VPN Contract Job Trends

Virtual Private Network (VPN)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring VPN skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 7 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 194 133 151
Rank change year-on-year -61 +18 +39
Contract jobs citing VPN 687 602 682
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.39% 2.06% 1.57%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 14.33% 16.42% 12.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 436 405 416
10th Percentile £200 £225 £198
25th Percentile £356 £313 £275
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £475 £425
Median % change year-on-year - +11.76% -10.53%
75th Percentile £557 £588 £575
90th Percentile £638 £638 £788
UK excluding London median daily rate £450 £450 £425
% change year-on-year - +5.88% -5.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 6 7 39
10th Percentile - £16.97 £12.75
25th Percentile £12.43 £18.13 £13.87
Median hourly rate £12.56 £36.65 £16.86
Median % change year-on-year -65.73% +117.35% -20.55%
75th Percentile £20.95 £40.99 £23.17
90th Percentile £24.43 £45.18 £25.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £12.56 £18.13 £14.27
% change year-on-year -30.72% +27.05% -32.75%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK

VPN 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 4,794 3,666 5,427
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 9.68% 12.54% 12.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,935 2,266 3,233
10th Percentile £263 £218 £206
25th Percentile £400 £360 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £481 £495
Median % change year-on-year +4.06% -2.93% -3.41%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £466 £475
% change year-on-year +1.99% -1.95% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 283 165 417
10th Percentile £16.01 £14.99 £13.50
25th Percentile £21.25 £18.13 £16.30
Median hourly rate £29.04 £44.00 £40.00
Median % change year-on-year -34.00% +10.00% +118.16%
75th Percentile £65.00 £61.25 £63.75
90th Percentile £74.85 £80.61 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £35.22 £32.50 £45.88
% change year-on-year +8.37% -29.16% +154.89%

VPN
Job Vacancy Trend

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

VPN job vacancy trend in the UK

VPN
Daily Rate Trend

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

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

VPN
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing VPN over the 6 months to 7 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for VPN in the UK

VPN
Hourly Rate Trend

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

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

VPN
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing VPN over the 6 months to 7 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for VPN in the UK

VPN
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 VPN within the UK over the 6 months to 7 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 -51 593 £490 +3.16% 309
UK excluding London -37 399 £450 - 266
London -73 221 £500 - 83
Work from Home -40 178 £500 - 137
North of England -37 113 £498 +6.99% 43
South East -29 112 £475 -3.06% 94
North West -8 87 £508 +6.84% 23
Midlands -6 85 £288 +13.52% 46
West Midlands -18 81 £288 +13.52% 32
Scotland +14 44 £178 -58.24% 12
East of England -13 39 £475 +90.00% 33
South West -33 39 £525 -8.70% 32
Yorkshire -49 24 £419 +78.19% 13
East Midlands -24 4 £275 - 14
North East -26 2 £625 +108.33% 7
Wales -26 1 £600 +37.14% 12
Northern Ireland - 1 - - 4

VPN
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 55 (8.01%) SharePoint
2 30 (4.37%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (2.04%) Confluence
4 12 (1.75%) nginx
5 8 (1.16%) HCL Notes
6 4 (0.58%) Skype for Business
7 2 (0.29%) ArcGIS
8 1 (0.15%) Traefik
Applications
1 43 (6.26%) Microsoft Office
2 16 (2.33%) MS Visio
3 9 (1.31%) Microsoft Excel
4 6 (0.87%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.29%) AutoCAD
5 2 (0.29%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 9 (1.31%) Remedy ITSM
2 5 (0.73%) Maximo
3 3 (0.44%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.15%) Cloudability
4 1 (0.15%) SAP MDG
4 1 (0.15%) SAP MM
4 1 (0.15%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 260 (37.85%) Azure
2 154 (22.42%) AWS
3 139 (20.23%) Microsoft 365
4 100 (14.56%) GCP
5 82 (11.94%) Entra ID
6 44 (6.40%) Azure ExpressRoute
6 44 (6.40%) GitHub
7 38 (5.53%) Virtual Private Cloud
8 32 (4.66%) OneDrive
9 27 (3.93%) PaaS
10 24 (3.49%) Azure Monitor
10 24 (3.49%) IaaS
11 23 (3.35%) Amazon EKS
11 23 (3.35%) Serverless
12 22 (3.20%) AWS Direct Connect
12 22 (3.20%) GitHub Actions
13 21 (3.06%) Azure DevOps
14 19 (2.77%) Azure Sentinel
14 19 (2.77%) Power Platform
15 18 (2.62%) Azure AKS
Communications & Networking
1 354 (51.53%) Firewall
2 229 (33.33%) DNS
3 203 (29.55%) WAN
4 172 (25.04%) Network Security
5 160 (23.29%) LAN
6 113 (16.45%) BGP
7 103 (14.99%) TCP/IP
8 100 (14.56%) SD-WAN
9 99 (14.41%) DHCP
10 93 (13.54%) Wi-Fi
11 81 (11.79%) VLAN
12 69 (10.04%) OSPF
13 59 (8.59%) MPLS
14 56 (8.15%) IPsec
14 56 (8.15%) Wireless
15 45 (6.55%) Multicast
16 44 (6.40%) DMZ
17 41 (5.97%) SSL
18 35 (5.09%) Cisco Nexus
19 32 (4.66%) Cisco ASA
Database & Business Intelligence
1 19 (2.77%) Elasticsearch
2 13 (1.89%) Power BI
3 12 (1.75%) SQL Server
4 7 (1.02%) Amazon RDS
5 4 (0.58%) PostgreSQL
5 4 (0.58%) Relational Database
6 3 (0.44%) Big Data
7 2 (0.29%) Azure SQL Database
7 2 (0.29%) Data Warehouse
7 2 (0.29%) GIS
7 2 (0.29%) MongoDB
7 2 (0.29%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.15%) Apache Hive
8 1 (0.15%) BigQuery
8 1 (0.15%) DynamoDB
8 1 (0.15%) Enterprise Data Warehouse
8 1 (0.15%) Hadoop
8 1 (0.15%) Impala
8 1 (0.15%) MySQL
8 1 (0.15%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 27 (3.93%) JIRA
2 19 (2.77%) Jenkins
3 14 (2.04%) GitLab
4 11 (1.60%) Git
5 9 (1.31%) Chocolatey
6 7 (1.02%) Bitbucket
6 7 (1.02%) SonarQube
7 5 (0.73%) Sonatype Nexus
8 4 (0.58%) Browser DevTools
9 2 (0.29%) MSI
10 1 (0.15%) AppScan
10 1 (0.15%) Burp Suite
10 1 (0.15%) Metasploit
General
1 191 (27.80%) Social Skills
2 75 (10.92%) Analytical Skills
3 66 (9.61%) Finance
4 58 (8.44%) Banking
5 46 (6.70%) Public Sector
6 30 (4.37%) Documentation Skills
7 27 (3.93%) Legal
8 25 (3.64%) Investment Banking
9 17 (2.47%) Telecoms
10 12 (1.75%) Organisational Skills
11 10 (1.46%) Retail
12 9 (1.31%) Front Office
12 9 (1.31%) Law
13 6 (0.87%) Manufacturing
14 5 (0.73%) Financial Institution
14 5 (0.73%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 4 (0.58%) Italian Language
15 4 (0.58%) Local Government
16 3 (0.44%) Influencing Skills
16 3 (0.44%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 205 (29.84%) Network Engineer
2 118 (17.18%) Architect
3 72 (10.48%) Security Engineer
4 65 (9.46%) Senior
5 61 (8.88%) IT Support
6 53 (7.71%) Network Security Engineer
7 46 (6.70%) Support Engineer
8 40 (5.82%) Cisco Engineer
8 40 (5.82%) Infrastructure Engineer
9 37 (5.39%) Cisco Network Engineer
9 37 (5.39%) Network Architect
10 36 (5.24%) Data Network Engineer
10 36 (5.24%) DevOps Engineer
11 35 (5.09%) IT Engineer
12 34 (4.95%) Technical Architect
13 33 (4.80%) Data Engineer
14 32 (4.66%) Cisco Security Engineer
15 31 (4.51%) AWS Architect
15 31 (4.51%) Azure Engineer
15 31 (4.51%) Cloud Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 26 (3.78%) LDAP
2 18 (2.62%) 802.1X
3 16 (2.33%) Middleware
3 16 (2.33%) SAML
4 10 (1.46%) OpenID
5 8 (1.16%) ARM Templates
6 4 (0.58%) HTML
7 3 (0.44%) CSS
7 3 (0.44%) React
7 3 (0.44%) YAML
8 2 (0.29%) AWS CDK
8 2 (0.29%) Django
8 2 (0.29%) Elastic Stack
8 2 (0.29%) FIDO
8 2 (0.29%) Microsoft Graph
8 2 (0.29%) OAuth
8 2 (0.29%) RFC 2544
8 2 (0.29%) SAP Basis
8 2 (0.29%) Web Services
8 2 (0.29%) XMPP
Miscellaneous
1 127 (18.49%) Data Centre
2 54 (7.86%) Onboarding
3 40 (5.82%) Cloud Native
4 37 (5.39%) PKI
5 33 (4.80%) Hybrid Cloud
6 19 (2.77%) Management Information System
7 17 (2.47%) Public Cloud
8 16 (2.33%) Security Posture
9 15 (2.18%) Enterprise Software
10 14 (2.04%) Operational Technology
11 13 (1.89%) Clustering
12 11 (1.60%) Data Protection Act
13 10 (1.46%) Self-Motivation
14 9 (1.31%) Driving Licence
15 8 (1.16%) Blackberry
15 8 (1.16%) Cyber Threat
15 8 (1.16%) Enterprise Storage
15 8 (1.16%) Replication
15 8 (1.16%) SCADA
16 7 (1.02%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 217 (31.59%) Windows
2 79 (11.50%) Linux
3 58 (8.44%) Windows 10
3 58 (8.44%) Windows Server
4 32 (4.66%) Mac OS
5 17 (2.47%) Android
5 17 (2.47%) Apple iOS
6 10 (1.46%) Ubuntu
7 8 (1.16%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 8 (1.16%) Windows Server 2003
8 7 (1.02%) Unix
8 7 (1.02%) VMS
9 4 (0.58%) Windows 7
10 3 (0.44%) SUSE
11 2 (0.29%) CatOS
11 2 (0.29%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.15%) CentOS
12 1 (0.15%) Debian
12 1 (0.15%) Kali Linux
12 1 (0.15%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 113 (16.45%) ITIL
2 112 (16.30%) Problem-Solving
3 102 (14.85%) DevOps
4 101 (14.70%) Load Balancing
5 81 (11.79%) Infrastructure as Code
5 81 (11.79%) Migration
6 77 (11.21%) CI/CD
7 74 (10.77%) ITSM
8 73 (10.63%) High Availability
8 73 (10.63%) Zero Trust
9 68 (9.90%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 62 (9.02%) Customer Service
11 52 (7.57%) Cybersecurity
12 51 (7.42%) Roadmaps
13 50 (7.28%) Cloud Security
14 46 (6.70%) Network Segmentation
15 43 (6.26%) Change Management
16 41 (5.97%) Agile
16 41 (5.97%) Network Design
16 41 (5.97%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 77 (11.21%) Python
2 73 (10.63%) PowerShell
3 36 (5.24%) Bash
4 22 (3.20%) Bicep
5 16 (2.33%) SQL
6 12 (1.75%) Java
7 7 (1.02%) Kotlin
8 6 (0.87%) Go
9 5 (0.73%) VBScript
10 4 (0.58%) PHP
10 4 (0.58%) VB
11 3 (0.44%) JavaScript
12 2 (0.29%) Shell Script
13 1 (0.15%) C
13 1 (0.15%) C#
13 1 (0.15%) Ladder Logic
13 1 (0.15%) Lisp
13 1 (0.15%) Perl
13 1 (0.15%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 185 (26.93%) Security Cleared
2 145 (21.11%) SC Cleared
3 112 (16.30%) Cisco Certification
4 90 (13.10%) CCNP
5 54 (7.86%) DV Cleared
6 50 (7.28%) CCNA
7 39 (5.68%) Degree
8 36 (5.24%) Azure Certification
9 23 (3.35%) Microsoft Certification
10 17 (2.47%) AWS Certification
10 17 (2.47%) CCIE
10 17 (2.47%) CISSP
11 12 (1.75%) Computer Science Degree
11 12 (1.75%) JNCIS
12 11 (1.60%) CISM
13 10 (1.46%) JNCIA
14 9 (1.31%) GIAC
15 8 (1.16%) Network+ Certification
16 7 (1.02%) BPSS Clearance
17 6 (0.87%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (5.09%) ISO/IEC 27001
1 35 (5.09%) NIST
2 24 (3.49%) SLA
3 21 (3.06%) GDPR
4 17 (2.47%) Cyber Essentials
5 13 (1.89%) QA
6 11 (1.60%) NCSC
7 8 (1.16%) Disclosure Scotland
8 6 (0.87%) Data Quality
8 6 (0.87%) NIST 800
9 5 (0.73%) RMADS
10 4 (0.58%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 4 (0.58%) JSP 440
11 2 (0.29%) GRC
11 2 (0.29%) ISA99
11 2 (0.29%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 2 (0.29%) PCI DSS
11 2 (0.29%) SOC 2
12 1 (0.15%) COBIT
12 1 (0.15%) GxP
System Software
1 162 (23.58%) Active Directory
2 75 (10.92%) VMware Infrastructure
3 42 (6.11%) Hyper-V
4 23 (3.35%) Virtual Machines
5 22 (3.20%) Docker
6 20 (2.91%) VMware NSX
7 19 (2.77%) VMware ESXi
8 15 (2.18%) BitLocker
8 15 (2.18%) Virtual Desktop
9 11 (1.60%) Microsoft App-V
10 10 (1.46%) vSphere
11 9 (1.31%) Firmware
11 9 (1.31%) Squid
12 3 (0.44%) Terminal Services
13 2 (0.29%) KVM
13 2 (0.29%) NFS
13 2 (0.29%) Virtual Servers
14 1 (0.15%) HDFS
14 1 (0.15%) iptables
14 1 (0.15%) RHEV
Systems Management
1 122 (17.76%) Terraform
2 74 (10.77%) Ansible
3 62 (9.02%) Kubernetes
4 59 (8.59%) Microsoft Intune
5 44 (6.40%) SCCM
6 32 (4.66%) FortiGate
6 32 (4.66%) Grafana
7 31 (4.51%) Prometheus
8 27 (3.93%) Single Sign-On
9 19 (2.77%) vCenter Server
10 14 (2.04%) Puppet
11 12 (1.75%) Nagios
12 10 (1.46%) vMotion
12 10 (1.46%) WSUS
13 8 (1.16%) Argo
13 8 (1.16%) Cisco Prime
14 7 (1.02%) Consul
15 6 (0.87%) Progress Chef
16 5 (0.73%) Endace
16 5 (0.73%) Salt
Vendors
1 241 (35.08%) Cisco
2 217 (31.59%) Microsoft
3 101 (14.70%) Palo Alto
4 93 (13.54%) F5
5 92 (13.39%) VMware
6 68 (9.90%) ServiceNow
7 62 (9.02%) Fortinet
8 58 (8.44%) Juniper
9 45 (6.55%) CheckPoint
9 45 (6.55%) Citrix
10 41 (5.97%) Google
11 39 (5.68%) Zscaler
12 33 (4.80%) SolarWinds
13 30 (4.37%) Aruba
14 24 (3.49%) Dynatrace
15 22 (3.20%) Arista
15 22 (3.20%) Meraki
16 19 (2.77%) Splunk
17 16 (2.33%) Red Hat
18 15 (2.18%) NetApp