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 21 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 175 159 221
Rank change year-on-year -16 +62 -8
Contract jobs citing NIST 331 231 175
As % of all contract jobs in London 1.64% 1.73% 1.08%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 8.52% 9.94% 7.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 234 150 129
10th Percentile £432 £411 £475
25th Percentile £500 £500 £525
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 £580 £650
Median % change year-on-year -0.86% -10.77% -3.70%
75th Percentile £675 £684 £775
90th Percentile £790 £775 £776
England median daily rate £568 £575 £638
% change year-on-year -1.30% -9.80% -1.77%

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 3,887 2,325 2,228
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 19.30% 17.39% 13.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,639 1,549 1,435
10th Percentile £350 £325 £333
25th Percentile £430 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year - -4.55% -2.22%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £688
90th Percentile £725 £750 £800
England median daily rate £513 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +2.50% -4.76% -2.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 49 40
10th Percentile £15.88 - £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% +14.35%
75th Percentile £40.00 £42.75 £49.06
90th Percentile £55.78 £54.35 £71.88
England median hourly rate £33.00 £32.50 £33.07
% change year-on-year +1.54% -1.72% -8.14%

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 21 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 21 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 -8 45 £573 -2.14% 47
West London -22 4 £431 +1.47% 14
East London +3 3 £750 +33.33% 6
South London -7 3 £495 -23.85% 4
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 (2.11%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.51%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.91%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) OpenStack
4 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 6 (1.81%) Microsoft Excel
2 4 (1.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (0.91%) Microsoft Office
4 2 (0.60%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 142 (42.90%) Azure
2 107 (32.33%) AWS
3 69 (20.85%) Entra ID
4 52 (15.71%) GCP
5 23 (6.95%) Azure Sentinel
6 21 (6.34%) Microsoft 365
7 20 (6.04%) SaaS
8 18 (5.44%) Azure DevOps
9 17 (5.14%) OCI
10 14 (4.23%) GitHub
10 14 (4.23%) Microsoft Purview
11 10 (3.02%) AWS Control Tower
11 10 (3.02%) Azure Key Vault
12 9 (2.72%) Amazon S3
13 8 (2.42%) Amazon EC2
13 8 (2.42%) GitHub Actions
14 7 (2.11%) Azure Monitor
15 6 (1.81%) AWS KMS
15 6 (1.81%) Datadog
15 6 (1.81%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 28 (8.46%) Network Security
2 20 (6.04%) Firewall
3 12 (3.63%) DNS
3 12 (3.63%) VPN
4 9 (2.72%) X.509
5 8 (2.42%) IPsec
6 5 (1.51%) Kerberos
6 5 (1.51%) NGFW
6 5 (1.51%) SSH
6 5 (1.51%) TCP/IP
7 4 (1.21%) DHCP
7 4 (1.21%) Modbus
8 3 (0.91%) HTTP
8 3 (0.91%) Internet
8 3 (0.91%) SSL
8 3 (0.91%) Wireless
9 2 (0.60%) Cisco IOS
9 2 (0.60%) Intrusion Detection
9 2 (0.60%) S/MIME
9 2 (0.60%) WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (1.81%) Amazon RDS
1 6 (1.81%) DynamoDB
2 3 (0.91%) Azure SQL Database
2 3 (0.91%) Power BI
3 2 (0.60%) Metadata
4 1 (0.30%) Big Data
4 1 (0.30%) Data Hub
4 1 (0.30%) Data Lake
4 1 (0.30%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 9 (2.72%) GitLab
2 8 (2.42%) JIRA
3 7 (2.11%) Jenkins
4 6 (1.81%) Snyk
5 4 (1.21%) Burp Suite
5 4 (1.21%) Git
5 4 (1.21%) SonarQube
6 2 (0.60%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.60%) MSI
6 2 (0.60%) Robot Framework
6 2 (0.60%) Selenium
6 2 (0.60%) TestRail
7 1 (0.30%) Postman
General
1 103 (31.12%) Social Skills
2 87 (26.28%) Finance
3 36 (10.88%) Analytical Skills
4 31 (9.37%) Public Sector
5 25 (7.55%) Banking
6 20 (6.04%) Legal
7 16 (4.83%) Manufacturing
8 11 (3.32%) Influencing Skills
9 10 (3.02%) Documentation Skills
10 5 (1.51%) Financial Institution
11 3 (0.91%) Cyber-Physical System
11 3 (0.91%) Investment Banking
11 3 (0.91%) Local Government
11 3 (0.91%) Organisational Skills
11 3 (0.91%) Presentation Skills
11 3 (0.91%) 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 89 (26.89%) Architect
2 54 (16.31%) Analyst
3 49 (14.80%) Security Architect
4 44 (13.29%) Consultant
5 30 (9.06%) Lead
6 28 (8.46%) Senior
7 25 (7.55%) Security Analyst
8 23 (6.95%) Security Consultant
9 21 (6.34%) Security Engineer
10 17 (5.14%) Business Analyst
11 16 (4.83%) Cybersecurity Consultant
11 16 (4.83%) Security Manager
12 14 (4.23%) Cybersecurity Analyst
13 12 (3.63%) Project Manager
13 12 (3.63%) Senior Architect
13 12 (3.63%) Solutions Architect
14 9 (2.72%) Security Project Manager
14 9 (2.72%) Senior Analyst
15 8 (2.42%) CyberArk Architect
15 8 (2.42%) Risk Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (9.67%) Terraform
2 17 (5.14%) SailPoint
3 14 (4.23%) OAuth
4 10 (3.02%) REST
4 10 (3.02%) SAML
5 9 (2.72%) JSON
5 9 (2.72%) LDAP
6 5 (1.51%) SOAP
7 4 (1.21%) JDBC
7 4 (1.21%) OpenID
8 3 (0.91%) Playwright
8 3 (0.91%) SLSA
8 3 (0.91%) SPIFFE
8 3 (0.91%) 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%) pytest
10 1 (0.30%) Flask
Miscellaneous
1 34 (10.27%) Cloud Native
1 34 (10.27%) Onboarding
2 29 (8.76%) Security Posture
3 28 (8.46%) Operational Technology
4 15 (4.53%) PKI
5 13 (3.93%) Cyber Threat
5 13 (3.93%) SCADA
6 12 (3.63%) Management Information System
7 11 (3.32%) AI Agents
8 7 (2.11%) Hybrid Cloud
9 6 (1.81%) Cloud Security Posture
9 6 (1.81%) CMDB
9 6 (1.81%) Enterprise Software
9 6 (1.81%) IoT
10 5 (1.51%) Data Centre
10 5 (1.51%) Taxonomies
11 4 (1.21%) Algorithms
11 4 (1.21%) Data Protection Act
11 4 (1.21%) Legacy Systems
12 3 (0.91%) Self-Motivation
Operating Systems
1 20 (6.04%) Windows
2 18 (5.44%) Linux
3 8 (2.42%) Windows Server
4 7 (2.11%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 4 (1.21%) Unix
6 3 (0.91%) 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
1 193 (58.31%) Cybersecurity
2 86 (25.98%) Security Architecture
3 79 (23.87%) Risk Management
3 79 (23.87%) Stakeholder Management
4 71 (21.45%) Stakeholder Engagement
5 67 (20.24%) Cloud Security
6 63 (19.03%) Identity Access Management
7 62 (18.73%) Roadmaps
8 55 (16.62%) Vulnerability Management
9 54 (16.31%) Incident Response
10 51 (15.41%) Threat Modelling
11 47 (14.20%) Information Security
11 47 (14.20%) Zero Trust
12 46 (13.90%) AI
13 45 (13.60%) CI/CD
14 43 (12.99%) SIEM
15 40 (12.08%) Continuous Improvement
15 40 (12.08%) DevOps
16 39 (11.78%) Security Operations
17 38 (11.48%) Infrastructure as Code
Programming Languages
1 41 (12.39%) Python
2 39 (11.78%) PowerShell
3 17 (5.14%) SQL
4 15 (4.53%) Bash
5 8 (2.42%) Java
6 7 (2.11%) Bicep
7 6 (1.81%) Kusto Query Language
8 4 (1.21%) BeanShell
9 3 (0.91%) Korn
10 2 (0.60%) C#
10 2 (0.60%) Go
10 2 (0.60%) Objective-C
11 1 (0.30%) C
11 1 (0.30%) CodeQL
11 1 (0.30%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 106 (32.02%) CISSP
2 79 (23.87%) Security Cleared
3 68 (20.54%) CISM
4 64 (19.34%) SC Cleared
5 28 (8.46%) CRISC
6 25 (7.55%) Cisco Certification
7 24 (7.25%) Degree
8 21 (6.34%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 20 (6.04%) Azure Certification
10 18 (5.44%) AWS Certification
10 18 (5.44%) GIAC
11 16 (4.83%) CompTIA Security+
12 15 (4.53%) CISA
12 15 (4.53%) DV Cleared
13 12 (3.63%) CEH
13 12 (3.63%) PMI Certification
13 12 (3.63%) PMP
14 10 (3.02%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
14 10 (3.02%) CCSP
14 10 (3.02%) FFIEC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 210 (63.44%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 48 (14.50%) GRC
3 45 (13.60%) GDPR
4 40 (12.08%) NCSC
5 32 (9.67%) NIST 800
6 28 (8.46%) COBIT
7 22 (6.65%) PCI DSS
7 22 (6.65%) SOC 2
8 21 (6.34%) Cyber Essentials
9 15 (4.53%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 12 (3.63%) ISO/IEC 42001
10 12 (3.63%) QA
11 10 (3.02%) EU AI Act
12 8 (2.42%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 8 (2.42%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
12 8 (2.42%) ITGC
13 6 (1.81%) SLA
14 4 (1.21%) Data Quality
14 4 (1.21%) HIPAA
14 4 (1.21%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 45 (13.60%) Active Directory
2 15 (4.53%) Docker
3 5 (1.51%) 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 21 (6.34%) Kubernetes
2 13 (3.93%) Microsoft Intune
3 11 (3.32%) Ansible
3 11 (3.32%) Single Sign-On
4 3 (0.91%) HP Fortify
5 2 (0.60%) Argo
5 2 (0.60%) Docker Swarm
5 2 (0.60%) Nessus
5 2 (0.60%) Nexpose
5 2 (0.60%) Puppet
5 2 (0.60%) SCCM
6 1 (0.30%) CASB
6 1 (0.30%) QRadar
Vendors
1 78 (23.56%) Microsoft
2 26 (7.85%) CyberArk
3 22 (6.65%) ServiceNow
4 19 (5.74%) Splunk
5 17 (5.14%) CrowdStrike
6 15 (4.53%) Google
7 13 (3.93%) Qualys
8 11 (3.32%) Tenable
9 10 (3.02%) Okta
9 10 (3.02%) Palo Alto
10 8 (2.42%) Rapid7
11 7 (2.11%) Cisco
12 6 (1.81%) VMware
13 5 (1.51%) ForgeRock
13 5 (1.51%) Zscaler
14 4 (1.21%) OpenAI
14 4 (1.21%) Salesforce
14 4 (1.21%) SAP
14 4 (1.21%) Veracode
15 3 (0.91%) Oracle