VPN Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Virtual Private Network (VPN)
UK > UK excluding London

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the UK excluding London requiring VPN skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 180 73 211
Rank change year-on-year -107 +138 -29
Permanent jobs citing VPN 755 1,247 902
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 1.05% 3.69% 1.23%
As % of the Communications & Networking category 14.93% 22.26% 9.96%
Number of salaries quoted 622 443 734
10th Percentile £28,250 £27,550 £25,825
25th Percentile £31,250 £30,563 £30,563
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £42,500 £42,500
Median % change year-on-year - - -5.56%
75th Percentile £57,500 £58,750 £53,750
90th Percentile £73,750 £73,500 £62,500
UK median annual salary £47,500 £47,500 £45,000
% change year-on-year - +5.56% -10.00%

All Communications and Computer Networking Skills
UK excluding London

VPN falls under the Communications and Computer Networking category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring communications or computer networking skills in the UK excluding London.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for communications or computer networking skills 5,056 5,603 9,056
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 7.06% 16.58% 12.37%
Number of salaries quoted 3,437 3,042 6,603
10th Percentile £27,500 £25,087 £25,875
25th Percentile £31,250 £28,500 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £39,000 £44,000
Median % change year-on-year +8.97% -11.36% -2.22%
75th Percentile £62,500 £57,500 £58,750
90th Percentile £75,000 £71,622 £70,000
UK median annual salary £47,500 £45,000 £47,500
% change year-on-year +5.56% -5.26% -7.50%

VPN
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing VPN relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

VPN job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

VPN
Salary Trend in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing VPN.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing VPN

VPN
Salary Histogram in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution for jobs citing VPN in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 16 July 2026.

Salary histogram for VPN in the UK excluding London

VPN
Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing VPN within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 16 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
South East +36 248 £47,166 -5.67% 83
North of England -166 154 £35,000 -12.50% 57
Midlands +5 132 £42,500 +6.25% 44
South West -58 93 £38,500 -3.75% 31
North West -143 86 £31,000 -16.22% 24
West Midlands -4 79 £50,000 +17.65% 30
East of England -7 76 £40,000 -6.98% 34
East Midlands -34 53 £32,500 -13.33% 14
Yorkshire -45 50 £37,500 - 29
Scotland +22 28 £39,500 -1.25% 10
Wales -36 28 £50,000 +93.24% 3
North East -53 18 £42,500 -12.82% 7
Northern Ireland - 2 - - 10
VPN
UK

VPN
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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
1 179 (23.71%) Microsoft Exchange
2 157 (20.79%) SharePoint
3 27 (3.58%) IIS
4 9 (1.19%) Confluence
5 5 (0.66%) Apache
5 5 (0.66%) WordPress
6 3 (0.40%) SAS
Applications
1 65 (8.61%) Microsoft Office
2 8 (1.06%) Microsoft Excel
3 6 (0.79%) MS Visio
4 2 (0.26%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
5 1 (0.13%) AutoCAD
Business Applications
1 6 (0.79%) Raiser’s Edge
2 5 (0.66%) Dynamics NAV
2 5 (0.66%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.26%) Alphatax
3 2 (0.26%) Sage 200
4 1 (0.13%) Dynamics AX
Cloud Services
1 411 (54.44%) Microsoft 365
2 372 (49.27%) Azure
3 212 (28.08%) Entra ID
4 123 (16.29%) AWS
5 41 (5.43%) OneDrive
6 33 (4.37%) IaaS
7 29 (3.84%) PaaS
8 28 (3.71%) GitHub
9 26 (3.44%) GCP
10 24 (3.18%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 22 (2.91%) Google Workspace
12 16 (2.12%) Azure DevOps
12 16 (2.12%) Azure Sentinel
13 15 (1.99%) Azure Key Vault
14 14 (1.85%) Azure Monitor
14 14 (1.85%) GitHub Actions
14 14 (1.85%) Serverless
15 12 (1.59%) Azure Functions
16 11 (1.46%) Cloudflare
17 10 (1.32%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 483 (63.97%) Firewall
2 334 (44.24%) DNS
3 306 (40.53%) WAN
4 276 (36.56%) DHCP
5 253 (33.51%) LAN
6 196 (25.96%) VLAN
7 162 (21.46%) TCP/IP
8 132 (17.48%) Wi-Fi
9 106 (14.04%) Network Security
10 103 (13.64%) BGP
11 101 (13.38%) Wireless
12 81 (10.73%) VoIP
13 78 (10.33%) SD-WAN
14 55 (7.28%) MPLS
14 55 (7.28%) OSPF
15 42 (5.56%) WLAN
16 38 (5.03%) HTTP
17 35 (4.64%) SSL
18 34 (4.50%) IPsec
19 28 (3.71%) EIGRP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (6.36%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.25%) Azure SQL Database
3 10 (1.32%) MySQL
4 6 (0.79%) Crystal Reports
5 5 (0.66%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 4 (0.53%) MongoDB
6 4 (0.53%) Neo4j
6 4 (0.53%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.40%) Amazon RDS
8 2 (0.26%) BusinessObjects
8 2 (0.26%) DynamoDB
8 2 (0.26%) KNIME
8 2 (0.26%) Power BI
8 2 (0.26%) Relational Database
9 1 (0.13%) Oracle BI Publisher
Development Applications
1 20 (2.65%) Git
2 16 (2.12%) JIRA
3 5 (0.66%) GitLab
3 5 (0.66%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
4 2 (0.26%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.13%) Artifactory
5 1 (0.13%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.13%) Carbide.c++
5 1 (0.13%) Oracle APEX
General
1 312 (41.32%) Social Skills
2 80 (10.60%) Analytical Skills
3 45 (5.96%) Documentation Skills
4 39 (5.17%) Finance
5 38 (5.03%) Telecoms
6 33 (4.37%) Organisational Skills
7 29 (3.84%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 25 (3.31%) Law
9 21 (2.78%) Manufacturing
9 21 (2.78%) Retail
10 13 (1.72%) Aerospace
11 12 (1.59%) Public Sector
12 11 (1.46%) Legal
13 10 (1.32%) Advertising
14 9 (1.19%) Marketing
14 9 (1.19%) Presentation Skills
15 4 (0.53%) Electronics
16 3 (0.40%) Games
17 2 (0.26%) Social Housing
18 1 (0.13%) Police
Job Titles
1 203 (26.89%) IT Support
2 172 (22.78%) Support Engineer
3 166 (21.99%) IT Engineer
4 138 (18.28%) Network Engineer
5 132 (17.48%) Senior
6 130 (17.22%) IT Support Engineer
7 106 (14.04%) Infrastructure Engineer
8 99 (13.11%) Analyst
9 73 (9.67%) 2nd Line Support
10 56 (7.42%) Senior Network Engineer
11 44 (5.83%) Architect
11 44 (5.83%) Support Analyst
12 42 (5.56%) 2nd Line Engineer
13 40 (5.30%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
14 38 (5.03%) Support Technician
15 35 (4.64%) IT Analyst
16 34 (4.50%) Network Infrastructure Engineer
17 28 (3.71%) 1st/2nd Line Support
18 27 (3.58%) IT Technician
19 26 (3.44%) 3rd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 10 (1.32%) LDAP
1 10 (1.32%) Middleware
1 10 (1.32%) OAuth
1 10 (1.32%) SAML
2 9 (1.19%) ARM Templates
2 9 (1.19%) Web Services
3 5 (0.66%) 802.1X
3 5 (0.66%) FreeSWITCH
4 4 (0.53%) ModSecurity
5 3 (0.40%) Apache NiFi
5 3 (0.40%) OpenTelemetry
6 2 (0.26%) AWS SAM
6 2 (0.26%) Node.js
6 2 (0.26%) RabbitMQ
6 2 (0.26%) Serverless Framework
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle Fusion
7 1 (0.13%) REST
7 1 (0.13%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 139 (18.41%) Driving Licence
2 50 (6.62%) Data Centre
3 37 (4.90%) Onboarding
4 35 (4.64%) Hybrid Cloud
5 31 (4.11%) PKI
6 29 (3.84%) Security Posture
6 29 (3.84%) Self-Motivation
7 25 (3.31%) Client/Server
8 18 (2.38%) Public Cloud
8 18 (2.38%) Replication
9 14 (1.85%) Cloud Native
9 14 (1.85%) Private Cloud
10 12 (1.59%) IoT
10 12 (1.59%) Podcast
11 11 (1.46%) Smartphone
12 10 (1.32%) Cyber Kill Chain
12 10 (1.32%) Security Operations Centre
13 9 (1.19%) Cyber Threat
14 8 (1.06%) Cyber Defence
14 8 (1.06%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 410 (54.30%) Windows
2 215 (28.48%) Windows Server
3 106 (14.04%) Linux
4 89 (11.79%) Windows 10
5 59 (7.81%) Mac OS
6 27 (3.58%) Apple iOS
7 22 (2.91%) VMS
8 17 (2.25%) Android
9 13 (1.72%) Windows Server 2019
10 10 (1.32%) Ubuntu
11 9 (1.19%) Windows Server 2016
12 5 (0.66%) Debian
13 4 (0.53%) Unix
14 3 (0.40%) AIX
14 3 (0.40%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
15 2 (0.26%) CentOS
15 2 (0.26%) Windows Server 2012
16 1 (0.13%) FreeBSD
16 1 (0.13%) OpenBSD
Processes & Methodologies
1 218 (28.87%) Problem-Solving
2 156 (20.66%) Cybersecurity
3 149 (19.74%) Customer Service
4 143 (18.94%) Infrastructure Engineering
5 129 (17.09%) Disaster Recovery
6 122 (16.16%) ITIL
7 98 (12.98%) Continuous Improvement
8 86 (11.39%) Service Delivery
9 65 (8.61%) High Availability
9 65 (8.61%) Mentoring
10 64 (8.48%) Root Cause Analysis
11 62 (8.21%) Cloud Security
12 60 (7.95%) Infrastructure as Code
13 53 (7.02%) Project Delivery
14 52 (6.89%) ITSM
15 51 (6.75%) CI/CD
16 48 (6.36%) Stakeholder Management
17 45 (5.96%) Computer Science
17 45 (5.96%) Incident Management
18 44 (5.83%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 159 (21.06%) PowerShell
2 86 (11.39%) Python
3 69 (9.14%) SQL
4 50 (6.62%) Bash
5 32 (4.24%) Bicep
6 15 (1.99%) Kusto Query Language
7 10 (1.32%) JavaScript
8 8 (1.06%) C++
8 8 (1.06%) Go
8 8 (1.06%) Perl
9 7 (0.93%) Search Processing Language
10 2 (0.26%) C
10 2 (0.26%) Groovy
10 2 (0.26%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 119 (15.76%) Cisco Certification
2 102 (13.51%) Degree
3 100 (13.25%) Security Cleared
4 87 (11.52%) CCNP
5 76 (10.07%) Microsoft Certification
6 65 (8.61%) CCNA
7 64 (8.48%) SC Cleared
8 46 (6.09%) DV Cleared
9 43 (5.70%) Azure Certification
10 27 (3.58%) Computer Science Degree
10 27 (3.58%) Network+ Certification
11 20 (2.65%) CompTIA Security+
12 19 (2.52%) CCIE
13 16 (2.12%) CREST Certified
14 15 (1.99%) AWS Certification
15 14 (1.85%) CISSP
16 13 (1.72%) A+ Certification
17 11 (1.46%) DBS Check
18 10 (1.32%) BPSS Clearance
19 9 (1.19%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 74 (9.80%) Cyber Essentials
2 56 (7.42%) SLA
3 55 (7.28%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 33 (4.37%) NIST
5 28 (3.71%) GDPR
6 18 (2.38%) PCI DSS
7 16 (2.12%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 10 (1.32%) QA
9 4 (0.53%) GRC
9 4 (0.53%) NCSC
9 4 (0.53%) PMO
10 3 (0.40%) Accessibility
11 2 (0.26%) SOC 2
12 1 (0.13%) HIPAA
12 1 (0.13%) ISO 14001
12 1 (0.13%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 356 (47.15%) Active Directory
2 165 (21.85%) VMware Infrastructure
3 161 (21.32%) Hyper-V
4 43 (5.70%) vSphere
5 25 (3.31%) VMware NSX
6 24 (3.18%) Docker
7 20 (2.65%) VMware ESXi
8 19 (2.52%) Virtual Desktop
9 16 (2.12%) Virtual Machines
10 9 (1.19%) Firmware
10 9 (1.19%) KVM
11 8 (1.06%) Virtual Servers
12 6 (0.79%) VMware Server
13 5 (0.66%) BitLocker
14 4 (0.53%) Microsoft Virtual Server
14 4 (0.53%) ProxySG
14 4 (0.53%) Samba
15 2 (0.26%) Citrix Hypervisor
16 1 (0.13%) Terminal Services
16 1 (0.13%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 124 (16.42%) Microsoft Intune
2 59 (7.81%) Terraform
3 37 (4.90%) Kubernetes
4 36 (4.77%) Ansible
5 25 (3.31%) FortiGate
6 19 (2.52%) Jamf Pro
7 18 (2.38%) Proxmox
8 12 (1.59%) Single Sign-On
9 11 (1.46%) CASB
9 11 (1.46%) vCenter Server
10 10 (1.32%) Grafana
10 10 (1.32%) Prometheus
11 8 (1.06%) Backup Exec
11 8 (1.06%) Graylog
11 8 (1.06%) Kibana
11 8 (1.06%) QRadar
11 8 (1.06%) ZABBIX
12 7 (0.93%) SCCM
13 6 (0.79%) Endace
13 6 (0.79%) WSUS
Vendors
1 541 (71.66%) Microsoft
2 215 (28.48%) VMware
3 185 (24.50%) Cisco
4 70 (9.27%) Fortinet
5 57 (7.55%) Palo Alto
6 43 (5.70%) Meraki
6 43 (5.70%) Veeam
7 39 (5.17%) Google
8 35 (4.64%) ServiceNow
9 34 (4.50%) Aruba
10 30 (3.97%) Apple
11 24 (3.18%) Citrix
11 24 (3.18%) Splunk
12 18 (2.38%) F5
13 17 (2.25%) CrowdStrike
14 16 (2.12%) Ubiquiti
15 15 (1.99%) SonicWALL
16 14 (1.85%) Dell
16 14 (1.85%) Juniper
17 12 (1.59%) CheckPoint