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 2 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
2 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 2 6
Rank change year-on-year -12 +4 +10
Contract jobs citing Problem-Solving 725 677 622
As % of all contract jobs in the North of England 10.33% 18.73% 12.88%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 12.25% 20.93% 15.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 416 391 350
10th Percentile £297 £258 £273
25th Percentile £362 £375 £381
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £446 £475 £478
Median % change year-on-year -6.05% -0.52% -9.05%
75th Percentile £538 £570 £550
90th Percentile £616 £665 £638
England median daily rate £492 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -1.54% - -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 59 62 66
10th Percentile £15.59 £12.27 -
25th Percentile £17.19 £17.99 £10.95
Median hourly rate £32.23 £22.14 £11.50
Median % change year-on-year +45.55% +92.52% -58.18%
75th Percentile £74.26 £42.04 £28.16
90th Percentile £107.55 £63.40 £62.50
England median hourly rate £21.35 £21.28 £16.23
% change year-on-year +0.33% +31.12% -68.02%

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 5,916 3,235 4,052
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North of England 84.26% 89.49% 83.89%
Number of daily rates quoted 3,539 2,093 2,411
10th Percentile £313 £268 £300
25th Percentile £402 £375 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £488 £466 £495
Median % change year-on-year +4.61% -5.86% -1.00%
75th Percentile £588 £553 £582
90th Percentile £675 £649 £665
England median daily rate £520 £515 £525
% change year-on-year +0.97% -1.90% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 430 180 381
10th Percentile £16.62 £12.82 £11.07
25th Percentile £22.63 £17.44 £12.55
Median hourly rate £45.00 £25.11 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +79.19% +14.15% -4.97%
75th Percentile £71.50 £50.00 £46.18
90th Percentile £80.00 £77.63 £63.75
England median hourly rate £46.62 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +85.35% -34.02% +1.65%

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 2 July 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 2 July 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 2 July 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 -12 353 £446 -8.05% 389
Yorkshire -6 330 £450 -5.26% 225
North East -17 48 £356 -20.83% 110
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 39 (5.38%) Confluence
2 21 (2.90%) Apache Spark
3 16 (2.21%) SharePoint
4 9 (1.24%) Apache Airflow
5 8 (1.10%) Apache
5 8 (1.10%) Microsoft Exchange
6 6 (0.83%) Jupyter
7 3 (0.41%) CICS
8 2 (0.28%) Camunda
8 2 (0.28%) CMS
8 2 (0.28%) Oracle Workflow
8 2 (0.28%) WebLogic
9 1 (0.14%) Adobe Experience Manager
9 1 (0.14%) JBoss
9 1 (0.14%) Mule
9 1 (0.14%) Mule ESB
9 1 (0.14%) NetWeaver
9 1 (0.14%) nginx
9 1 (0.14%) Tomcat
9 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
Applications
1 36 (4.97%) Microsoft Excel
2 25 (3.45%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (1.93%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (1.38%) MS Visio
5 5 (0.69%) Microsoft Project
6 4 (0.55%) Chatbot
7 3 (0.41%) CATIA
7 3 (0.41%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 39 (5.38%) SAP S/4HANA
2 6 (0.83%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.55%) Dynamics CRM
4 3 (0.41%) Oracle EBS
4 3 (0.41%) Payment Gateway
5 2 (0.28%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.14%) Actimize
6 1 (0.14%) Elite 3E
6 1 (0.14%) FIS Private Capital Suite
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
6 1 (0.14%) ResourceLink
6 1 (0.14%) SAP ERP
6 1 (0.14%) SAP HCM
6 1 (0.14%) SAP Payroll
6 1 (0.14%) SystmOne
6 1 (0.14%) VisionPLUS
Cloud Services
1 122 (16.83%) Azure
2 88 (12.14%) AWS
3 54 (7.45%) Microsoft 365
3 54 (7.45%) Power Platform
4 42 (5.79%) GCP
5 39 (5.38%) OpenShift
6 37 (5.10%) GitHub
7 24 (3.31%) Entra ID
8 16 (2.21%) Azure DevOps
9 12 (1.66%) Serverless
10 11 (1.52%) Google Kubernetes Engine
10 11 (1.52%) Microsoft Copilot
10 11 (1.52%) SaaS
11 9 (1.24%) Power Automate
12 8 (1.10%) Azure Monitor
12 8 (1.10%) Copilot Studio
12 8 (1.10%) GitHub Actions
12 8 (1.10%) PowerApps
13 7 (0.97%) Azure Storage
13 7 (0.97%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 29 (4.00%) DNS
2 26 (3.59%) Firewall
3 18 (2.48%) VPN
4 16 (2.21%) WAN
5 14 (1.93%) LAN
5 14 (1.93%) Network Security
6 12 (1.66%) TCP/IP
6 12 (1.66%) VLAN
7 11 (1.52%) SAN
7 11 (1.52%) Wi-Fi
8 10 (1.38%) Wireless
9 9 (1.24%) DHCP
10 7 (0.97%) Kerberos
10 7 (0.97%) VoIP
11 6 (0.83%) Cisco Nexus
12 5 (0.69%) BGP
12 5 (0.69%) WLAN
13 4 (0.55%) NAS
13 4 (0.55%) OSPF
13 4 (0.55%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 43 (5.93%) Power BI
2 32 (4.41%) MongoDB
2 32 (4.41%) SQL Server
3 22 (3.03%) PostgreSQL
4 20 (2.76%) Data Warehouse
5 15 (2.07%) Relational Database
6 14 (1.93%) Tableau
7 13 (1.79%) NoSQL
8 12 (1.66%) Big Data
9 11 (1.52%) Hadoop
10 10 (1.38%) MySQL
11 9 (1.24%) Metadata
12 8 (1.10%) SQL Server Integration Services
13 7 (0.97%) Db2
14 5 (0.69%) DataStage
14 5 (0.69%) Power Query
14 5 (0.69%) Snowflake Schema
15 4 (0.55%) Data Vault
15 4 (0.55%) Neo4j
15 4 (0.55%) Oracle Database
Development Applications
1 104 (14.34%) JIRA
2 42 (5.79%) Jenkins
3 33 (4.55%) Git
4 27 (3.72%) GitLab
5 14 (1.93%) Sonatype Nexus
6 12 (1.66%) Mockito
7 11 (1.52%) Selenium
8 9 (1.24%) Postman
9 8 (1.10%) REST Assured
10 6 (0.83%) Cucumber
10 6 (0.83%) JUnit
11 5 (0.69%) Gatling
12 3 (0.41%) Cypress.io
12 3 (0.41%) Gradle
12 3 (0.41%) MSI
12 3 (0.41%) Serenity BDD
13 2 (0.28%) JMeter
13 2 (0.28%) LoadRunner
13 2 (0.28%) Oracle Forms
13 2 (0.28%) Zephyr
General
1 348 (48.00%) Social Skills
2 308 (42.48%) Analytical Skills
3 214 (29.52%) Finance
4 80 (11.03%) Banking
5 58 (8.00%) Public Sector
6 36 (4.97%) Documentation Skills
7 26 (3.59%) Influencing Skills
8 24 (3.31%) Legal
9 23 (3.17%) Organisational Skills
10 16 (2.21%) Retail
11 15 (2.07%) Manufacturing
12 13 (1.79%) Law
13 10 (1.38%) Telecoms
14 8 (1.10%) Presentation Skills
15 7 (0.97%) Automotive
15 7 (0.97%) Financial Institution
15 7 (0.97%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 4 (0.55%) Aerospace
16 4 (0.55%) Billing
16 4 (0.55%) Military
Job Titles
1 139 (19.17%) Analyst
2 88 (12.14%) Developer
3 65 (8.97%) Lead
4 46 (6.34%) Business Analyst
5 45 (6.21%) Senior
6 43 (5.93%) Architect
7 31 (4.28%) Consultant
8 28 (3.86%) Administrator
8 28 (3.86%) IT Support
8 28 (3.86%) Project Manager
9 27 (3.72%) Java Developer
10 25 (3.45%) Data Engineer
11 24 (3.31%) Python Developer
12 21 (2.90%) Data Analyst
12 21 (2.90%) DevOps Engineer
13 18 (2.48%) IT Analyst
13 18 (2.48%) IT Engineer
14 17 (2.34%) Support Analyst
15 15 (2.07%) Technical Analyst
16 14 (1.93%) IT Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (5.10%) Kafka
1 37 (5.10%) REST
2 33 (4.55%) OpenTelemetry
3 30 (4.14%) Spring
4 25 (3.45%) Spring Boot
5 21 (2.90%) FastAPI
6 17 (2.34%) React
6 17 (2.34%) RESTful
7 16 (2.21%) JSON
8 12 (1.66%) .NET
8 12 (1.66%) Playwright
8 12 (1.66%) SOAP
8 12 (1.66%) XML
9 11 (1.52%) LDAP
10 10 (1.38%) HTML
10 10 (1.38%) OAuth
11 9 (1.24%) CSS
11 9 (1.24%) JAX-RS
11 9 (1.24%) Node.js
12 8 (1.10%) ActiveMQ
Miscellaneous
1 55 (7.59%) Product Ownership
2 45 (6.21%) Cloud Native
3 31 (4.28%) Data Protection Act
4 29 (4.00%) Onboarding
5 25 (3.45%) Legacy Systems
6 23 (3.17%) Data Centre
7 21 (2.90%) Analytical Mindset
8 20 (2.76%) Self-Motivation
9 19 (2.62%) Management Information System
10 17 (2.34%) Hybrid Cloud
10 17 (2.34%) Mainframe
11 15 (2.07%) AI Agents
12 14 (1.93%) Driving Licence
13 12 (1.66%) Data Structures
13 12 (1.66%) Distributed Systems
14 11 (1.52%) Enterprise Software
14 11 (1.52%) Virtual Team
15 9 (1.24%) Mobile App
15 9 (1.24%) PKI
15 9 (1.24%) Replication
Operating Systems
1 72 (9.93%) Windows
2 45 (6.21%) Linux
3 23 (3.17%) Windows 10
4 18 (2.48%) Unix
5 16 (2.21%) Apple iOS
6 13 (1.79%) Mac OS
7 11 (1.52%) Android
7 11 (1.52%) Windows Server
8 9 (1.24%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 7 (0.97%) Mac OS X
10 5 (0.69%) Ubuntu
10 5 (0.69%) Windows Server 2019
11 4 (0.55%) CentOS
12 3 (0.41%) Solaris
12 3 (0.41%) zOS
13 2 (0.28%) AIX
13 2 (0.28%) HPUX
13 2 (0.28%) Oracle Linux
13 2 (0.28%) SUSE
13 2 (0.28%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 191 (26.34%) Agile
2 152 (20.97%) CI/CD
3 139 (19.17%) Continuous Improvement
4 136 (18.76%) DevOps
5 105 (14.48%) Migration
6 103 (14.21%) Stakeholder Management
7 80 (11.03%) Project Management
8 78 (10.76%) Change Management
9 75 (10.34%) Analytics
10 68 (9.38%) Test Automation
11 67 (9.24%) ITIL
11 67 (9.24%) Validation
12 64 (8.83%) Containerisation
13 63 (8.69%) AI
14 62 (8.55%) ERP
14 62 (8.55%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 60 (8.28%) Customer Service
16 57 (7.86%) Decision-Making
17 55 (7.59%) Business Intelligence
17 55 (7.59%) Data Protection
Programming Languages
1 130 (17.93%) Python
2 99 (13.66%) SQL
3 60 (8.28%) Java
4 56 (7.72%) PowerShell
5 32 (4.41%) Bash
6 21 (2.90%) JavaScript
7 12 (1.66%) TypeScript
8 9 (1.24%) C#
8 9 (1.24%) PL/SQL
8 9 (1.24%) R
9 8 (1.10%) COBOL
10 7 (0.97%) Bicep
10 7 (0.97%) JCL
10 7 (0.97%) Shell Script
11 6 (0.83%) Kotlin
11 6 (0.83%) T-SQL
11 6 (0.83%) VBA
12 5 (0.69%) Go
12 5 (0.69%) Perl
13 4 (0.55%) ABAP
Qualifications
1 82 (11.31%) Security Cleared
2 70 (9.66%) Degree
3 57 (7.86%) SC Cleared
4 38 (5.24%) BPSS Clearance
5 28 (3.86%) Computer Science Degree
6 27 (3.72%) Microsoft Certification
7 21 (2.90%) Cisco Certification
8 17 (2.34%) A+ Certification
9 16 (2.21%) CISSP
9 16 (2.21%) Network+ Certification
9 16 (2.21%) PMP
10 15 (2.07%) CCNA
11 12 (1.66%) PMI Certification
12 10 (1.38%) CCNP
13 8 (1.10%) CompTIA Security+
14 7 (0.97%) AWS Certification
14 7 (0.97%) Azure Certification
14 7 (0.97%) MCSE
15 6 (0.83%) CISM
15 6 (0.83%) RHCE
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 45 (6.21%) Data Quality
2 23 (3.17%) QA
3 15 (2.07%) GDPR
4 14 (1.93%) Accessibility
5 11 (1.52%) PMO
6 10 (1.38%) GRC
6 10 (1.38%) SLA
7 9 (1.24%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 9 (1.24%) NIST
8 7 (0.97%) PSD2
9 6 (0.83%) PCI DSS
10 5 (0.69%) Actionable Recommendations
11 4 (0.55%) ISO 20022
11 4 (0.55%) SEPA
12 3 (0.41%) ISO 8583
12 3 (0.41%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 2 (0.28%) HIPAA
13 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 2 (0.28%) ISO/IEC 42001
14 1 (0.14%) GxP
System Software
1 62 (8.55%) Docker
2 51 (7.03%) Active Directory
3 24 (3.31%) VMware Infrastructure
4 17 (2.34%) vSphere
5 14 (1.93%) VMware NSX
6 10 (1.38%) Virtual Machines
7 6 (0.83%) Firmware
7 6 (0.83%) Hyper-V
8 4 (0.55%) ACF2
8 4 (0.55%) RACF
8 4 (0.55%) Time Sharing Option
8 4 (0.55%) Virtual Desktop
9 2 (0.28%) EMC RecoverPoint
9 2 (0.28%) KVM
9 2 (0.28%) NFS
9 2 (0.28%) SRDF
9 2 (0.28%) VMware ESXi
10 1 (0.14%) Terminal Services
Systems Management
1 81 (11.17%) Kubernetes
2 55 (7.59%) Terraform
3 51 (7.03%) Ansible
4 44 (6.07%) Grafana
5 35 (4.83%) Prometheus
6 17 (2.34%) Control-M
7 15 (2.07%) Argo
7 15 (2.07%) IBM Guardium
7 15 (2.07%) Nessus
7 15 (2.07%) vCenter Server
8 13 (1.79%) Microsoft Intune
9 9 (1.24%) SCCM
10 5 (0.69%) CA Endevor
10 5 (0.69%) Kustomize
11 4 (0.55%) Puppet
12 3 (0.41%) Active Directory Federation Services
12 3 (0.41%) Istio
12 3 (0.41%) Single Sign-On
12 3 (0.41%) Tivoli
12 3 (0.41%) Tivoli Storage Manager
Vendors
1 123 (16.97%) Microsoft
2 65 (8.97%) SAP
3 47 (6.48%) ServiceNow
4 46 (6.34%) Splunk
5 31 (4.28%) Oracle
6 28 (3.86%) VMware
7 24 (3.31%) Google
8 22 (3.03%) Red Hat
8 22 (3.03%) Workday
9 18 (2.48%) Cisco
10 15 (2.07%) Pure Storage
10 15 (2.07%) Tenable
11 14 (1.93%) Sage
12 11 (1.52%) Concur
12 11 (1.52%) Dell
13 8 (1.10%) IBM
13 8 (1.10%) Salesforce
13 8 (1.10%) Sonatype
14 7 (0.97%) Apple
14 7 (0.97%) F5