Problem-Solving Contract Job Trends in the West Midlands

Problem Solving
England > West Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the West Midlands requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 19 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 10 3 6
Rank change year-on-year -7 +3 +2
Contract jobs citing Problem-Solving 436 329 226
As % of all contract jobs in the West Midlands 12.31% 17.96% 11.81%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 14.50% 20.25% 14.44%
Number of daily rates quoted 281 215 138
10th Percentile £306 £202 £155
25th Percentile £363 £400 £350
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £469 £464
Median % change year-on-year -4.05% +1.13% -7.25%
75th Percentile £538 £539 £575
90th Percentile £650 £625 £638
England median daily rate £500 £488 £500
% change year-on-year +2.56% -2.50% -4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 39 11 5
10th Percentile £12.90 £14.25 -
25th Percentile £14.14 £20.06 £15.13
Median hourly rate £20.50 £33.88 £17.00
Median % change year-on-year -39.49% +99.29% +16.92%
75th Percentile £35.75 £42.01 £18.97
90th Percentile £67.84 £52.50 £20.49
England median hourly rate £19.57 £18.85 £16.23
% change year-on-year +3.82% +16.14% -70.01%

All Process & Methodology Skills
West Midlands

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 West Midlands.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 3,007 1,625 1,565
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the West Midlands 84.92% 88.70% 81.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,839 1,039 1,005
10th Percentile £313 £249 £250
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £520
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% -3.85% +4.00%
75th Percentile £580 £588 £625
90th Percentile £675 £672 £725
England median daily rate £525 £510 £525
% change year-on-year +2.94% -2.86% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 218 106 39
10th Percentile £13.45 £12.62 £14.66
25th Percentile £17.57 £16.17 £15.25
Median hourly rate £29.60 £24.34 £26.13
Median % change year-on-year +21.61% -6.83% -5.00%
75th Percentile £53.75 £35.00 £40.25
90th Percentile £68.49 £50.00 £55.65
England median hourly rate £42.50 £25.15 £43.00
% change year-on-year +68.99% -41.51% -3.37%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands

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

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Trend in the West Midlands

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

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

Problem-Solving
Daily Rate Histogram in the West Midlands

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 19 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Trend in the West Midlands

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

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

Problem-Solving
Hourly Rate Histogram in the West Midlands

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Problem-Solving in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 19 September 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Problem-Solving in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Contract Job Locations in the West Midlands

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 West Midlands region over the 6 months to 19 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
Shropshire -5 126 £450 -12.62% 56
Warwickshire 0 117 £472 -5.60% 82
Birmingham -12 79 £425 -5.56% 294
Coventry -6 40 £363 -14.71% 50
Staffordshire -7 16 £313 -30.56% 63
Solihull -12 15 £493 -17.92% 30
Worcestershire +11 12 £425 -25.27% 39
Wolverhampton +1 5 £275 +46.67% 26
Herefordshire +1 5 - - 15
Dudley - 3 £375 - 10
Wednesbury - 1 - - 1
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands 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 44 (10.09%) Confluence
2 21 (4.82%) SharePoint
3 19 (4.36%) SAS
4 14 (3.21%) Oracle Workflow
5 8 (1.83%) Microsoft Exchange
6 4 (0.92%) Oracle Self-Service HR
7 2 (0.46%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.23%) Apache
8 1 (0.23%) Apache Spark
8 1 (0.23%) Appian
8 1 (0.23%) IIS
8 1 (0.23%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.23%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 27 (6.19%) Microsoft Excel
2 18 (4.13%) Microsoft Office
3 6 (1.38%) Microsoft Project
3 6 (1.38%) Spreadsheet
4 4 (0.92%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 4 (0.92%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.69%) Navisworks
5 3 (0.69%) Revit
6 2 (0.46%) Adobe XD
6 2 (0.46%) CATIA
6 2 (0.46%) Sketch
7 1 (0.23%) Adobe Captivate
7 1 (0.23%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.23%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.23%) Fusion 360
7 1 (0.23%) Photoshop
7 1 (0.23%) Trello
Business Applications
1 17 (3.90%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (2.98%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (1.15%) SAP PSCD
4 4 (0.92%) Oracle HRMS
5 3 (0.69%) ContrOCC
5 3 (0.69%) Remedy ITSM
5 3 (0.69%) Teamcenter
6 2 (0.46%) NetSuite
6 2 (0.46%) SAP MDG
7 1 (0.23%) Aladdin
7 1 (0.23%) Maximo
7 1 (0.23%) NEC Housing
7 1 (0.23%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.23%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.23%) SAP CX
7 1 (0.23%) SAP GRC
7 1 (0.23%) SAP MM
7 1 (0.23%) SAP QM
7 1 (0.23%) SAP SD
7 1 (0.23%) SAP Travel Management
Cloud Services
1 75 (17.20%) Azure
2 47 (10.78%) Microsoft 365
3 43 (9.86%) AWS
4 41 (9.40%) Power Platform
5 31 (7.11%) Azure DevOps
6 21 (4.82%) Entra ID
7 18 (4.13%) Power Automate
8 15 (3.44%) Dynamics 365
9 14 (3.21%) Serverless
10 11 (2.52%) Azure Functions
10 11 (2.52%) GitHub
11 10 (2.29%) Azure Data Factory
12 7 (1.61%) GCP
12 7 (1.61%) OneDrive
13 6 (1.38%) Microsoft Purview
13 6 (1.38%) Snowflake
14 5 (1.15%) Google Analytics
15 4 (0.92%) SuccessFactors
16 3 (0.69%) Microsoft Copilot
16 3 (0.69%) OCI
Communications & Networking
1 18 (4.13%) DHCP
1 18 (4.13%) DNS
2 17 (3.90%) Firewall
3 13 (2.98%) Network Security
3 13 (2.98%) TCP/IP
3 13 (2.98%) VPN
4 11 (2.52%) LAN
4 11 (2.52%) WAN
5 8 (1.83%) SD-WAN
6 7 (1.61%) Unified Communications
7 6 (1.38%) Internet
8 5 (1.15%) VoIP
9 4 (0.92%) SSL
9 4 (0.92%) VXLAN
9 4 (0.92%) Wi-Fi
9 4 (0.92%) Wireless
10 3 (0.69%) Ethernet VPN
10 3 (0.69%) Intrusion Detection
10 3 (0.69%) Softphone
10 3 (0.69%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 37 (8.49%) Power BI
2 23 (5.28%) Pentaho
2 23 (5.28%) SQL Server
3 22 (5.05%) Data Warehouse
4 19 (4.36%) PostgreSQL
5 16 (3.67%) Relational Database
6 14 (3.21%) Metadata
7 10 (2.29%) Data Lake
7 10 (2.29%) Oracle Reports
8 8 (1.83%) NoSQL
8 8 (1.83%) Oracle Database
9 6 (1.38%) Ingres
9 6 (1.38%) MySQL
10 4 (0.92%) MongoDB
10 4 (0.92%) SAP BW
11 3 (0.69%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.69%) Big Data
11 3 (0.69%) Power Query
11 3 (0.69%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 3 (0.69%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 60 (13.76%) JIRA
2 31 (7.11%) Git
3 22 (5.05%) Jenkins
4 19 (4.36%) Selenium
5 17 (3.90%) Postman
6 14 (3.21%) Maven
7 13 (2.98%) GitLab
8 12 (2.75%) Cypress.io
8 12 (2.75%) JUnit
9 11 (2.52%) SonarQube
9 11 (2.52%) WebDriver
10 10 (2.29%) Mockito
11 8 (1.83%) Cucumber
12 5 (1.15%) Atlassian Bamboo
12 5 (1.15%) Zephyr
13 4 (0.92%) Bitbucket
13 4 (0.92%) REST Assured
14 3 (0.69%) Browser DevTools
14 3 (0.69%) Protractor
14 3 (0.69%) Team Foundation Server
General
1 240 (55.05%) Social Skills
2 182 (41.74%) Analytical Skills
3 83 (19.04%) Public Sector
4 63 (14.45%) Finance
5 24 (5.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
6 23 (5.28%) Organisational Skills
7 22 (5.05%) Manufacturing
8 19 (4.36%) Influencing Skills
9 17 (3.90%) Local Government
10 14 (3.21%) Legal
11 12 (2.75%) Automotive
11 12 (2.75%) Presentation Skills
12 9 (2.06%) Banking
13 8 (1.83%) Billing
13 8 (1.83%) Marketing
13 8 (1.83%) Retail
14 7 (1.61%) Telecoms
15 6 (1.38%) Documentation Skills
16 4 (0.92%) Electronics
17 3 (0.69%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 71 (16.28%) Analyst
2 45 (10.32%) Lead
2 45 (10.32%) Senior
3 42 (9.63%) Developer
4 32 (7.34%) Data Engineer
5 27 (6.19%) Architect
6 25 (5.73%) Consultant
7 20 (4.59%) Administrator
7 20 (4.59%) Business Analyst
8 18 (4.13%) SAP Consultant
8 18 (4.13%) Test Analyst
9 15 (3.44%) Java Developer
10 13 (2.98%) Support Engineer
11 12 (2.75%) Data Analyst
12 11 (2.52%) Senior Developer
12 11 (2.52%) Technical Engineer
13 10 (2.29%) Delivery Manager
13 10 (2.29%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 9 (2.06%) Senior Analyst
14 9 (2.06%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 38 (8.72%) REST
2 29 (6.65%) SOAP
3 15 (3.44%) Spring
3 15 (3.44%) Spring Boot
4 14 (3.21%) AngularJS
4 14 (3.21%) RESTful
4 14 (3.21%) Web Services
5 12 (2.75%) Oracle Fusion
5 12 (2.75%) Spring Cloud
6 11 (2.52%) Gherkin
6 11 (2.52%) Hibernate
6 11 (2.52%) JPA
6 11 (2.52%) Terraform
7 10 (2.29%) ActiveMQ
8 7 (1.61%) JSON
8 7 (1.61%) Play Framework
9 6 (1.38%) Middleware
9 6 (1.38%) XML
10 5 (1.15%) JDBC
10 5 (1.15%) SAP PI
Miscellaneous
1 28 (6.42%) Cloud Native
2 27 (6.19%) Management Information System
2 27 (6.19%) Self-Motivation
3 22 (5.05%) Enterprise Software
4 17 (3.90%) Product Ownership
5 13 (2.98%) Onboarding
6 12 (2.75%) Data Centre
7 10 (2.29%) Legacy Systems
8 9 (2.06%) Analytical Mindset
8 9 (2.06%) Operational Technology
8 9 (2.06%) Virtual Team
9 8 (1.83%) Autonomous Agent
10 6 (1.38%) Cyber Threat
10 6 (1.38%) Data Protection Act
10 6 (1.38%) SCADA
11 5 (1.15%) Data Structures
11 5 (1.15%) Life Science
12 4 (0.92%) Driving Licence
12 4 (0.92%) Hybrid Cloud
12 4 (0.92%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 53 (12.16%) Windows
2 15 (3.44%) Linux
2 15 (3.44%) Windows 10
3 14 (3.21%) Mac OS
3 14 (3.21%) Windows Server
4 12 (2.75%) Unix
5 4 (0.92%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 3 (0.69%) Apple iOS
7 2 (0.46%) CentOS
7 2 (0.46%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
7 2 (0.46%) Ubuntu
8 1 (0.23%) AIX
8 1 (0.23%) Embedded Linux
8 1 (0.23%) HPUX
8 1 (0.23%) Solaris
8 1 (0.23%) SUSE
8 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2003
8 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2012
8 1 (0.23%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 154 (35.32%) Agile
2 140 (32.11%) Continuous Improvement
3 96 (22.02%) Stakeholder Management
4 74 (16.97%) CI/CD
5 73 (16.74%) DevOps
6 68 (15.60%) Test Automation
7 60 (13.76%) AI
7 60 (13.76%) Migration
8 57 (13.07%) Scrum
9 56 (12.84%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 55 (12.61%) Data Modelling
11 51 (11.70%) Analytics
12 50 (11.47%) Business Intelligence
13 48 (11.01%) Decision-Making
13 48 (11.01%) ETL
14 45 (10.32%) Generative AI
15 43 (9.86%) User Acceptance Testing
16 40 (9.17%) Mentoring
16 40 (9.17%) Technical Leadership
16 40 (9.17%) Validation
Programming Languages
1 71 (16.28%) SQL
2 38 (8.72%) Java
3 32 (7.34%) Python
4 21 (4.82%) JavaScript
5 15 (3.44%) PowerShell
6 13 (2.98%) C#
6 13 (2.98%) TypeScript
7 11 (2.52%) C
8 10 (2.29%) PL/SQL
9 9 (2.06%) Bash
10 8 (1.83%) ProC
11 7 (1.61%) ABAP
11 7 (1.61%) Scala
12 5 (1.15%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 4 (0.92%) Bicep
13 4 (0.92%) C++
14 3 (0.69%) Shell Script
15 2 (0.46%) MATLAB
15 2 (0.46%) VB6
15 2 (0.46%) VBA
Qualifications
1 129 (29.59%) Security Cleared
2 109 (25.00%) SC Cleared
3 48 (11.01%) Degree
4 33 (7.57%) BPSS Clearance
5 24 (5.50%) Microsoft Certification
6 12 (2.75%) Azure Certification
6 12 (2.75%) ISTQB
7 11 (2.52%) Cisco Certification
8 10 (2.29%) Computer Science Degree
9 8 (1.83%) CISSP
9 8 (1.83%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 7 (1.61%) CCNA
11 6 (1.38%) DBS Check
11 6 (1.38%) DV Cleared
11 6 (1.38%) OCP
11 6 (1.38%) Oracle Certification
12 5 (1.15%) A+ Certification
12 5 (1.15%) AWS Certification
12 5 (1.15%) MCSE
12 5 (1.15%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 51 (11.70%) Data Quality
2 44 (10.09%) QA
3 21 (4.82%) Accessibility
4 18 (4.13%) GDPR
5 14 (3.21%) SLA
6 12 (2.75%) WCAG
7 10 (2.29%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 4 (0.92%) Cyber Essentials
8 4 (0.92%) NIST
8 4 (0.92%) PMO
9 3 (0.69%) GRC
9 3 (0.69%) HIPAA
9 3 (0.69%) ISO 19650
10 2 (0.46%) ISO 9001
10 2 (0.46%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.23%) 21 CFR Part 11
11 1 (0.23%) GMP
11 1 (0.23%) GxP
11 1 (0.23%) ISO 14001
11 1 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 17025
System Software
1 32 (7.34%) Docker
2 24 (5.50%) Active Directory
3 15 (3.44%) VMware Infrastructure
4 9 (2.06%) VMware ESXi
4 9 (2.06%) vSphere
5 8 (1.83%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.69%) FreeRADIUS
7 2 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
7 2 (0.46%) VMware NSX
8 1 (0.23%) BitLocker
8 1 (0.23%) Oracle RAC
Systems Management
1 19 (4.36%) Kubernetes
2 17 (3.90%) SCCM
3 15 (3.44%) Grafana
4 14 (3.21%) Microsoft Intune
4 14 (3.21%) Prometheus
5 12 (2.75%) Ansible
6 5 (1.15%) Jamf Pro
6 5 (1.15%) Single Sign-On
7 4 (0.92%) Podman
7 4 (0.92%) PowerCLI
7 4 (0.92%) vMotion
8 3 (0.69%) FortiGate
9 1 (0.23%) AirWatch
9 1 (0.23%) Argo
9 1 (0.23%) HP ALM
9 1 (0.23%) NetBackup
9 1 (0.23%) QRadar
Vendors
1 101 (23.17%) Microsoft
2 55 (12.61%) Oracle
3 35 (8.03%) SAP
4 25 (5.73%) ServiceNow
5 22 (5.05%) VMware
6 21 (4.82%) Cisco
7 18 (4.13%) Denodo
8 17 (3.90%) Talend
9 11 (2.52%) Atlassian
10 10 (2.29%) Google
11 8 (1.83%) Splunk
12 7 (1.61%) Qualys
13 6 (1.38%) Apple
13 6 (1.38%) Databricks
13 6 (1.38%) Informatica
13 6 (1.38%) Red Hat
14 5 (1.15%) Fortinet
14 5 (1.15%) webMethods
15 4 (0.92%) Autodesk
15 4 (0.92%) Siemens