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 10 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 184 159 218
Rank change year-on-year -25 +59 -17
Contract jobs citing NIST 329 239 176
As % of all contract jobs in London 1.63% 1.78% 1.09%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 8.36% 10.11% 8.03%
Number of daily rates quoted 235 153 121
10th Percentile £433 £400 £450
25th Percentile £500 £480 £513
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £575 £575 £638
Median % change year-on-year - -9.80% -1.92%
75th Percentile £675 £675 £775
90th Percentile £784 £775 -
England median daily rate £560 £565 £625
% change year-on-year -0.88% -9.60% -0.79%
Number of hourly rates quoted 0 1 2
10th Percentile - - £70.24
25th Percentile - £85.00 £72.40
Median hourly rate - £90.00 £78.40
Median % change year-on-year - +14.80% -
75th Percentile - £95.00 £82.00
90th Percentile - - £82.72
England median hourly rate £71.00 £90.00 £80.00
% change year-on-year -21.11% +12.50% +71.12%

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 3,936 2,363 2,191
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in London 19.45% 17.63% 13.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,666 1,563 1,361
10th Percentile £350 £325 £313
25th Percentile £431 £413 £420
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £533 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year +1.43% -4.55% -3.93%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £675
90th Percentile £725 £750 £800
England median daily rate £513 £500 £513
% change year-on-year +2.55% -2.44% -5.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 49 55 40
10th Percentile £15.39 £22.75 £18.13
25th Percentile £21.33 £25.15 £23.80
Median hourly rate £28.00 £34.00 £32.35
Median % change year-on-year -17.65% +5.12% +5.62%
75th Percentile £41.44 £43.98 £51.75
90th Percentile £59.15 £61.80 £79.20
England median hourly rate £31.73 £32.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year -2.37% -7.14% -4.76%

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 10 October 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 10 October 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 -19 40 £570 +1.33% 59
West London -15 5 £488 +14.71% 7
East London +3 3 £750 +33.33% 6
South London -14 3 £495 -23.85% 5
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 (2.13%) SharePoint
2 5 (1.52%) Microsoft Exchange
3 3 (0.91%) Confluence
4 1 (0.30%) Apache
4 1 (0.30%) Apache Spark
4 1 (0.30%) IIS
4 1 (0.30%) nginx
4 1 (0.30%) OpenStack
4 1 (0.30%) Red Hat Fuse
Applications
1 7 (2.13%) Microsoft Excel
2 5 (1.52%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (0.91%) Microsoft Office
4 1 (0.30%) Microsoft Project
Cloud Services
1 135 (41.03%) Azure
2 99 (30.09%) AWS
3 64 (19.45%) Entra ID
4 53 (16.11%) GCP
5 24 (7.29%) Microsoft 365
6 22 (6.69%) Azure Sentinel
7 19 (5.78%) OCI
7 19 (5.78%) SaaS
8 16 (4.86%) Azure DevOps
9 14 (4.26%) GitHub
10 13 (3.95%) Microsoft Purview
11 10 (3.04%) AWS Control Tower
12 9 (2.74%) Amazon S3
13 8 (2.43%) Amazon EC2
13 8 (2.43%) Azure Key Vault
13 8 (2.43%) GitHub Actions
14 7 (2.13%) Azure Monitor
15 6 (1.82%) Microsoft Copilot
15 6 (1.82%) Serverless
16 5 (1.52%) Amazon Bedrock
Communications & Networking
1 30 (9.12%) Network Security
2 21 (6.38%) Firewall
3 11 (3.34%) VPN
4 9 (2.74%) DNS
4 9 (2.74%) IPsec
5 8 (2.43%) X.509
6 6 (1.82%) Modbus
7 5 (1.52%) NGFW
7 5 (1.52%) SSH
8 4 (1.22%) TCP/IP
9 3 (0.91%) Internet
9 3 (0.91%) Kerberos
9 3 (0.91%) SSL
9 3 (0.91%) Wireless
10 2 (0.61%) Cisco IOS
10 2 (0.61%) DHCP
10 2 (0.61%) Ethernet
10 2 (0.61%) HTTP
10 2 (0.61%) S/MIME
10 2 (0.61%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 6 (1.82%) Amazon RDS
1 6 (1.82%) DynamoDB
2 5 (1.52%) Power BI
3 3 (0.91%) Azure SQL Database
3 3 (0.91%) Metadata
4 2 (0.61%) Data Lake
5 1 (0.30%) Big Data
5 1 (0.30%) Data Hub
5 1 (0.30%) Elasticsearch
5 1 (0.30%) PostgreSQL
Development Applications
1 9 (2.74%) GitLab
2 8 (2.43%) Jenkins
3 7 (2.13%) JIRA
4 6 (1.82%) Snyk
5 5 (1.52%) Git
6 4 (1.22%) Burp Suite
6 4 (1.22%) SonarQube
7 3 (0.91%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.91%) Selenium
7 3 (0.91%) TestRail
8 2 (0.61%) MSI
General
1 106 (32.22%) Social Skills
2 85 (25.84%) Finance
3 32 (9.73%) Analytical Skills
3 32 (9.73%) Public Sector
4 22 (6.69%) Banking
5 21 (6.38%) Legal
6 19 (5.78%) Manufacturing
7 11 (3.34%) Influencing Skills
8 10 (3.04%) Documentation Skills
9 4 (1.22%) Investment Banking
9 4 (1.22%) Organisational Skills
10 3 (0.91%) Cyber-Physical System
10 3 (0.91%) Financial Institution
10 3 (0.91%) Local Government
10 3 (0.91%) Presentation Skills
11 2 (0.61%) German Language
11 2 (0.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 2 (0.61%) Law
11 2 (0.61%) Retail
12 1 (0.30%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 78 (23.71%) Architect
2 53 (16.11%) Analyst
3 49 (14.89%) Consultant
4 45 (13.68%) Security Architect
5 36 (10.94%) Lead
6 27 (8.21%) Security Analyst
6 27 (8.21%) Senior
7 26 (7.90%) Security Consultant
8 22 (6.69%) Security Engineer
9 19 (5.78%) Security Manager
10 17 (5.17%) Business Analyst
10 17 (5.17%) Cybersecurity Consultant
11 16 (4.86%) Cybersecurity Analyst
12 11 (3.34%) Senior Architect
13 10 (3.04%) Project Manager
13 10 (3.04%) Solutions Architect
14 9 (2.74%) Senior Analyst
15 8 (2.43%) Security Project Manager
16 7 (2.13%) Security Technical Consultant
16 7 (2.13%) Technical Security Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 31 (9.42%) Terraform
2 14 (4.26%) OAuth
3 13 (3.95%) SailPoint
4 11 (3.34%) REST
5 9 (2.74%) SAML
6 8 (2.43%) LDAP
7 7 (2.13%) JSON
8 4 (1.22%) JDBC
8 4 (1.22%) Playwright
8 4 (1.22%) SOAP
9 3 (0.91%) OpenID
9 3 (0.91%) pytest
9 3 (0.91%) SLSA
9 3 (0.91%) YAML
10 2 (0.61%) Azure Blueprints
10 2 (0.61%) Kafka
10 2 (0.61%) Microsoft Graph
11 1 (0.30%) FastAPI
11 1 (0.30%) SPIFFE
11 1 (0.30%) Vert.x
Miscellaneous
1 33 (10.03%) Cloud Native
2 32 (9.73%) Onboarding
2 32 (9.73%) Operational Technology
3 31 (9.42%) Security Posture
4 17 (5.17%) Cyber Threat
5 14 (4.26%) PKI
5 14 (4.26%) SCADA
6 13 (3.95%) Management Information System
7 10 (3.04%) AI Agents
8 7 (2.13%) IoT
9 6 (1.82%) Data Centre
9 6 (1.82%) Enterprise Software
9 6 (1.82%) Hybrid Cloud
10 5 (1.52%) Cloud Security Posture
10 5 (1.52%) CMDB
10 5 (1.52%) Data Protection Act
10 5 (1.52%) Taxonomies
11 4 (1.22%) Cyberattack
11 4 (1.22%) Industrial Internet of Things
11 4 (1.22%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 20 (6.08%) Windows
2 18 (5.47%) Linux
3 10 (3.04%) Windows Server
4 8 (2.43%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 3 (0.91%) Ubuntu
6 2 (0.61%) Alpine Linux
7 1 (0.30%) Android
7 1 (0.30%) Apple iOS
7 1 (0.30%) CentOS
7 1 (0.30%) Mac OS
7 1 (0.30%) Unix
Processes & Methodologies
1 203 (61.70%) Cybersecurity
2 86 (26.14%) Stakeholder Management
3 85 (25.84%) Risk Management
4 83 (25.23%) Security Architecture
5 72 (21.88%) Cloud Security
6 70 (21.28%) Stakeholder Engagement
7 63 (19.15%) Identity Access Management
8 61 (18.54%) Vulnerability Management
9 60 (18.24%) Roadmaps
10 52 (15.81%) Threat Modelling
11 50 (15.20%) Incident Response
12 46 (13.98%) Information Security
13 45 (13.68%) AI
13 45 (13.68%) Zero Trust
14 43 (13.07%) Continuous Improvement
15 39 (11.85%) CI/CD
16 38 (11.55%) Security Operations
16 38 (11.55%) SIEM
17 37 (11.25%) OWASP
18 36 (10.94%) TOGAF
Programming Languages
1 41 (12.46%) Python
2 38 (11.55%) PowerShell
3 19 (5.78%) SQL
4 16 (4.86%) Bash
5 8 (2.43%) Java
5 8 (2.43%) Kusto Query Language
6 7 (2.13%) Bicep
7 4 (1.22%) BeanShell
8 3 (0.91%) C#
8 3 (0.91%) Korn
9 2 (0.61%) Objective-C
10 1 (0.30%) C
10 1 (0.30%) CodeQL
Qualifications
1 112 (34.04%) CISSP
2 81 (24.62%) Security Cleared
3 80 (24.32%) CISM
4 66 (20.06%) SC Cleared
5 34 (10.33%) CRISC
6 26 (7.90%) Cisco Certification
7 22 (6.69%) Degree
8 21 (6.38%) (ISC)2 CCSP
9 19 (5.78%) Azure Certification
9 19 (5.78%) GIAC
10 18 (5.47%) AWS Certification
10 18 (5.47%) CISA
11 17 (5.17%) CompTIA Security+
12 16 (4.86%) DV Cleared
13 12 (3.65%) CCSP
13 12 (3.65%) CEH
13 12 (3.65%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 11 (3.34%) FFIEC
14 11 (3.34%) PMI Certification
14 11 (3.34%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 217 (65.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 52 (15.81%) GRC
3 45 (13.68%) GDPR
4 44 (13.37%) NCSC
5 28 (8.51%) NIST 800
6 27 (8.21%) PCI DSS
7 25 (7.60%) COBIT
8 22 (6.69%) Cyber Essentials
8 22 (6.69%) SOC 2
9 12 (3.65%) ISO/IEC 42001
9 12 (3.65%) QA
10 11 (3.34%) EU AI Act
11 9 (2.74%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 7 (2.13%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 7 (2.13%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
13 6 (1.82%) Data Quality
13 6 (1.82%) ITGC
14 5 (1.52%) HMG Security Policy Framework
15 4 (1.22%) HIPAA
15 4 (1.22%) PMO
System Software
1 43 (13.07%) Active Directory
2 15 (4.56%) Docker
3 5 (1.52%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (0.61%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.30%) Firmware
5 1 (0.30%) ISA Server
5 1 (0.30%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 18 (5.47%) Kubernetes
2 12 (3.65%) Microsoft Intune
3 11 (3.34%) Ansible
4 7 (2.13%) Single Sign-On
5 3 (0.91%) Argo
5 3 (0.91%) HP Fortify
6 2 (0.61%) CASB
6 2 (0.61%) Docker Swarm
6 2 (0.61%) Nessus
6 2 (0.61%) Nexpose
6 2 (0.61%) Puppet
6 2 (0.61%) SCCM
7 1 (0.30%) Grafana
7 1 (0.30%) Progress Chef
7 1 (0.30%) Prometheus
7 1 (0.30%) QRadar
Vendors
1 80 (24.32%) Microsoft
2 20 (6.08%) CyberArk
3 18 (5.47%) Google
3 18 (5.47%) ServiceNow
4 17 (5.17%) CrowdStrike
5 15 (4.56%) Splunk
6 14 (4.26%) Qualys
7 11 (3.34%) Tenable
8 10 (3.04%) Okta
8 10 (3.04%) Palo Alto
8 10 (3.04%) Rapid7
9 9 (2.74%) Cisco
10 6 (1.82%) VMware
11 5 (1.52%) Zscaler
12 4 (1.22%) Databricks
12 4 (1.22%) OpenAI
12 4 (1.22%) Oracle
12 4 (1.22%) Salesforce
12 4 (1.22%) SAP
12 4 (1.22%) Siemens