Problem-Solving Job Trends in the Midlands

Problem Solving
England > Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the Midlands requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 20 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 18 3 5
Rank change year-on-year -15 +2 +3
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 872 1,209 994
As % of all permanent jobs in the Midlands 10.95% 19.35% 15.48%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 13.56% 21.33% 17.93%
Number of salaries quoted 692 488 775
10th Percentile £26,000 £28,500 £25,600
25th Percentile £28,500 £34,938 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £38,000 £50,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -24.00% +11.11% -13.13%
75th Percentile £53,951 £63,750 £58,750
90th Percentile £68,750 £80,750 £68,750
England median annual salary £45,000 £55,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year -18.18% +4.76% -4.55%

All Process & Methodology Skills
Midlands

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

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 6,429 5,669 5,543
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the Midlands 80.75% 90.75% 86.30%
Number of salaries quoted 3,573 2,514 4,557
10th Percentile £28,000 £31,250 £26,500
25th Percentile £35,000 £38,750 £35,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £65,000 £67,500 £62,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £80,000 £75,000
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £58,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% +2.56% -6.40%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the Midlands

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

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the Midlands

Problem-Solving
Salary Trend in the Midlands

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Midlands citing Problem-Solving.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the Midlands citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Salary Histogram in the Midlands

Salary distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the Midlands over the 6 months to 20 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Problem-Solving in the Midlands

Problem-Solving
Job Locations in the Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Problem-Solving within the Midlands region over the 6 months to 20 January 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
West Midlands -17 512 £42,500 -22.73% 292
East Midlands +1 359 £34,000 -2.86% 321
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the 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 48 (5.50%) SharePoint
2 32 (3.67%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (1.49%) IIS
4 7 (0.80%) Confluence
4 7 (0.80%) Oracle SOA Suite
5 6 (0.69%) Apache
6 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2007
6 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2010
6 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2013
7 1 (0.11%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.11%) Apache Spark
7 1 (0.11%) Appian
7 1 (0.11%) HCL Notes
7 1 (0.11%) NServiceBus
7 1 (0.11%) SAS
7 1 (0.11%) WebLogic
Applications
1 77 (8.83%) Microsoft Excel
2 44 (5.05%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (1.61%) Spreadsheet
4 10 (1.15%) Microsoft Project
5 9 (1.03%) AutoCAD
5 9 (1.03%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 8 (0.92%) SOLIDWORKS
7 7 (0.80%) MS Visio
8 4 (0.46%) CATIA
9 3 (0.34%) Trello
10 1 (0.11%) Abaqus
10 1 (0.11%) EPLAN
10 1 (0.11%) Sketch
Business Applications
1 37 (4.24%) Dynamics CRM
2 9 (1.03%) iTrent
2 9 (1.03%) NetSuite
3 3 (0.34%) Dynamics NAV
3 3 (0.34%) SAP S/4HANA
4 2 (0.23%) Infor CloudSuite Industrial (formerly SyteLine)
4 2 (0.23%) Oracle Cash Management
4 2 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
4 2 (0.23%) Oracle EBS R12
4 2 (0.23%) Oracle Payables
4 2 (0.23%) SAP Business ByDesign
4 2 (0.23%) SAP ERP
4 2 (0.23%) SAP FI
4 2 (0.23%) SAP MM
5 1 (0.11%) Cognos Controller
5 1 (0.11%) Dynamics GP
5 1 (0.11%) HFM
5 1 (0.11%) Oracle BPM
5 1 (0.11%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 1 (0.11%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 193 (22.13%) Azure
2 173 (19.84%) Microsoft 365
3 82 (9.40%) SaaS
4 71 (8.14%) AWS
5 59 (6.77%) Power Platform
6 55 (6.31%) Entra ID
7 28 (3.21%) Dynamics 365
8 20 (2.29%) Serverless
9 14 (1.61%) Amazon S3
9 14 (1.61%) GCP
9 14 (1.61%) Power Automate
10 12 (1.38%) AWS Lambda
10 12 (1.38%) Azure DevOps
11 10 (1.15%) OneDrive
11 10 (1.15%) PowerApps
12 9 (1.03%) GitHub
13 8 (0.92%) Cloud Computing
14 7 (0.80%) Azure Sentinel
14 7 (0.80%) OCI
15 6 (0.69%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 69 (7.91%) DNS
2 65 (7.45%) DHCP
3 42 (4.82%) VPN
4 39 (4.47%) Remote Desktop
5 30 (3.44%) WAN
6 28 (3.21%) Firewall
7 23 (2.64%) Internet
8 22 (2.52%) LAN
9 18 (2.06%) Wi-Fi
10 14 (1.61%) TCP/IP
11 13 (1.49%) VLAN
11 13 (1.49%) VoIP
12 12 (1.38%) Wireless
13 10 (1.15%) SD-WAN
14 9 (1.03%) ADSL
14 9 (1.03%) Ethernet
14 9 (1.03%) VDSL
15 7 (0.80%) Broadband
16 5 (0.57%) Network Security
16 5 (0.57%) PBX
Database & Business Intelligence
1 52 (5.96%) SQL Server
2 47 (5.39%) Power BI
3 17 (1.95%) MySQL
3 17 (1.95%) Relational Database
4 15 (1.72%) Oracle Reports
4 15 (1.72%) PostgreSQL
5 12 (1.38%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 11 (1.26%) GIS
7 9 (1.03%) Amazon Redshift
7 9 (1.03%) Tableau
8 8 (0.92%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 6 (0.69%) Amazon RDS
9 6 (0.69%) Crystal Reports
9 6 (0.69%) Metadata
10 5 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
11 4 (0.46%) BusinessObjects
11 4 (0.46%) Data Lake
11 4 (0.46%) Data Mining
12 3 (0.34%) Data Warehouse
13 2 (0.23%) MS Access
Development Applications
1 33 (3.78%) JIRA
2 22 (2.52%) Git
3 9 (1.03%) JUnit
4 8 (0.92%) GitLab
5 7 (0.80%) Burp Suite
5 7 (0.80%) Jenkins
5 7 (0.80%) Metasploit
5 7 (0.80%) Mockito
5 7 (0.80%) Subversion
6 6 (0.69%) Maven
7 4 (0.46%) Selenium
8 3 (0.34%) Appcelerator Titanium
8 3 (0.34%) Cucumber
9 2 (0.23%) Vagrant
9 2 (0.23%) Visual Studio Code
10 1 (0.11%) Babel
10 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
10 1 (0.11%) Sonatype Nexus
10 1 (0.11%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
10 1 (0.11%) webpack
General
1 433 (49.66%) Social Skills
2 275 (31.54%) Analytical Skills
3 177 (20.30%) Finance
4 113 (12.96%) Retail
5 83 (9.52%) Manufacturing
6 48 (5.50%) Law
7 47 (5.39%) Organisational Skills
8 40 (4.59%) Legal
9 39 (4.47%) Marketing
9 39 (4.47%) Public Sector
10 25 (2.87%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 24 (2.75%) Electronics
12 17 (1.95%) Documentation Skills
12 17 (1.95%) Telecoms
13 16 (1.83%) Presentation Skills
14 14 (1.61%) Banking
15 13 (1.49%) Automotive
16 12 (1.38%) Aerospace
17 10 (1.15%) Fire and Rescue
18 8 (0.92%) Games
Job Titles
1 160 (18.35%) IT Support
2 159 (18.23%) Support Engineer
3 129 (14.79%) Analyst
4 97 (11.12%) IT Engineer
5 86 (9.86%) IT Support Engineer
6 80 (9.17%) Developer
7 78 (8.94%) Lead
8 74 (8.49%) Technical Support
9 68 (7.80%) Support Analyst
10 66 (7.57%) 2nd Line Support
11 64 (7.34%) Senior
12 63 (7.22%) Technical Engineer
13 60 (6.88%) Technical Support Engineer
14 40 (4.59%) Support Technician
15 37 (4.24%) Applications Support
16 33 (3.78%) Administrator
17 32 (3.67%) Architect
18 30 (3.44%) 1st/2nd Line Support
19 25 (2.87%) 1st Line Support
20 24 (2.75%) Full-Stack Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 36 (4.13%) React
2 33 (3.78%) .NET
3 30 (3.44%) REST
4 29 (3.33%) HTML
5 27 (3.10%) CSS
6 19 (2.18%) Node.js
7 17 (1.95%) AngularJS
8 16 (1.83%) JSON
9 11 (1.26%) Razor View Engine
10 8 (0.92%) Middleware
10 8 (0.92%) Oracle Fusion
10 8 (0.92%) RESTful
11 7 (0.80%) EDI
11 7 (0.80%) Vue
12 6 (0.69%) LAMP
12 6 (0.69%) Laravel
12 6 (0.69%) Spring
13 5 (0.57%) Web Services
14 4 (0.46%) SOAP
14 4 (0.46%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 114 (13.07%) Onboarding
2 108 (12.39%) Driving Licence
3 45 (5.16%) Management Information System
3 45 (5.16%) Self-Motivation
4 41 (4.70%) Analytical Mindset
5 33 (3.78%) FMCG
6 14 (1.61%) Legacy Systems
6 14 (1.61%) Product Ownership
7 13 (1.49%) Operational Technology
7 13 (1.49%) Social Media
8 12 (1.38%) Security Posture
9 11 (1.26%) e-Learning
9 11 (1.26%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 11 (1.26%) SCADA
10 10 (1.15%) Enterprise Software
11 9 (1.03%) Embedded Systems
12 8 (0.92%) Data Structures
12 8 (0.92%) IoT
13 7 (0.80%) Linux Command Line
13 7 (0.80%) Web Conferencing
Operating Systems
1 157 (18.00%) Windows
2 56 (6.42%) Windows Server
3 40 (4.59%) Linux
4 29 (3.33%) Windows 10
5 11 (1.26%) Apple iOS
6 5 (0.57%) Windows Server 2019
7 4 (0.46%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.46%) Unix
8 3 (0.34%) Android
9 2 (0.23%) Mac OS X
9 2 (0.23%) VMS
9 2 (0.23%) Windows 7
9 2 (0.23%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.11%) Debian
10 1 (0.11%) Oracle Linux
10 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.11%) Windows Mobile
10 1 (0.11%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 191 (21.90%) Customer Service
2 183 (20.99%) Continuous Improvement
3 120 (13.76%) CRM
4 114 (13.07%) ERP
5 102 (11.70%) Project Management
6 98 (11.24%) Agile
7 93 (10.67%) Mentoring
8 89 (10.21%) ITIL
9 88 (10.09%) Decision-Making
10 76 (8.72%) Business Intelligence
11 69 (7.91%) Analytics
12 63 (7.22%) Incident Management
13 59 (6.77%) Root Cause Analysis
14 56 (6.42%) Analytical Thinking
14 56 (6.42%) Process Improvement
15 55 (6.31%) Logistics
16 54 (6.19%) E-Commerce
17 53 (6.08%) Computer Science
18 52 (5.96%) Change Management
19 51 (5.85%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 182 (20.87%) SQL
2 80 (9.17%) C#
3 65 (7.45%) Python
4 53 (6.08%) JavaScript
5 33 (3.78%) Java
6 31 (3.56%) PowerShell
7 22 (2.52%) PHP
8 16 (1.83%) T-SQL
9 12 (1.38%) C
10 10 (1.15%) TypeScript
11 9 (1.03%) Bash
12 7 (0.80%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 7 (0.80%) PL/SQL
13 6 (0.69%) R
14 5 (0.57%) Ladder Logic
15 4 (0.46%) C++
15 4 (0.46%) Delphi
15 4 (0.46%) Perl
16 3 (0.34%) Groovy
16 3 (0.34%) VB.NET
Qualifications
1 175 (20.07%) Degree
2 81 (9.29%) Security Cleared
3 56 (6.42%) SC Cleared
4 33 (3.78%) Microsoft Certification
5 32 (3.67%) Computer Science Degree
6 24 (2.75%) DBS Check
7 19 (2.18%) Master's Degree
8 18 (2.06%) BPSS Clearance
8 18 (2.06%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.83%) ACCA
9 16 (1.83%) CIMA
9 16 (1.83%) CISSP
10 12 (1.38%) MCP
11 11 (1.26%) CCNA
12 10 (1.15%) AWS Certification
12 10 (1.15%) CompTIA Security+
13 9 (1.03%) DV Cleared
13 9 (1.03%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 9 (1.03%) MCSE
13 9 (1.03%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 58 (6.65%) QA
2 29 (3.33%) Data Quality
2 29 (3.33%) GDPR
3 24 (2.75%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 11 (1.26%) SLA
5 10 (1.15%) NIST
6 9 (1.03%) Actionable Recommendations
6 9 (1.03%) Cyber Essentials
7 8 (0.92%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 5 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 4 (0.46%) Accessibility
10 3 (0.34%) PMO
11 2 (0.23%) Government Security Classifications
11 2 (0.23%) HIPAA
11 2 (0.23%) ISO 20022
11 2 (0.23%) ISO 9001
11 2 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 19770
11 2 (0.23%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
11 2 (0.23%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.11%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 120 (13.76%) Active Directory
2 22 (2.52%) Docker
3 13 (1.49%) VMware Infrastructure
4 7 (0.80%) Firmware
4 7 (0.80%) Hyper-V
4 7 (0.80%) vSphere
5 2 (0.23%) Virtual Desktop
5 2 (0.23%) Virtual Machines
5 2 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 39 (4.47%) Microsoft Intune
2 22 (2.52%) Kubernetes
3 15 (1.72%) Terraform
4 7 (0.80%) Nmap
5 6 (0.69%) Ansible
6 5 (0.57%) SCCM
7 4 (0.46%) Nagios
8 3 (0.34%) Grafana
8 3 (0.34%) Single Sign-On
9 2 (0.23%) FortiGate
10 1 (0.11%) Argo
10 1 (0.11%) Autotask
10 1 (0.11%) AWS Copilot
10 1 (0.11%) CA Service Virtualization
10 1 (0.11%) HP Quality Center
10 1 (0.11%) Prometheus
10 1 (0.11%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
Vendors
1 260 (29.82%) Microsoft
2 70 (8.03%) SAP
3 59 (6.77%) Oracle
4 40 (4.59%) Salesforce
5 35 (4.01%) Cisco
6 15 (1.72%) ServiceNow
7 13 (1.49%) VMware
8 12 (1.38%) Databricks
9 10 (1.15%) Google
9 10 (1.15%) Sage
9 10 (1.15%) Zoho
10 8 (0.92%) HubSpot
10 8 (0.92%) Meraki
11 7 (0.80%) Infor
12 6 (0.69%) Epicor
12 6 (0.69%) Freshdesk
12 6 (0.69%) QAD
13 5 (0.57%) HP
13 5 (0.57%) Progress
13 5 (0.57%) Samsung