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

6 months to
26 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 177 165 224
Rank change year-on-year -12 +59 -7
Contract jobs citing NIST 327 220 177
As % of all contract jobs in London 1.63% 1.64% 1.09%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 8.61% 9.64% 7.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 222 154 141
10th Percentile £432 £422 £475
25th Percentile £500 £513 £550
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £589 £595 £650
Median % change year-on-year -1.05% -8.46% -3.70%
75th Percentile £702 £700 £775
90th Percentile £799 £825 £780
England median daily rate £575 £600 £650
% change year-on-year -4.09% -7.77% -

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 3,797 2,283 2,234
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 18.91% 17.07% 13.74%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,557 1,531 1,485
10th Percentile £350 £325 £338
25th Percentile £425 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -4.35%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £675
90th Percentile £738 £756 £794
England median daily rate £510 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.00% -4.76% -2.78%
Number of hourly rates quoted 49 49 42
10th Percentile £20.51 - £18.13
25th Percentile £23.50 £25.15 £22.45
Median hourly rate £29.04 £34.00 £27.92
Median % change year-on-year -14.59% +21.78% +1.53%
75th Percentile £41.44 £43.21 £49.69
90th Percentile £62.20 £54.00 £70.69
England median hourly rate £36.07 £31.64 £26.68
% change year-on-year +14.00% +18.59% -24.85%

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 26 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 26 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 -3 48 £580 -5.38% 15
West London -13 4 £431 +11.29% 13
East London -1 3 £750 +33.33% 1
South London -10 3 £744 +35.18% 3
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 (1.83%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.53%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.92%) Confluence
4 1 (0.31%) OpenStack
4 1 (0.31%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 8 (2.45%) Microsoft Excel
2 4 (1.22%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.61%) Microsoft Project
4 1 (0.31%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 143 (43.73%) Azure
2 105 (32.11%) AWS
3 62 (18.96%) Entra ID
4 51 (15.60%) GCP
5 21 (6.42%) Azure Sentinel
6 19 (5.81%) SaaS
7 17 (5.20%) Azure DevOps
7 17 (5.20%) Microsoft 365
8 14 (4.28%) OCI
9 11 (3.36%) Microsoft Purview
10 10 (3.06%) GitHub
11 8 (2.45%) AWS Control Tower
11 8 (2.45%) Azure Key Vault
11 8 (2.45%) Datadog
12 6 (1.83%) AWS KMS
12 6 (1.83%) Azure Monitor
12 6 (1.83%) GitHub Actions
12 6 (1.83%) Serverless
13 5 (1.53%) Amazon Bedrock
13 5 (1.53%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 26 (7.95%) Network Security
2 17 (5.20%) Firewall
3 12 (3.67%) DNS
4 10 (3.06%) VPN
5 8 (2.45%) X.509
6 7 (2.14%) IPsec
6 7 (2.14%) TCP/IP
7 6 (1.83%) Kerberos
7 6 (1.83%) NGFW
8 5 (1.53%) HTTP
8 5 (1.53%) SSL
9 4 (1.22%) SSH
10 3 (0.92%) Cisco IPT
10 3 (0.92%) DHCP
10 3 (0.92%) Internet
10 3 (0.92%) Modbus
11 2 (0.61%) 4G
11 2 (0.61%) IPv4
11 2 (0.61%) S/MIME
11 2 (0.61%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (1.22%) Amazon RDS
1 4 (1.22%) Big Data
1 4 (1.22%) DynamoDB
2 3 (0.92%) Azure SQL Database
3 2 (0.61%) Power BI
4 1 (0.31%) Data Hub
4 1 (0.31%) Metadata
4 1 (0.31%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 9 (2.75%) JIRA
2 6 (1.83%) GitLab
2 6 (1.83%) Snyk
3 5 (1.53%) Jenkins
4 4 (1.22%) Burp Suite
4 4 (1.22%) SonarQube
5 3 (0.92%) Git
6 2 (0.61%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.61%) MSI
7 1 (0.31%) Postman
7 1 (0.31%) Robot Framework
7 1 (0.31%) Selenium
7 1 (0.31%) TestRail
General
1 103 (31.50%) Social Skills
2 92 (28.13%) Finance
3 43 (13.15%) Analytical Skills
4 27 (8.26%) Banking
5 25 (7.65%) Public Sector
6 23 (7.03%) Legal
7 15 (4.59%) Documentation Skills
8 9 (2.75%) Influencing Skills
9 7 (2.14%) Financial Institution
10 6 (1.83%) Manufacturing
11 5 (1.53%) Law
12 3 (0.92%) Investment Banking
12 3 (0.92%) Local Government
12 3 (0.92%) Organisational Skills
12 3 (0.92%) Presentation Skills
12 3 (0.92%) Retail
12 3 (0.92%) Telecoms
13 2 (0.61%) German Language
13 2 (0.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 2 (0.61%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 87 (26.61%) Architect
2 54 (16.51%) Analyst
3 48 (14.68%) Security Architect
4 37 (11.31%) Consultant
5 27 (8.26%) Lead
5 27 (8.26%) Senior
6 24 (7.34%) Security Analyst
7 23 (7.03%) Security Consultant
8 21 (6.42%) Business Analyst
9 20 (6.12%) Security Engineer
10 15 (4.59%) Cybersecurity Consultant
11 14 (4.28%) Security Manager
12 13 (3.98%) Cybersecurity Analyst
12 13 (3.98%) Solutions Architect
13 12 (3.67%) Project Manager
14 11 (3.36%) Senior Architect
15 9 (2.75%) CyberArk Architect
15 9 (2.75%) Cybersecurity Architect
15 9 (2.75%) Security Specialist
16 8 (2.45%) Head of Security
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 24 (7.34%) Terraform
2 17 (5.20%) SailPoint
3 13 (3.98%) OAuth
4 11 (3.36%) SAML
5 9 (2.75%) REST
6 8 (2.45%) JSON
7 7 (2.14%) LDAP
8 5 (1.53%) SOAP
9 4 (1.22%) OpenID
9 4 (1.22%) YAML
10 3 (0.92%) JDBC
10 3 (0.92%) SLSA
10 3 (0.92%) SPIFFE
11 2 (0.61%) Azure Blueprints
11 2 (0.61%) Elastic Stack
11 2 (0.61%) Kafka
11 2 (0.61%) Middleware
11 2 (0.61%) OAuth2
11 2 (0.61%) Playwright
11 2 (0.61%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 32 (9.79%) Cloud Native
2 29 (8.87%) Onboarding
3 27 (8.26%) Security Posture
4 20 (6.12%) Operational Technology
5 15 (4.59%) Hybrid Cloud
6 12 (3.67%) CMDB
7 11 (3.36%) AI Agents
8 10 (3.06%) Management Information System
9 9 (2.75%) PKI
9 9 (2.75%) SCADA
10 8 (2.45%) Cyber Threat
11 7 (2.14%) Self-Motivation
12 5 (1.53%) Cloud Security Posture
12 5 (1.53%) Data Centre
12 5 (1.53%) Enterprise Software
13 4 (1.22%) Algorithms
13 4 (1.22%) Data Protection Act
13 4 (1.22%) Legacy Systems
14 3 (0.92%) Cyber Defence
14 3 (0.92%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 21 (6.42%) Windows
2 18 (5.50%) Linux
3 7 (2.14%) Windows Server
4 6 (1.83%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.22%) Unix
6 3 (0.92%) Ubuntu
7 2 (0.61%) Alpine Linux
8 1 (0.31%) Android
8 1 (0.31%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.31%) CentOS
8 1 (0.31%) Mac OS
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (55.05%) Cybersecurity
2 80 (24.46%) Security Architecture
3 71 (21.71%) Stakeholder Management
4 66 (20.18%) Risk Management
5 64 (19.57%) Cloud Security
6 60 (18.35%) Roadmaps
6 60 (18.35%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 55 (16.82%) Identity Access Management
8 50 (15.29%) Incident Response
8 50 (15.29%) Threat Modelling
9 49 (14.98%) AI
10 48 (14.68%) Vulnerability Management
11 47 (14.37%) Information Security
12 46 (14.07%) CI/CD
13 44 (13.46%) SIEM
13 44 (13.46%) Zero Trust
14 39 (11.93%) Continuous Improvement
14 39 (11.93%) DevOps
15 35 (10.70%) Agile
16 34 (10.40%) TOGAF
Programming Languages
1 39 (11.93%) Python
2 36 (11.01%) PowerShell
3 17 (5.20%) SQL
4 10 (3.06%) Bash
5 7 (2.14%) Java
6 6 (1.83%) Bicep
6 6 (1.83%) Kusto Query Language
7 3 (0.92%) BeanShell
8 2 (0.61%) C#
8 2 (0.61%) Go
8 2 (0.61%) Objective-C
9 1 (0.31%) C
9 1 (0.31%) JavaScript
9 1 (0.31%) Korn
Qualifications
1 95 (29.05%) CISSP
2 69 (21.10%) Security Cleared
3 52 (15.90%) SC Cleared
4 51 (15.60%) CISM
5 32 (9.79%) Degree
6 24 (7.34%) Cisco Certification
7 21 (6.42%) (ISC)2 CCSP
8 20 (6.12%) GIAC
9 19 (5.81%) Azure Certification
9 19 (5.81%) CEH
9 19 (5.81%) CRISC
10 18 (5.50%) CompTIA Security+
11 16 (4.89%) CISA
12 15 (4.59%) AWS Certification
12 15 (4.59%) DV Cleared
13 11 (3.36%) PMI Certification
13 11 (3.36%) PMP
14 10 (3.06%) CCSP
14 10 (3.06%) FFIEC
14 10 (3.06%) GCIH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 198 (60.55%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 54 (16.51%) GDPR
3 42 (12.84%) GRC
4 37 (11.31%) COBIT
5 35 (10.70%) NCSC
6 27 (8.26%) NIST 800
7 21 (6.42%) PCI DSS
8 18 (5.50%) Cyber Essentials
9 17 (5.20%) SOC 2
10 15 (4.59%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 12 (3.67%) EU AI Act
11 12 (3.67%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 12 (3.67%) ITGC
12 10 (3.06%) QA
13 8 (2.45%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 8 (2.45%) SLA
14 7 (2.14%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
15 5 (1.53%) PMO
16 4 (1.22%) HIPAA
16 4 (1.22%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 41 (12.54%) Active Directory
2 14 (4.28%) Docker
3 3 (0.92%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.61%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.61%) OpenSSH
4 2 (0.61%) Virtual Machines
5 1 (0.31%) Firmware
5 1 (0.31%) Varnish
Systems Management
1 20 (6.12%) Kubernetes
2 12 (3.67%) Single Sign-On
3 9 (2.75%) Ansible
3 9 (2.75%) Microsoft Intune
4 3 (0.92%) Nessus
5 2 (0.61%) CASB
5 2 (0.61%) Docker Swarm
5 2 (0.61%) Grafana
5 2 (0.61%) HP Fortify
5 2 (0.61%) Nexpose
5 2 (0.61%) Prometheus
5 2 (0.61%) Puppet
5 2 (0.61%) SCCM
6 1 (0.31%) Argo
6 1 (0.31%) QRadar
Vendors
1 72 (22.02%) Microsoft
2 29 (8.87%) CyberArk
3 25 (7.65%) ServiceNow
4 23 (7.03%) Splunk
5 16 (4.89%) CrowdStrike
6 14 (4.28%) Google
7 13 (3.98%) Tenable
8 11 (3.36%) Qualys
9 9 (2.75%) Okta
9 9 (2.75%) Palo Alto
10 8 (2.45%) Zscaler
11 7 (2.14%) Rapid7
12 6 (1.83%) Cisco
12 6 (1.83%) ForgeRock
13 4 (1.22%) Veracode
14 3 (0.92%) BeyondTrust
14 3 (0.92%) Commvault
14 3 (0.92%) OpenAI
14 3 (0.92%) Salesforce
14 3 (0.92%) Workday