Problem-Solving Contract Job Trends in the North West

Problem Solving
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 8 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 5 5
Rank change year-on-year -9 0 +9
Contract jobs citing Problem-Solving 370 349 309
As % of all contract jobs in the North West 9.29% 15.86% 12.80%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.22% 17.93% 15.30%
Number of daily rates quoted 207 204 181
10th Percentile £250 £258 £238
25th Percentile £347 £355 £358
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £457 £463
Median % change year-on-year -1.48% -1.24% -6.57%
75th Percentile £548 £545 £550
90th Percentile £639 £668 £600
England median daily rate £500 £488 £500
% change year-on-year +2.51% -2.45% -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 49 39 8
10th Percentile £14.65 £12.21 £21.98
25th Percentile £17.25 £17.30 £26.25
Median hourly rate £24.19 £20.26 £48.50
Median % change year-on-year +19.43% -58.24% +115.70%
75th Percentile £72.75 £61.15 £66.67
90th Percentile £86.75 £70.03 £83.32
England median hourly rate £19.37 £18.86 £16.23
% change year-on-year +2.68% +16.20% -69.76%

All Process & Methodology Skills
North West

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 West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 3,297 1,946 2,020
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the North West 82.80% 88.45% 83.64%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,868 1,286 1,101
10th Percentile £300 £264 £294
25th Percentile £403 £363 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £450 £477
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% -5.66% -4.60%
75th Percentile £600 £575 £575
90th Percentile £675 £680 £663
England median daily rate £525 £510 £525
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 361 142 110
10th Percentile £14.32 £13.88 £16.48
25th Percentile £21.14 £17.30 £28.75
Median hourly rate £46.80 £25.15 £41.41
Median % change year-on-year +86.10% -39.28% +21.80%
75th Percentile £71.91 £47.12 £62.50
90th Percentile £83.75 £67.25 £73.66
England median hourly rate £40.00 £25.15 £42.69
% change year-on-year +59.05% -41.09% -4.07%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the North West

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Histogram in the North West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the North West over the 6 months to 8 October 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the North West

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Trend in the North West

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

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

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Histogram in the North West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Problem-Solving in the North West over the 6 months to 8 October 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the North West

Problem-Solving
Contract Job Locations in the North West

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 West region over the 6 months to 8 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
Manchester -13 170 £494 +7.05% 553
Cheshire -2 117 £434 -3.56% 116
Lancashire -8 39 £300 -33.33% 92
Cumbria -7 23 £420 +110.00% 22
Merseyside -20 11 £408 -18.50% 89
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the North West 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 14 (3.78%) Confluence
2 13 (3.51%) SharePoint
3 3 (0.81%) Microsoft Exchange
4 2 (0.54%) CMS
5 1 (0.27%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 1 (0.27%) Apache
5 1 (0.27%) Apache Airflow
5 1 (0.27%) Apache Spark
5 1 (0.27%) Camunda
5 1 (0.27%) JBoss
5 1 (0.27%) Mule
5 1 (0.27%) Mule ESB
5 1 (0.27%) NetWeaver
5 1 (0.27%) WebLogic
Applications
1 32 (8.65%) Microsoft Office
2 20 (5.41%) Microsoft Excel
3 9 (2.43%) MS Visio
4 5 (1.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.81%) Acrobat
6 2 (0.54%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.54%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 10 (2.70%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (2.16%) SAP S/4HANA
3 4 (1.08%) Dynamics CRM
4 3 (0.81%) SAP ERP
4 3 (0.81%) Teamcenter
4 3 (0.81%) Workday HCM
5 2 (0.54%) Oracle Payables
5 2 (0.54%) SAP HCM
5 2 (0.54%) SAP Payroll
6 1 (0.27%) ENOVIA
6 1 (0.27%) FIS Private Capital Suite
6 1 (0.27%) Salesforce CRM
6 1 (0.27%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 59 (15.95%) Azure
2 58 (15.68%) Microsoft 365
3 42 (11.35%) AWS
4 22 (5.95%) Power Platform
5 19 (5.14%) Entra ID
6 15 (4.05%) GCP
7 11 (2.97%) GitHub
8 9 (2.43%) Power Automate
9 6 (1.62%) Azure DevOps
9 6 (1.62%) IaaS
9 6 (1.62%) PowerApps
10 5 (1.35%) OpenShift
11 4 (1.08%) AWS Lambda
11 4 (1.08%) Serverless
12 3 (0.81%) Anthropic Claude
12 3 (0.81%) AWS CloudFormation
12 3 (0.81%) ChatGPT
12 3 (0.81%) Google Workspace
12 3 (0.81%) n8n
12 3 (0.81%) Zapier
Communications & Networking
1 37 (10.00%) VPN
2 20 (5.41%) Firewall
3 17 (4.59%) DNS
4 16 (4.32%) WAN
5 13 (3.51%) Network Security
6 11 (2.97%) LAN
7 10 (2.70%) Wireless
8 8 (2.16%) BIG-IP
8 8 (2.16%) F5 BIG-IP GTM
8 8 (2.16%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
9 7 (1.89%) DHCP
9 7 (1.89%) SD-WAN
9 7 (1.89%) Wi-Fi
10 5 (1.35%) NetScaler
10 5 (1.35%) TCP/IP
11 4 (1.08%) VLAN
12 3 (0.81%) Cisco Nexus
12 3 (0.81%) PABX
12 3 (0.81%) SSL
12 3 (0.81%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 17 (4.59%) Power BI
2 15 (4.05%) SQL Server
3 12 (3.24%) Relational Database
4 10 (2.70%) Data Warehouse
5 7 (1.89%) DataStage
6 6 (1.62%) Db2
7 4 (1.08%) Metadata
7 4 (1.08%) MongoDB
7 4 (1.08%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.81%) MySQL
8 3 (0.81%) Tableau
9 2 (0.54%) Big Data
9 2 (0.54%) Data Lake
9 2 (0.54%) DynamoDB
9 2 (0.54%) NoSQL
9 2 (0.54%) Oracle Database
9 2 (0.54%) Power Query
9 2 (0.54%) SAP HANA
10 1 (0.27%) Looker
10 1 (0.27%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 24 (6.49%) JIRA
2 13 (3.51%) Jenkins
3 12 (3.24%) Git
4 7 (1.89%) GitLab
5 5 (1.35%) Cucumber
6 4 (1.08%) Gatling
6 4 (1.08%) MSI
6 4 (1.08%) REST Assured
6 4 (1.08%) Selenium
6 4 (1.08%) Sonatype Nexus
7 3 (0.81%) SonarQube
8 2 (0.54%) Burp Suite
8 2 (0.54%) Claude Code
8 2 (0.54%) Gradle
8 2 (0.54%) JUnit
8 2 (0.54%) LoadRunner
8 2 (0.54%) Maven
8 2 (0.54%) Serenity BDD
8 2 (0.54%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 1 (0.27%) Eclipse
General
1 200 (54.05%) Social Skills
2 147 (39.73%) Analytical Skills
3 73 (19.73%) Finance
4 37 (10.00%) Banking
5 36 (9.73%) Manufacturing
6 22 (5.95%) Organisational Skills
7 18 (4.86%) Legal
8 10 (2.70%) Aerospace
8 10 (2.70%) Documentation Skills
9 9 (2.43%) Automotive
10 7 (1.89%) Influencing Skills
10 7 (1.89%) Telecoms
11 6 (1.62%) Public Sector
11 6 (1.62%) Retail
12 5 (1.35%) Law
13 3 (0.81%) Games
13 3 (0.81%) Investment Banking
13 3 (0.81%) Marketing
13 3 (0.81%) Presentation Skills
14 2 (0.54%) French Language
Job Titles
1 46 (12.43%) Analyst
2 32 (8.65%) IT Support
3 26 (7.03%) Developer
4 25 (6.76%) Support Engineer
5 24 (6.49%) Senior
6 22 (5.95%) Lead
7 19 (5.14%) Administrator
8 17 (4.59%) Architect
8 17 (4.59%) Consultant
8 17 (4.59%) IT Engineer
9 14 (3.78%) IT Support Engineer
9 14 (3.78%) Service Analyst
10 13 (3.51%) IT Analyst
10 13 (3.51%) Network Engineer
11 12 (3.24%) Service Desk Analyst
11 12 (3.24%) Support Analyst
12 11 (2.97%) Data Engineer
13 10 (2.70%) Desktop Engineer
13 10 (2.70%) Software Engineer
14 9 (2.43%) Desktop Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (5.68%) REST
2 15 (4.05%) Terraform
3 13 (3.51%) Spring
4 12 (3.24%) Spring Boot
5 11 (2.97%) Kafka
6 9 (2.43%) React
7 6 (1.62%) JSON
7 6 (1.62%) Node.js
7 6 (1.62%) Playwright
8 5 (1.35%) HTML
8 5 (1.35%) XML
9 4 (1.08%) .NET
9 4 (1.08%) Lightning Web Components
9 4 (1.08%) SOAP
10 3 (0.81%) CSS
10 3 (0.81%) Middleware
10 3 (0.81%) Next.js
10 3 (0.81%) OAuth
10 3 (0.81%) RESTful
10 3 (0.81%) Software Packaging
Miscellaneous
1 32 (8.65%) Onboarding
2 17 (4.59%) Data Centre
2 17 (4.59%) Distributed Systems
2 17 (4.59%) Driving Licence
3 16 (4.32%) Cloud Native
4 15 (4.05%) Enterprise Software
4 15 (4.05%) Product Ownership
5 14 (3.78%) Data Protection Act
6 13 (3.51%) Self-Motivation
7 11 (2.97%) Analytical Mindset
8 10 (2.70%) Management Information System
9 9 (2.43%) Legacy Systems
9 9 (2.43%) Public Cloud
10 8 (2.16%) CMDB
11 7 (1.89%) Data Structures
12 5 (1.35%) Virtual Team
13 4 (1.08%) PKI
13 4 (1.08%) Security Posture
13 4 (1.08%) Smartphone
14 3 (0.81%) Clustering
Operating Systems
1 93 (25.14%) Windows
2 29 (7.84%) Windows 10
3 20 (5.41%) Linux
4 17 (4.59%) Windows Server
5 13 (3.51%) Unix
6 12 (3.24%) Apple iOS
7 8 (2.16%) Mac OS
8 6 (1.62%) Solaris
9 4 (1.08%) Android
10 3 (0.81%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.54%) AIX
11 2 (0.54%) HPUX
11 2 (0.54%) Oracle Linux
11 2 (0.54%) SUSE
12 1 (0.27%) Mac OS X
Processes & Methodologies
1 81 (21.89%) Continuous Improvement
2 78 (21.08%) Stakeholder Management
3 60 (16.22%) Agile
4 58 (15.68%) ITIL
5 57 (15.41%) Customer Service
6 56 (15.14%) CI/CD
7 41 (11.08%) AI
8 36 (9.73%) Root Cause Analysis
9 35 (9.46%) Migration
10 34 (9.19%) DevOps
11 30 (8.11%) Change Management
11 30 (8.11%) Decision-Making
11 30 (8.11%) Software Engineering
12 27 (7.30%) Analytics
12 27 (7.30%) Service Management
12 27 (7.30%) Validation
13 26 (7.03%) Data Protection
13 26 (7.03%) Process Improvement
13 26 (7.03%) User Experience
14 25 (6.76%) Incident Management
Programming Languages
1 50 (13.51%) Python
2 44 (11.89%) SQL
3 34 (9.19%) PowerShell
4 27 (7.30%) Java
5 9 (2.43%) JavaScript
6 7 (1.89%) PL/SQL
6 7 (1.89%) Shell Script
7 6 (1.62%) Bash
7 6 (1.62%) TypeScript
8 5 (1.35%) ActionScript
9 4 (1.08%) Apex Code
9 4 (1.08%) C#
9 4 (1.08%) Go
10 3 (0.81%) T-SQL
11 2 (0.54%) ABAP
11 2 (0.54%) Assembly Language
11 2 (0.54%) Bicep
11 2 (0.54%) Kotlin
11 2 (0.54%) VBScript
12 1 (0.27%) Objective-C
Qualifications
1 58 (15.68%) Security Cleared
2 43 (11.62%) SC Cleared
3 40 (10.81%) Degree
4 23 (6.22%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (4.32%) Computer Science Degree
6 12 (3.24%) CISSP
7 11 (2.97%) Microsoft Certification
8 10 (2.70%) Cisco Certification
9 9 (2.43%) HNC
10 8 (2.16%) A+ Certification
11 7 (1.89%) Network+ Certification
12 6 (1.62%) AWS Certification
12 6 (1.62%) HND
12 6 (1.62%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 5 (1.35%) CCNA
13 5 (1.35%) CCNP
13 5 (1.35%) CompTIA Security+
14 4 (1.08%) ACCA
14 4 (1.08%) CIMA
14 4 (1.08%) CISM
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 33 (8.92%) Data Quality
2 17 (4.59%) SLA
3 8 (2.16%) GRC
3 8 (2.16%) QA
4 7 (1.89%) NIST
5 6 (1.62%) Accessibility
6 5 (1.35%) GDPR
7 4 (1.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 2 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.54%) IEC 61508
8 2 (0.54%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.27%) Actionable Recommendations
9 1 (0.27%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.27%) NCSC
9 1 (0.27%) PMO
9 1 (0.27%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 56 (15.14%) Active Directory
2 15 (4.05%) VMware Infrastructure
3 12 (3.24%) Docker
3 12 (3.24%) Virtual Desktop
4 7 (1.89%) Firmware
4 7 (1.89%) Hyper-V
5 5 (1.35%) Citrix Hypervisor
5 5 (1.35%) XenApp
5 5 (1.35%) XenDesktop
6 4 (1.08%) VMware NSX
7 1 (0.27%) Microsoft App-V
7 1 (0.27%) Microsoft Virtual Server
7 1 (0.27%) Oracle RAC
7 1 (0.27%) Virtual Machines
7 1 (0.27%) Virtual Servers
7 1 (0.27%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 23 (6.22%) SCCM
2 21 (5.68%) Kubernetes
3 19 (5.14%) Microsoft Intune
4 7 (1.89%) Ansible
4 7 (1.89%) Grafana
5 5 (1.35%) FortiGate
5 5 (1.35%) Prometheus
6 4 (1.08%) Single Sign-On
7 3 (0.81%) McAfee ePO
8 2 (0.54%) Data Guard
8 2 (0.54%) Failover Clustering
8 2 (0.54%) Functional Safety
8 2 (0.54%) Istio
8 2 (0.54%) WMI
9 1 (0.27%) Progress Chef
9 1 (0.27%) Puppet
9 1 (0.27%) SCOM
9 1 (0.27%) WSUS
Vendors
1 106 (28.65%) Microsoft
2 46 (12.43%) ServiceNow
3 23 (6.22%) SAP
4 20 (5.41%) Oracle
5 16 (4.32%) Cisco
5 16 (4.32%) VMware
6 14 (3.78%) Splunk
7 13 (3.51%) F5
8 12 (3.24%) Workday
9 10 (2.70%) Remedy
10 9 (2.43%) Google
10 9 (2.43%) Palo Alto
10 9 (2.43%) Salesforce
11 7 (1.89%) Apple
11 7 (1.89%) BeyondTrust
11 7 (1.89%) Citrix
11 7 (1.89%) Fortinet
11 7 (1.89%) IBM
12 6 (1.62%) Teradata
12 6 (1.62%) Zscaler