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 18 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 169 163 212
Rank change year-on-year -6 +49 -3
Contract jobs citing NIST 335 223 177
As % of all contract jobs in London 1.67% 1.66% 1.10%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 8.84% 9.70% 7.98%
Number of daily rates quoted 233 156 140
10th Percentile £430 £425 £475
25th Percentile £500 £509 £559
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £600 £588 £668
Median % change year-on-year +2.13% -12.05% -1.04%
75th Percentile £706 £700 £775
90th Percentile £800 £819 £780
England median daily rate £580 £599 £650
% change year-on-year -3.17% -7.85% -

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 3,790 2,300 2,217
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 18.86% 17.08% 13.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,562 1,546 1,505
10th Percentile £350 £314 £347
25th Percentile £430 £413 £426
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -2.22%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £688
90th Percentile £738 £750 £800
England median daily rate £510 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.00% -4.76% -2.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 46 45 44
10th Percentile £18.54 - £17.05
25th Percentile £25.25 £25.15 £21.19
Median hourly rate £31.08 £34.48 £27.26
Median % change year-on-year -9.86% +26.49% +0.96%
75th Percentile £41.80 £44.75 £49.06
90th Percentile £65.87 £54.50 £68.31
England median hourly rate £36.07 £31.64 £27.50
% change year-on-year +14.00% +15.05% -21.43%

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 18 August 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 18 August 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 +8 48 £588 +1.29% 15
West London -20 4 £431 +11.29% 10
East London -4 3 £750 +33.33% 1
South London -9 3 £744 +35.18% 1
North London - 1 £650 - 1
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 6 (1.79%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.49%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.90%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) OpenStack
4 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 8 (2.39%) Microsoft Excel
2 4 (1.19%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
4 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 142 (42.39%) Azure
2 103 (30.75%) AWS
3 60 (17.91%) Entra ID
4 49 (14.63%) GCP
5 22 (6.57%) Azure Sentinel
6 19 (5.67%) SaaS
7 17 (5.07%) Azure DevOps
8 16 (4.78%) Microsoft 365
9 12 (3.58%) OCI
10 11 (3.28%) Microsoft Purview
11 10 (2.99%) GitHub
12 8 (2.39%) Azure Key Vault
12 8 (2.39%) Datadog
13 6 (1.79%) AWS Control Tower
13 6 (1.79%) Azure Monitor
13 6 (1.79%) GitHub Actions
13 6 (1.79%) Serverless
14 5 (1.49%) Amazon Bedrock
14 5 (1.49%) Anthropic Claude
14 5 (1.49%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 27 (8.06%) Network Security
2 18 (5.37%) Firewall
3 12 (3.58%) DNS
4 10 (2.99%) VPN
5 7 (2.09%) TCP/IP
6 6 (1.79%) Kerberos
6 6 (1.79%) NGFW
6 6 (1.79%) X.509
7 5 (1.49%) HTTP
7 5 (1.49%) IPsec
7 5 (1.49%) SSL
8 4 (1.19%) Cisco IPT
8 4 (1.19%) SSH
9 3 (0.90%) DHCP
9 3 (0.90%) Internet
10 2 (0.60%) BGP
10 2 (0.60%) IPv4
10 2 (0.60%) IPv6
10 2 (0.60%) S/MIME
10 2 (0.60%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (1.19%) Amazon RDS
1 4 (1.19%) Big Data
2 3 (0.90%) Azure SQL Database
2 3 (0.90%) DynamoDB
3 2 (0.60%) Power BI
4 1 (0.30%) Amazon Athena
4 1 (0.30%) Amazon Redshift
4 1 (0.30%) Data Hub
4 1 (0.30%) Data Lake
4 1 (0.30%) Metadata
4 1 (0.30%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 9 (2.69%) JIRA
2 7 (2.09%) Snyk
3 6 (1.79%) GitLab
4 5 (1.49%) Jenkins
5 4 (1.19%) Burp Suite
5 4 (1.19%) SonarQube
6 3 (0.90%) Git
7 2 (0.60%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.60%) MSI
8 1 (0.30%) Postman
8 1 (0.30%) Robot Framework
8 1 (0.30%) Selenium
8 1 (0.30%) TestRail
General
1 109 (32.54%) Social Skills
2 100 (29.85%) Finance
3 45 (13.43%) Analytical Skills
4 27 (8.06%) Banking
5 24 (7.16%) Legal
5 24 (7.16%) Public Sector
6 15 (4.48%) Documentation Skills
7 9 (2.69%) Financial Institution
8 7 (2.09%) Influencing Skills
9 6 (1.79%) Law
10 5 (1.49%) Manufacturing
11 4 (1.19%) Organisational Skills
12 3 (0.90%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.90%) Local Government
12 3 (0.90%) Presentation Skills
12 3 (0.90%) Retail
12 3 (0.90%) Telecoms
13 2 (0.60%) German Language
13 2 (0.60%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 2 (0.60%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 81 (24.18%) Architect
2 57 (17.01%) Analyst
3 44 (13.13%) Security Architect
4 35 (10.45%) Consultant
5 29 (8.66%) Senior
6 28 (8.36%) Lead
7 25 (7.46%) Security Analyst
8 23 (6.87%) Business Analyst
9 21 (6.27%) Security Consultant
10 20 (5.97%) Security Engineer
11 17 (5.07%) Security Manager
12 15 (4.48%) Project Manager
13 14 (4.18%) Cybersecurity Analyst
14 13 (3.88%) Cybersecurity Consultant
14 13 (3.88%) Solutions Architect
15 10 (2.99%) Security Specialist
15 10 (2.99%) Senior Architect
16 9 (2.69%) CyberArk Architect
16 9 (2.69%) Cybersecurity Architect
16 9 (2.69%) Head of Security
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 17 (5.07%) SailPoint
2 10 (2.99%) OAuth
3 9 (2.69%) SAML
4 8 (2.39%) REST
5 7 (2.09%) JSON
6 6 (1.79%) LDAP
7 4 (1.19%) SOAP
7 4 (1.19%) YAML
8 3 (0.90%) Kafka
8 3 (0.90%) OpenID
8 3 (0.90%) SLSA
8 3 (0.90%) SPIFFE
9 2 (0.60%) Azure Blueprints
9 2 (0.60%) Elastic Stack
9 2 (0.60%) JDBC
9 2 (0.60%) Middleware
9 2 (0.60%) OAuth2
9 2 (0.60%) Playwright
9 2 (0.60%) RESTful
10 1 (0.30%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 31 (9.25%) Cloud Native
2 30 (8.96%) Onboarding
3 28 (8.36%) Security Posture
4 21 (6.27%) Operational Technology
5 18 (5.37%) Hybrid Cloud
6 13 (3.88%) CMDB
7 12 (3.58%) Management Information System
8 11 (3.28%) AI Agents
9 10 (2.99%) PKI
9 10 (2.99%) SCADA
10 8 (2.39%) Cyber Threat
11 7 (2.09%) Self-Motivation
12 5 (1.49%) Cloud Security Posture
12 5 (1.49%) Data Centre
12 5 (1.49%) Data Protection Act
13 4 (1.19%) BYOD
13 4 (1.19%) Enterprise Software
14 3 (0.90%) Algorithms
14 3 (0.90%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
14 3 (0.90%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 22 (6.57%) Windows
2 19 (5.67%) Linux
3 8 (2.39%) Windows Server
4 6 (1.79%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.19%) Unix
6 3 (0.90%) Ubuntu
7 2 (0.60%) Alpine Linux
8 1 (0.30%) Android
8 1 (0.30%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.30%) CentOS
8 1 (0.30%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 185 (55.22%) Cybersecurity
2 75 (22.39%) Security Architecture
3 73 (21.79%) Stakeholder Management
4 68 (20.30%) Risk Management
5 64 (19.10%) Cloud Security
6 60 (17.91%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 57 (17.01%) Roadmaps
8 54 (16.12%) Identity Access Management
9 53 (15.82%) Information Security
10 52 (15.52%) Incident Response
11 49 (14.63%) AI
11 49 (14.63%) CI/CD
12 48 (14.33%) Vulnerability Management
13 45 (13.43%) Threat Modelling
14 44 (13.13%) SIEM
15 42 (12.54%) Zero Trust
16 41 (12.24%) Continuous Improvement
17 39 (11.64%) DevOps
18 38 (11.34%) Data Protection
19 36 (10.75%) Risk Assessment
Programming Languages
1 39 (11.64%) Python
2 34 (10.15%) PowerShell
3 19 (5.67%) SQL
4 11 (3.28%) Bash
5 6 (1.79%) Bicep
5 6 (1.79%) Java
5 6 (1.79%) Kusto Query Language
6 2 (0.60%) BeanShell
6 2 (0.60%) Go
6 2 (0.60%) Objective-C
7 1 (0.30%) C
7 1 (0.30%) C#
7 1 (0.30%) JavaScript
7 1 (0.30%) Korn
Qualifications
1 96 (28.66%) CISSP
2 65 (19.40%) Security Cleared
3 52 (15.52%) CISM
4 49 (14.63%) SC Cleared
5 34 (10.15%) Degree
6 24 (7.16%) Cisco Certification
7 21 (6.27%) (ISC)2 CCSP
7 21 (6.27%) GIAC
8 20 (5.97%) CEH
8 20 (5.97%) CompTIA Security+
8 20 (5.97%) CRISC
9 19 (5.67%) Azure Certification
10 16 (4.78%) CISA
11 15 (4.48%) AWS Certification
12 14 (4.18%) DV Cleared
13 13 (3.88%) PMI Certification
13 13 (3.88%) PMP
14 12 (3.58%) FFIEC
15 10 (2.99%) CCSP
15 10 (2.99%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 200 (59.70%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 59 (17.61%) GDPR
3 44 (13.13%) GRC
4 40 (11.94%) COBIT
5 33 (9.85%) NCSC
6 28 (8.36%) NIST 800
7 21 (6.27%) PCI DSS
7 21 (6.27%) SOC 2
8 20 (5.97%) Cyber Essentials
9 15 (4.48%) ITGC
10 14 (4.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 12 (3.58%) EU AI Act
12 11 (3.28%) ISO/IEC 42001
13 10 (2.99%) QA
14 8 (2.39%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 7 (2.09%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
16 5 (1.49%) PMO
16 5 (1.49%) SLA
17 4 (1.19%) HIPAA
17 4 (1.19%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 41 (12.24%) Active Directory
2 15 (4.48%) Docker
3 3 (0.90%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.60%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.60%) OpenSSH
4 2 (0.60%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.30%) Firmware
5 1 (0.30%) Varnish
5 1 (0.30%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 25 (7.46%) Terraform
2 21 (6.27%) Kubernetes
3 12 (3.58%) Single Sign-On
4 10 (2.99%) Ansible
5 8 (2.39%) Microsoft Intune
6 3 (0.90%) Nessus
7 2 (0.60%) Docker Swarm
7 2 (0.60%) Grafana
7 2 (0.60%) HP Fortify
7 2 (0.60%) Nexpose
7 2 (0.60%) Prometheus
7 2 (0.60%) Puppet
7 2 (0.60%) SCCM
8 1 (0.30%) Argo
8 1 (0.30%) CASB
8 1 (0.30%) QRadar
8 1 (0.30%) VxRail
Vendors
1 72 (21.49%) Microsoft
2 30 (8.96%) CyberArk
3 25 (7.46%) Splunk
4 24 (7.16%) ServiceNow
5 16 (4.78%) CrowdStrike
5 16 (4.78%) Tenable
6 14 (4.18%) Google
6 14 (4.18%) Qualys
7 10 (2.99%) Palo Alto
8 8 (2.39%) Okta
9 7 (2.09%) Rapid7
9 7 (2.09%) Zscaler
10 6 (1.79%) Cisco
11 5 (1.49%) ForgeRock
12 4 (1.19%) Veracode
12 4 (1.19%) VMware
13 3 (0.90%) BeyondTrust
13 3 (0.90%) Commvault
13 3 (0.90%) OpenAI
13 3 (0.90%) Workday