuntu
8 5 (1.56%) CentOS
9 4 (1.25%) SUSE
10 3 (0.94%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.63%) Unix
11 2 (0.63%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.31%) Debian
12 1 (0.31%) Mac OS
12 1 (0.31%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 71 (22.19%) Migration
2 63 (19.69%) Infrastructure Engineering
3 57 (17.81%) Problem-Solving
4 50 (15.63%) Validation
5 45 (14.06%) ITSM
6 43 (13.44%) Network Segmentation
7 34 (10.63%) High Availability
7 34 (10.63%) Network Design
7 34 (10.63%) Project Delivery
8 31 (9.69%) ITIL
9 28 (8.75%) Runbook
9 28 (8.75%) Zero Trust
10 27 (8.44%) Continuous Improvement
11 26 (8.13%) Disaster Recovery
12 21 (6.56%) Cybersecurity
12 21 (6.56%) Network Monitoring
13 19 (5.94%) Mentoring
14 18 (5.63%) Change Control
14 18 (5.63%) Infrastructure as Code
15 17 (5.31%) Infrastructure Automation
Programming Languages
1 59 (18.44%) Python
2 30 (9.38%) PowerShell
3 22 (6.88%) Bash
4 5 (1.56%) ActionScript
5 3 (0.94%) SQL
5 3 (0.94%) VBScript
6 2 (0.63%) Java
7 1 (0.31%) Bicep
7 1 (0.31%) C++
7 1 (0.31%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.31%) Ladder Logic
7 1 (0.31%) Perl
7 1 (0.31%) Shell Script
7 1 (0.31%) VB
Qualifications
1 110 (34.38%) Security Cleared
2 87 (27.19%) Cisco Certification
3 82 (25.63%) SC Cleared
4 77 (24.06%) CCNP
5 55 (17.19%) CCNA
6 29 (9.06%) DV Cleared
7 21 (6.56%) Network+ Certification
8 18 (5.63%) Degree
9 17 (5.31%) Server+ Certification
10 12 (3.75%) CCIE
11 9 (2.81%) Azure Certification
12 7 (2.19%) Microsoft Certification
13 5 (1.56%) Computer Science Degree
13 5 (1.56%) JNCIS
14 4 (1.25%) CISSP
14 4 (1.25%) ISTQB
14 4 (1.25%) JNCIP
15 3 (0.94%) AWS Certification
15 3 (0.94%) JNCIA
15 3 (0.94%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 10 (3.13%) NCSC
1 10 (3.13%) QA
2 8 (2.50%) SLA
3 6 (1.88%) GxP
3 6 (1.88%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 5 (1.56%) NIST
5 4 (1.25%) Cyber Essentials
5 4 (1.25%) GDPR
6 3 (0.94%) 21 CFR Part 11
6 3 (0.94%) NIST 800
7 2 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 2 (0.63%) GMP
7 2 (0.63%) JSP 440
7 2 (0.63%) PCI DSS
8 1 (0.31%) DICOM
8 1 (0.31%) GRC
8 1 (0.31%) ISO/IEC 20000
System Software
1 53 (16.56%) VMware Infrastructure
2 46 (14.38%) Active Directory
3 24 (7.50%) vSphere
4 22 (6.88%) Virtual Machines
5 20 (6.25%) Hyper-V
6 19 (5.94%) VMware ESXi
7 14 (4.38%) Firmware
8 11 (3.44%) VMware NSX
9 9 (2.81%) NFS
10 6 (1.88%) Virtual Desktop
11 3 (0.94%) KVM
12 2 (0.63%) Ceph
12 2 (0.63%) VirtualBox
13 1 (0.31%) BitLocker
13 1 (0.31%) Docker
13 1 (0.31%) iptables
13 1 (0.31%) ProxySG
13 1 (0.31%) QEMU
13 1 (0.31%) Samba
13 1 (0.31%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 45 (14.06%) Ansible
2 31 (9.69%) Terraform
3 26 (8.13%) FortiGate
4 20 (6.25%) Microsoft Intune
5 12 (3.75%) vCenter Server
6 10 (3.13%) SCCM
7 8 (2.50%) WSUS
8 7 (2.19%) Cisco Prime
9 6 (1.88%) Red Hat Satellite
9 6 (1.88%) Single Sign-On
9 6 (1.88%) VxRail
10 5 (1.56%) Grafana
10 5 (1.56%) NetBackup
11 4 (1.25%) Failover Clustering
11 4 (1.25%) Kubernetes
12 3 (0.94%) Iperf
12 3 (0.94%) Microsoft Clustering
12 3 (0.94%) PowerCLI
12 3 (0.94%) SELinux
12 3 (0.94%) systemd
Vendors
1 172 (53.75%) Cisco
2 72 (22.50%) VMware
3 65 (20.31%) Palo Alto
4 58 (18.13%) Fortinet
4 58 (18.13%) Microsoft
5 42 (13.13%) F5
6 37 (11.56%) Juniper
7 30 (9.38%) CheckPoint
8 23 (7.19%) Aruba
9 22 (6.88%) ServiceNow
10 19 (5.94%) Veeam
11 16 (5.00%) SolarWinds
12 15 (4.69%) Meraki
13 14 (4.38%) Zscaler
14 13 (4.06%) Arista
15 10 (3.13%) Citrix
15 10 (3.13%) Ekahau
16 9 (2.81%) Dynatrace
16 9 (2.81%) NetApp
17 8 (2.50%) Dell