Problem-Solving Contract Job Trends in the North of England

Problem Solving
England > North of England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North of England requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 11 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 4 5
Rank change year-on-year -9 +1 +10
Contract jobs citing Problem-Solving 724 706 541
As % of all contract jobs in the North of England 9.82% 17.78% 13.12%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.79% 19.96% 15.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 404 389 316
10th Percentile £268 £265 £300
25th Percentile £360 £375 £401
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £475 £492
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% -3.36% -1.70%
75th Percentile £538 £575 £564
90th Percentile £600 £650 £638
England median daily rate £495 £495 £500
% change year-on-year -0.10% -1.00% -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 75 74 37
10th Percentile £14.05 £13.06 -
25th Percentile £17.00 £17.45 -
Median hourly rate £24.16 £22.14 £10.95
Median % change year-on-year +9.12% +102.19% -61.91%
75th Percentile £66.88 £30.63 £28.75
90th Percentile £85.60 £63.40 £63.00
England median hourly rate £21.00 £20.26 £16.23
% change year-on-year +3.68% +24.80% -69.76%

All Process & Methodology Skills
North of England

Problem-Solving falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the North of England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 6,140 3,537 3,460
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North of England 83.28% 89.07% 83.92%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,616 2,251 2,078
10th Percentile £313 £268 £310
25th Percentile £402 £375 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £496 £469 £500
Median % change year-on-year +5.74% -6.20% -
75th Percentile £588 £556 £586
90th Percentile £675 £650 £675
England median daily rate £525 £513 £525
% change year-on-year +2.44% -2.38% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 507 208 238
10th Percentile £16.01 £12.82 £11.07
25th Percentile £21.33 £17.48 £14.39
Median hourly rate £43.96 £22.63 £25.30
Median % change year-on-year +94.26% -10.55% -13.65%
75th Percentile £70.00 £44.26 £48.75
90th Percentile £77.50 £73.75 £70.00
England median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £43.00
% change year-on-year +74.79% -41.51% +4.78%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the North of England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Problem-Solving relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the North of England.

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the North of England

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Trend in the North of England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing Problem-Solving.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Histogram in the North of England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the North of England over the 6 months to 11 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the North of England

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Trend in the North of England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing Problem-Solving.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the North of England citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North of England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Problem-Solving in the North of England over the 6 months to 11 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the North of England

Problem-Solving
Contract Job Locations in the North of England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Problem-Solving within the North of England region over the 6 months to 11 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
North West -12 342 £450 -8.16% 458
Yorkshire -7 324 £450 -5.26% 303
North East -16 63 £375 -16.67% 136
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North of England 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 30 (4.14%) Confluence
2 21 (2.90%) SharePoint
3 20 (2.76%) Apache Spark
4 10 (1.38%) Apache Airflow
5 9 (1.24%) Microsoft Exchange
6 8 (1.10%) Apache
7 6 (0.83%) CMS
7 6 (0.83%) Jupyter
8 4 (0.55%) CICS
9 3 (0.41%) WordPress
10 2 (0.28%) Adobe Experience Manager
10 2 (0.28%) Camunda
10 2 (0.28%) Oracle Workflow
10 2 (0.28%) WebLogic
11 1 (0.14%) Apache Superset
11 1 (0.14%) JBoss
11 1 (0.14%) Mule ESB
11 1 (0.14%) NetWeaver
11 1 (0.14%) Tomcat
11 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
Applications
1 38 (5.25%) Microsoft Excel
2 30 (4.14%) Microsoft Office
3 10 (1.38%) MS Visio
4 9 (1.24%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 7 (0.97%) Microsoft Project
6 6 (0.83%) Chatbot
7 5 (0.69%) Spreadsheet
8 3 (0.41%) Acrobat
8 3 (0.41%) CATIA
9 2 (0.28%) AutoCAD
9 2 (0.28%) Navisworks
9 2 (0.28%) Revit
10 1 (0.14%) EngageOne
Business Applications
1 27 (3.73%) SAP S/4HANA
2 11 (1.52%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.55%) Dynamics CRM
3 4 (0.55%) Oracle EBS
4 3 (0.41%) SAP ERP
5 2 (0.28%) SAP HCM
5 2 (0.28%) SAP Payroll
6 1 (0.14%) Actimize
6 1 (0.14%) FIS Private Capital Suite
6 1 (0.14%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 1 (0.14%) ResourceLink
6 1 (0.14%) SAP GRC
6 1 (0.14%) SystmOne
6 1 (0.14%) VisionPLUS
Cloud Services
1 117 (16.16%) Azure
2 94 (12.98%) AWS
3 81 (11.19%) Microsoft 365
4 59 (8.15%) Power Platform
5 44 (6.08%) GCP
6 30 (4.14%) GitHub
7 28 (3.87%) OpenShift
8 25 (3.45%) Entra ID
9 17 (2.35%) Azure DevOps
10 14 (1.93%) Serverless
11 13 (1.80%) Microsoft Copilot
11 13 (1.80%) Power Automate
12 11 (1.52%) SaaS
13 10 (1.38%) GitHub Actions
13 10 (1.38%) Google Kubernetes Engine
14 9 (1.24%) PowerApps
15 8 (1.10%) Copilot Studio
16 7 (0.97%) Google Workspace
17 6 (0.83%) AWS Lambda
17 6 (0.83%) Kong
Communications & Networking
1 37 (5.11%) VPN
2 29 (4.01%) DNS
2 29 (4.01%) Firewall
3 21 (2.90%) LAN
3 21 (2.90%) WAN
4 16 (2.21%) VLAN
4 16 (2.21%) Wireless
5 15 (2.07%) TCP/IP
6 14 (1.93%) Network Security
6 14 (1.93%) Wi-Fi
7 13 (1.80%) DHCP
8 11 (1.52%) VoIP
9 9 (1.24%) Cisco Nexus
9 9 (1.24%) SAN
10 8 (1.10%) BGP
10 8 (1.10%) OSPF
10 8 (1.10%) WLAN
11 6 (0.83%) SD-WAN
12 5 (0.69%) Cisco Firepower
12 5 (0.69%) IPsec
Database & Business Intelligence
1 44 (6.08%) Power BI
2 33 (4.56%) SQL Server
3 27 (3.73%) MongoDB
4 23 (3.18%) Data Warehouse
5 17 (2.35%) PostgreSQL
6 15 (2.07%) NoSQL
7 14 (1.93%) Relational Database
7 14 (1.93%) Tableau
8 12 (1.66%) Big Data
9 9 (1.24%) Db2
9 9 (1.24%) Hadoop
10 8 (1.10%) Metadata
11 7 (0.97%) MySQL
12 6 (0.83%) DataStage
12 6 (0.83%) Oracle Database
13 5 (0.69%) Neo4j
13 5 (0.69%) Snowflake Schema
14 4 (0.55%) Data Lake
14 4 (0.55%) Data Vault
14 4 (0.55%) SQL Server Integration Services
Development Applications
1 75 (10.36%) JIRA
2 37 (5.11%) Jenkins
3 36 (4.97%) Git
4 23 (3.18%) GitLab
5 9 (1.24%) Selenium
6 8 (1.10%) REST Assured
6 8 (1.10%) Sonatype Nexus
7 6 (0.83%) Cucumber
7 6 (0.83%) Gatling
7 6 (0.83%) Mockito
8 5 (0.69%) Maven
9 4 (0.55%) Cypress.io
9 4 (0.55%) Gradle
9 4 (0.55%) Postman
10 3 (0.41%) Claude Code
10 3 (0.41%) JUnit
10 3 (0.41%) MSI
10 3 (0.41%) Serenity BDD
10 3 (0.41%) SonarQube
10 3 (0.41%) Subversion
General
1 340 (46.96%) Social Skills
2 302 (41.71%) Analytical Skills
3 191 (26.38%) Finance
4 81 (11.19%) Banking
5 69 (9.53%) Public Sector
6 33 (4.56%) Organisational Skills
7 30 (4.14%) Manufacturing
8 27 (3.73%) Legal
9 26 (3.59%) Documentation Skills
10 22 (3.04%) Influencing Skills
11 17 (2.35%) Retail
12 16 (2.21%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 16 (2.21%) Law
13 9 (1.24%) Aerospace
13 9 (1.24%) Financial Institution
14 8 (1.10%) Automotive
14 8 (1.10%) Presentation Skills
14 8 (1.10%) Telecoms
15 7 (0.97%) Marketing
16 5 (0.69%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 133 (18.37%) Analyst
2 87 (12.02%) Developer
3 67 (9.25%) Lead
4 55 (7.60%) Senior
5 39 (5.39%) Architect
6 38 (5.25%) IT Support
7 28 (3.87%) Business Analyst
7 28 (3.87%) Java Developer
8 26 (3.59%) Consultant
9 24 (3.31%) Administrator
10 23 (3.18%) Data Engineer
10 23 (3.18%) IT Engineer
10 23 (3.18%) Support Engineer
11 21 (2.90%) Data Analyst
11 21 (2.90%) Network Engineer
12 20 (2.76%) Python Developer
13 19 (2.62%) DevOps Engineer
14 18 (2.49%) IT Support Engineer
14 18 (2.49%) Project Manager
14 18 (2.49%) Service Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (5.11%) REST
2 33 (4.56%) Kafka
3 30 (4.14%) Spring
4 25 (3.45%) Spring Boot
5 21 (2.90%) React
6 20 (2.76%) OpenTelemetry
7 17 (2.35%) HTML
8 15 (2.07%) CSS
8 15 (2.07%) FastAPI
8 15 (2.07%) Node.js
9 14 (1.93%) .NET
9 14 (1.93%) Playwright
10 13 (1.80%) OAuth
10 13 (1.80%) RESTful
11 10 (1.38%) XML
12 9 (1.24%) JSON
13 8 (1.10%) AngularJS
13 8 (1.10%) Middleware
13 8 (1.10%) SOAP
14 7 (0.97%) OAuth2
Miscellaneous
1 54 (7.46%) Product Ownership
2 46 (6.35%) Cloud Native
3 31 (4.28%) Data Protection Act
4 30 (4.14%) Onboarding
5 24 (3.31%) Enterprise Software
5 24 (3.31%) Self-Motivation
6 23 (3.18%) Analytical Mindset
6 23 (3.18%) Data Centre
7 19 (2.62%) Driving Licence
8 16 (2.21%) Data Structures
8 16 (2.21%) Legacy Systems
9 15 (2.07%) Mainframe
9 15 (2.07%) Management Information System
10 14 (1.93%) AI Agents
11 13 (1.80%) Distributed Systems
11 13 (1.80%) PKI
11 13 (1.80%) Virtual Team
12 11 (1.52%) Mobile App
13 10 (1.38%) Hybrid Cloud
14 9 (1.24%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 95 (13.12%) Windows
2 33 (4.56%) Linux
3 29 (4.01%) Windows 10
4 20 (2.76%) Apple iOS
5 17 (2.35%) Android
5 17 (2.35%) Unix
6 16 (2.21%) Windows Server
7 13 (1.80%) Mac OS
8 5 (0.69%) Mac OS X
9 4 (0.55%) Solaris
9 4 (0.55%) zOS
10 3 (0.41%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.28%) AIX
11 2 (0.28%) Data ONTAP
11 2 (0.28%) HPUX
11 2 (0.28%) Oracle Linux
11 2 (0.28%) SUSE
12 1 (0.14%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.14%) VMS
12 1 (0.14%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (24.86%) Agile
2 167 (23.07%) Continuous Improvement
3 151 (20.86%) CI/CD
4 126 (17.40%) DevOps
5 106 (14.64%) Stakeholder Management
6 82 (11.33%) Migration
7 75 (10.36%) AI
8 71 (9.81%) Analytics
9 70 (9.67%) Test Automation
10 69 (9.53%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 67 (9.25%) ITIL
12 65 (8.98%) Customer Service
13 62 (8.56%) Project Management
14 60 (8.29%) Data Protection
15 59 (8.15%) Change Management
15 59 (8.15%) Containerisation
16 58 (8.01%) Microservices
17 57 (7.87%) Business Intelligence
18 56 (7.73%) Validation
19 53 (7.32%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 119 (16.44%) Python
2 106 (14.64%) SQL
3 59 (8.15%) Java
4 44 (6.08%) PowerShell
5 26 (3.59%) JavaScript
6 24 (3.31%) Bash
7 10 (1.38%) C#
8 9 (1.24%) PL/SQL
8 9 (1.24%) R
9 8 (1.10%) T-SQL
9 8 (1.10%) TypeScript
10 7 (0.97%) Shell Script
11 6 (0.83%) Bicep
11 6 (0.83%) COBOL
11 6 (0.83%) Kotlin
12 5 (0.69%) ABAP
13 4 (0.55%) JCL
14 3 (0.41%) Go
14 3 (0.41%) PHP
14 3 (0.41%) VBA
Qualifications
1 91 (12.57%) Security Cleared
2 73 (10.08%) Degree
3 65 (8.98%) SC Cleared
4 31 (4.28%) Computer Science Degree
5 28 (3.87%) BPSS Clearance
6 23 (3.18%) Microsoft Certification
7 21 (2.90%) Cisco Certification
8 17 (2.35%) CISSP
9 13 (1.80%) PMP
10 12 (1.66%) CCNP
11 11 (1.52%) A+ Certification
11 11 (1.52%) CCNA
11 11 (1.52%) PMI Certification
12 10 (1.38%) Network+ Certification
13 9 (1.24%) CompTIA Security+
14 8 (1.10%) AWS Certification
14 8 (1.10%) Azure Certification
14 8 (1.10%) HNC
15 7 (0.97%) OCP
15 7 (0.97%) Oracle Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 49 (6.77%) Data Quality
2 27 (3.73%) QA
3 25 (3.45%) Accessibility
4 16 (2.21%) SLA
5 14 (1.93%) GDPR
6 13 (1.80%) GRC
7 10 (1.38%) NIST
8 9 (1.24%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 7 (0.97%) PMO
10 6 (0.83%) WCAG
11 3 (0.41%) Actionable Recommendations
11 3 (0.41%) PCI DSS
11 3 (0.41%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 2 (0.28%) COSHH
12 2 (0.28%) HIPAA
12 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 27005
12 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 42001
12 2 (0.28%) MiFID
13 1 (0.14%) GxP
13 1 (0.14%) ISO 8583
System Software
1 61 (8.43%) Docker
2 58 (8.01%) Active Directory
3 19 (2.62%) VMware Infrastructure
4 12 (1.66%) vSphere
5 11 (1.52%) VMware NSX
6 7 (0.97%) Firmware
6 7 (0.97%) Virtual Machines
7 5 (0.69%) Hyper-V
8 4 (0.55%) Oracle RAC
8 4 (0.55%) Virtual Desktop
9 3 (0.41%) VMware ESXi
10 2 (0.28%) EMC RecoverPoint
10 2 (0.28%) KVM
10 2 (0.28%) NFS
10 2 (0.28%) SRDF
11 1 (0.14%) ACF2
11 1 (0.14%) Microsoft App-V
11 1 (0.14%) RACF
11 1 (0.14%) Terminal Services
11 1 (0.14%) Time Sharing Option
Systems Management
1 72 (9.94%) Kubernetes
2 55 (7.60%) Terraform
3 36 (4.97%) Ansible
4 35 (4.83%) Grafana
5 28 (3.87%) Prometheus
6 16 (2.21%) Microsoft Intune
7 12 (1.66%) Argo
7 12 (1.66%) vCenter Server
8 11 (1.52%) Control-M
9 10 (1.38%) SCCM
10 9 (1.24%) IBM Guardium
10 9 (1.24%) Nessus
11 4 (0.55%) Data Guard
11 4 (0.55%) Kustomize
11 4 (0.55%) Single Sign-On
12 3 (0.41%) CA Endevor
12 3 (0.41%) FortiGate
12 3 (0.41%) McAfee ePO
12 3 (0.41%) Oracle RMAN
12 3 (0.41%) WMI
Vendors
1 149 (20.58%) Microsoft
2 61 (8.43%) ServiceNow
3 58 (8.01%) SAP
4 36 (4.97%) Oracle
5 33 (4.56%) Splunk
6 30 (4.14%) Cisco
7 23 (3.18%) Google
8 20 (2.76%) VMware
9 16 (2.21%) Workday
10 13 (1.80%) Red Hat
11 12 (1.66%) Concur
11 12 (1.66%) Palo Alto
12 11 (1.52%) IBM
12 11 (1.52%) Pure Storage
12 11 (1.52%) Remedy
13 9 (1.24%) Dell
13 9 (1.24%) Salesforce
13 9 (1.24%) Tenable
14 8 (1.10%) CheckPoint
14 8 (1.10%) Sage