NIST Contract Job Trends in London

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
England > London

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in London requiring NIST skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 25 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 178 158 227
Rank change year-on-year -20 +69 -24
Contract jobs citing NIST 335 234 176
As % of all contract jobs in London 1.65% 1.74% 1.08%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 8.53% 9.96% 7.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 235 153 128
10th Percentile £433 £403 £475
25th Percentile £500 £495 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 £575 £650
Median % change year-on-year - -11.54% -0.76%
75th Percentile £675 £690 £775
90th Percentile £790 £775 £777
England median daily rate £563 £575 £625
% change year-on-year -2.09% -8.00% -3.40%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
London

NIST falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills in London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 3,926 2,349 2,234
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 19.32% 17.44% 13.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,670 1,561 1,424
10th Percentile £350 £325 £330
25th Percentile £430 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -1.79%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £682
90th Percentile £725 £750 £800
England median daily rate £513 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -2.46%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 50 40
10th Percentile £15.88 £24.91 £18.13
25th Percentile £21.33 £25.15 £23.35
Median hourly rate £28.00 £34.00 £29.73
Median % change year-on-year -17.65% +14.36% +8.11%
75th Percentile £40.00 £41.75 £49.06
90th Percentile £55.78 £54.05 £71.88
England median hourly rate £32.50 £32.50 £33.50
% change year-on-year - -2.99% -6.94%

NIST
Job Vacancy Trend in London

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

NIST job vacancy trend in London

NIST
Daily Rate Trend in London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing NIST.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing NIST

NIST
Daily Rate Histogram in London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing NIST in London over the 6 months to 25 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for NIST in London

NIST
Hourly Rate Trend in London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing NIST.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in London citing NIST

NIST
Contract Job Locations in London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing NIST within the London region over the 6 months to 25 September 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
Central London -14 44 £570 -0.87% 54
West London -22 4 £431 +1.47% 12
East London +1 3 £750 +33.33% 7
South London -8 3 £495 -23.85% 1
North London - 1 £650 -
NIST
England

NIST
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in 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 7 (2.09%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.49%) Microsoft Exchange
3 4 (1.19%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) OpenStack
4 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 6 (1.79%) Microsoft Excel
2 4 (1.19%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (0.90%) Microsoft Office
4 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 139 (41.49%) Azure
2 103 (30.75%) AWS
3 67 (20.00%) Entra ID
4 52 (15.52%) GCP
5 23 (6.87%) Azure Sentinel
6 22 (6.57%) Microsoft 365
7 19 (5.67%) Azure DevOps
8 18 (5.37%) SaaS
9 17 (5.07%) OCI
10 14 (4.18%) GitHub
10 14 (4.18%) Microsoft Purview
11 10 (2.99%) AWS Control Tower
11 10 (2.99%) Azure Key Vault
12 9 (2.69%) Amazon S3
13 8 (2.39%) Amazon EC2
13 8 (2.39%) GitHub Actions
14 7 (2.09%) Azure Monitor
15 6 (1.79%) AWS KMS
15 6 (1.79%) Serverless
16 5 (1.49%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 28 (8.36%) Network Security
2 21 (6.27%) Firewall
3 12 (3.58%) DNS
3 12 (3.58%) VPN
4 9 (2.69%) X.509
5 8 (2.39%) IPsec
6 6 (1.79%) SSH
7 5 (1.49%) Kerberos
7 5 (1.49%) Modbus
7 5 (1.49%) NGFW
7 5 (1.49%) TCP/IP
8 4 (1.19%) DHCP
8 4 (1.19%) SSL
9 3 (0.90%) HTTP
9 3 (0.90%) Internet
9 3 (0.90%) Wireless
10 2 (0.60%) 4G
10 2 (0.60%) Cisco ASA
10 2 (0.60%) Intrusion Detection
10 2 (0.60%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (1.79%) Amazon RDS
1 6 (1.79%) DynamoDB
2 3 (0.90%) Azure SQL Database
2 3 (0.90%) Power BI
3 2 (0.60%) Metadata
4 1 (0.30%) Data Hub
4 1 (0.30%) Data Lake
4 1 (0.30%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 10 (2.99%) GitLab
2 9 (2.69%) JIRA
3 8 (2.39%) Jenkins
4 6 (1.79%) Snyk
5 5 (1.49%) Git
6 4 (1.19%) Burp Suite
6 4 (1.19%) SonarQube
7 3 (0.90%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.90%) Selenium
7 3 (0.90%) TestRail
8 2 (0.60%) MSI
9 1 (0.30%) Claude Code
9 1 (0.30%) Postman
General
1 107 (31.94%) Social Skills
2 87 (25.97%) Finance
3 36 (10.75%) Analytical Skills
4 33 (9.85%) Public Sector
5 23 (6.87%) Banking
6 21 (6.27%) Legal
7 17 (5.07%) Manufacturing
8 11 (3.28%) Documentation Skills
9 10 (2.99%) Influencing Skills
10 5 (1.49%) Financial Institution
11 3 (0.90%) Cyber-Physical System
11 3 (0.90%) Investment Banking
11 3 (0.90%) Local Government
11 3 (0.90%) Organisational Skills
11 3 (0.90%) Presentation Skills
11 3 (0.90%) Retail
12 2 (0.60%) German Language
12 2 (0.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 2 (0.60%) Law
12 2 (0.60%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 83 (24.78%) Architect
2 54 (16.12%) Analyst
3 47 (14.03%) Consultant
3 47 (14.03%) Security Architect
4 32 (9.55%) Lead
5 29 (8.66%) Senior
6 25 (7.46%) Security Analyst
7 24 (7.16%) Security Consultant
8 21 (6.27%) Security Engineer
9 17 (5.07%) Business Analyst
9 17 (5.07%) Cybersecurity Consultant
9 17 (5.07%) Security Manager
10 14 (4.18%) Cybersecurity Analyst
11 12 (3.58%) Project Manager
11 12 (3.58%) Senior Architect
12 11 (3.28%) Solutions Architect
13 9 (2.69%) Security Project Manager
13 9 (2.69%) Senior Analyst
14 8 (2.39%) Risk Analyst
15 7 (2.09%) Cloud Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 34 (10.15%) Terraform
2 15 (4.48%) SailPoint
3 14 (4.18%) OAuth
4 10 (2.99%) REST
4 10 (2.99%) SAML
5 9 (2.69%) JSON
5 9 (2.69%) LDAP
6 5 (1.49%) SOAP
7 4 (1.19%) JDBC
7 4 (1.19%) OpenID
7 4 (1.19%) Playwright
8 3 (0.90%) pytest
8 3 (0.90%) SLSA
8 3 (0.90%) SPIFFE
8 3 (0.90%) YAML
9 2 (0.60%) Azure Blueprints
9 2 (0.60%) Kafka
9 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Graph
9 2 (0.60%) OAuth2
9 2 (0.60%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 33 (9.85%) Cloud Native
1 33 (9.85%) Onboarding
2 30 (8.96%) Security Posture
3 29 (8.66%) Operational Technology
4 16 (4.78%) PKI
5 15 (4.48%) Cyber Threat
6 14 (4.18%) Management Information System
7 13 (3.88%) SCADA
8 10 (2.99%) AI Agents
9 7 (2.09%) Hybrid Cloud
10 6 (1.79%) Cloud Security Posture
10 6 (1.79%) CMDB
10 6 (1.79%) Enterprise Software
10 6 (1.79%) IoT
11 5 (1.49%) Data Centre
11 5 (1.49%) Taxonomies
12 4 (1.19%) Algorithms
12 4 (1.19%) Cyberattack
12 4 (1.19%) Data Protection Act
12 4 (1.19%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 18 (5.37%) Windows
2 16 (4.78%) Linux
3 8 (2.39%) Windows Server
4 7 (2.09%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 3 (0.90%) Ubuntu
6 2 (0.60%) Alpine Linux
6 2 (0.60%) Unix
7 1 (0.30%) Android
7 1 (0.30%) Apple iOS
7 1 (0.30%) CentOS
7 1 (0.30%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 197 (58.81%) Cybersecurity
2 84 (25.07%) Security Architecture
3 82 (24.48%) Risk Management
3 82 (24.48%) Stakeholder Management
4 71 (21.19%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 66 (19.70%) Cloud Security
6 63 (18.81%) Identity Access Management
6 63 (18.81%) Roadmaps
7 58 (17.31%) Vulnerability Management
8 56 (16.72%) Incident Response
9 51 (15.22%) Threat Modelling
10 48 (14.33%) Information Security
11 46 (13.73%) AI
12 44 (13.13%) CI/CD
12 44 (13.13%) Zero Trust
13 42 (12.54%) Continuous Improvement
13 42 (12.54%) SIEM
14 40 (11.94%) DevOps
14 40 (11.94%) Security Operations
15 39 (11.64%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 43 (12.84%) Python
2 40 (11.94%) PowerShell
3 17 (5.07%) SQL
4 16 (4.78%) Bash
5 8 (2.39%) Bicep
5 8 (2.39%) Java
6 6 (1.79%) Kusto Query Language
7 4 (1.19%) BeanShell
8 3 (0.90%) Korn
9 2 (0.60%) C#
9 2 (0.60%) Go
9 2 (0.60%) Objective-C
10 1 (0.30%) C
10 1 (0.30%) CodeQL
10 1 (0.30%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 108 (32.24%) CISSP
2 82 (24.48%) Security Cleared
3 71 (21.19%) CISM
4 67 (20.00%) SC Cleared
5 31 (9.25%) CRISC
6 24 (7.16%) Cisco Certification
6 24 (7.16%) Degree
7 20 (5.97%) Azure Certification
8 19 (5.67%) (ISC)2 CCSP
8 19 (5.67%) GIAC
9 18 (5.37%) AWS Certification
10 17 (5.07%) CompTIA Security+
11 16 (4.78%) CISA
11 16 (4.78%) DV Cleared
12 12 (3.58%) CEH
12 12 (3.58%) PMI Certification
12 12 (3.58%) PMP
13 10 (2.99%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
13 10 (2.99%) CCSP
13 10 (2.99%) FFIEC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 214 (63.88%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 50 (14.93%) GRC
3 44 (13.13%) GDPR
4 42 (12.54%) NCSC
5 31 (9.25%) NIST 800
6 29 (8.66%) COBIT
7 22 (6.57%) Cyber Essentials
7 22 (6.57%) PCI DSS
7 22 (6.57%) SOC 2
8 13 (3.88%) QA
8 13 (3.88%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 12 (3.58%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 10 (2.99%) EU AI Act
11 8 (2.39%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 8 (2.39%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 8 (2.39%) ITGC
12 6 (1.79%) SLA
13 4 (1.19%) HIPAA
13 4 (1.19%) HMG Security Policy Framework
13 4 (1.19%) PMO
System Software
1 46 (13.73%) Active Directory
2 16 (4.78%) Docker
3 5 (1.49%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.60%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.60%) OpenSSH
4 2 (0.60%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.30%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 22 (6.57%) Kubernetes
2 13 (3.88%) Microsoft Intune
3 12 (3.58%) Ansible
4 10 (2.99%) Single Sign-On
5 3 (0.90%) Argo
5 3 (0.90%) HP Fortify
6 2 (0.60%) Docker Swarm
6 2 (0.60%) Nessus
6 2 (0.60%) Nexpose
6 2 (0.60%) Puppet
6 2 (0.60%) SCCM
7 1 (0.30%) CASB
7 1 (0.30%) QRadar
Vendors
1 80 (23.88%) Microsoft
2 23 (6.87%) CyberArk
3 19 (5.67%) ServiceNow
4 17 (5.07%) CrowdStrike
4 17 (5.07%) Splunk
5 15 (4.48%) Google
6 13 (3.88%) Qualys
7 11 (3.28%) Palo Alto
7 11 (3.28%) Tenable
8 10 (2.99%) Okta
9 9 (2.69%) Rapid7
10 8 (2.39%) Cisco
11 6 (1.79%) VMware
12 5 (1.49%) ForgeRock
12 5 (1.49%) Zscaler
13 4 (1.19%) OpenAI
13 4 (1.19%) Salesforce
13 4 (1.19%) SAP
13 4 (1.19%) Siemens
13 4 (1.19%) Veracode