Continuous Improvement Job Trends in the North West

Continual Improvement
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Continuous Improvement skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 15 42 31
Rank change year-on-year +27 -11 +21
Permanent jobs citing Continuous Improvement 921 379 383
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.30% 7.37% 4.96%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.04% 8.26% 6.36%
Number of salaries quoted 641 223 198
10th Percentile £35,150 £31,000 £35,000
25th Percentile £42,000 £35,000 £42,625
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £50,000 £51,674
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -3.24% -6.05%
75th Percentile £71,250 £69,375 £65,000
90th Percentile £82,500 £83,500 £82,889
England median annual salary £57,500 £56,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year +2.68% -6.67% -6.98%

All Process & Methodology Skills
North West

Continuous Improvement 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 North West.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 9,172 4,591 6,020
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.67% 89.30% 77.91%
Number of salaries quoted 6,908 2,186 3,447
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,750 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £50,055
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -0.11% -8.99%
75th Percentile £75,000 £65,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £78,750
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -7.26%

Continuous Improvement
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Continuous Improvement relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Continuous Improvement job vacancy trend in the North West

Continuous Improvement
Salary Trend in the North West

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Continuous Improvement.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Continuous Improvement

Continuous Improvement
Salary Histogram in the North West

Salary distribution for jobs citing Continuous Improvement in the North West over the 6 months to 16 September 2026.

Salary histogram for Continuous Improvement in the North West

Continuous Improvement
Job Locations in the North West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Continuous Improvement within the North West region over the 6 months to 16 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
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Manchester +7 528 £58,115 +10.70% 688
Cheshire +8 114 £47,500 +15.15% 142
Merseyside +16 112 £47,500 -9.52% 99
Lancashire +53 106 £48,000 -8.57% 108
Cumbria +7 57 £45,000 +25.51% 21
Continuous Improvement
England

Continuous Improvement
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 72 (7.82%) SharePoint
2 26 (2.82%) Microsoft Exchange
3 14 (1.52%) Confluence
4 8 (0.87%) Apache Airflow
5 6 (0.65%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.43%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 3 (0.33%) Anypoint
7 3 (0.33%) BizTalk Server
7 3 (0.33%) CMS
7 3 (0.33%) IIS
7 3 (0.33%) Moodle
7 3 (0.33%) WordPress
8 2 (0.22%) Apache
8 2 (0.22%) nginx
8 2 (0.22%) Totara
8 2 (0.22%) Umbraco
9 1 (0.11%) ArcGIS
9 1 (0.11%) Headless CMS
9 1 (0.11%) SAS
Applications
1 38 (4.13%) Microsoft Excel
2 16 (1.74%) Microsoft Office
2 16 (1.74%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 9 (0.98%) Microsoft Project
4 8 (0.87%) MS Visio
5 4 (0.43%) Solid Edge
6 3 (0.33%) Trello
7 2 (0.22%) AutoCAD
7 2 (0.22%) Camtasia
7 2 (0.22%) Chatbot
8 1 (0.11%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 25 (2.71%) Dynamics CRM
2 12 (1.30%) SAP S/4HANA
3 5 (0.54%) SAP PM
3 5 (0.54%) Unit4 Business World
4 4 (0.43%) NetSuite
4 4 (0.43%) Workday HCM
5 3 (0.33%) BambooHR
5 3 (0.33%) Dynamics AX
5 3 (0.33%) Oracle Cash Management
5 3 (0.33%) Oracle ERP
5 3 (0.33%) Oracle General Ledger
5 3 (0.33%) Oracle Payables
5 3 (0.33%) Oracle Receivables
5 3 (0.33%) Payment Gateway
6 2 (0.22%) Remedy ITSM
6 2 (0.22%) SAP PSCD
7 1 (0.11%) Academy Revenues and Benefits
7 1 (0.11%) Magento
7 1 (0.11%) SAP EWM
7 1 (0.11%) SAP HCM
Cloud Services
1 197 (21.39%) Azure
2 130 (14.12%) Microsoft 365
3 123 (13.36%) AWS
4 99 (10.75%) Power Platform
5 76 (8.25%) SaaS
6 48 (5.21%) PowerApps
7 43 (4.67%) Azure DevOps
8 42 (4.56%) Serverless
9 39 (4.23%) Power Automate
10 36 (3.91%) Dynamics 365
11 35 (3.80%) Microsoft Copilot
12 31 (3.37%) Entra ID
13 26 (2.82%) OneDrive
14 24 (2.61%) AWS Lambda
15 18 (1.95%) Copilot Studio
15 18 (1.95%) Datadog
15 18 (1.95%) GCP
16 15 (1.63%) Microsoft Purview
16 15 (1.63%) Route 53
17 14 (1.52%) Amazon S3
Communications & Networking
1 26 (2.82%) DNS
2 23 (2.50%) VoIP
3 21 (2.28%) DHCP
4 13 (1.41%) TCP/IP
4 13 (1.41%) WAN
5 12 (1.30%) Firewall
6 11 (1.19%) SD-WAN
7 10 (1.09%) Wi-Fi
8 7 (0.76%) LAN
8 7 (0.76%) SNMP
8 7 (0.76%) Unified Communications
9 6 (0.65%) Wireless
10 5 (0.54%) BGP
10 5 (0.54%) IPsec
10 5 (0.54%) VLAN
11 4 (0.43%) VPN
12 3 (0.33%) DKIM
12 3 (0.33%) Network Security
12 3 (0.33%) OSPF
12 3 (0.33%) PBX
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (5.54%) Power BI
2 39 (4.23%) SQL Server
3 18 (1.95%) Relational Database
4 17 (1.85%) MySQL
5 13 (1.41%) PostgreSQL
6 12 (1.30%) Data Warehouse
7 9 (0.98%) MongoDB
7 9 (0.98%) NoSQL
8 8 (0.87%) Electronic Patient Records
8 8 (0.87%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 7 (0.76%) Metadata
10 6 (0.65%) BigQuery
10 6 (0.65%) Data Lake
11 5 (0.54%) Elasticsearch
11 5 (0.54%) SAP HANA
12 4 (0.43%) Azure SQL Database
12 4 (0.43%) DynamoDB
12 4 (0.43%) Neo4j
12 4 (0.43%) Power Query
13 3 (0.33%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 39 (4.23%) JIRA
2 26 (2.82%) Git
3 10 (1.09%) GitLab
4 9 (0.98%) Jenkins
4 9 (0.98%) Maven
5 7 (0.76%) JUnit
6 6 (0.65%) Cypress.io
7 4 (0.43%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 4 (0.43%) Bitbucket
7 4 (0.43%) Cucumber
7 4 (0.43%) IntelliJ
7 4 (0.43%) Robot Framework
7 4 (0.43%) Spock
7 4 (0.43%) Storybook
8 3 (0.33%) Eclipse
8 3 (0.33%) Visual Studio Code
9 2 (0.22%) Claude Code
9 2 (0.22%) Terragrunt
9 2 (0.22%) TestRail
9 2 (0.22%) Vagrant
General
1 315 (34.20%) Social Skills
2 214 (23.24%) Finance
3 200 (21.72%) Analytical Skills
4 109 (11.83%) Manufacturing
5 74 (8.03%) Law
6 68 (7.38%) Legal
7 58 (6.30%) Influencing Skills
7 58 (6.30%) Organisational Skills
8 56 (6.08%) Public Sector
9 53 (5.75%) Retail
10 44 (4.78%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 33 (3.58%) Aerospace
11 33 (3.58%) Telecoms
12 29 (3.15%) Marketing
13 14 (1.52%) Aviation
13 14 (1.52%) Games
14 13 (1.41%) Publishing
15 12 (1.30%) Documentation Skills
16 11 (1.19%) Presentation Skills
17 10 (1.09%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 151 (16.40%) Analyst
1 151 (16.40%) Senior
2 98 (10.64%) Lead
3 73 (7.93%) Developer
4 46 (4.99%) IT Manager
5 41 (4.45%) Consultant
6 38 (4.13%) IT Support
7 37 (4.02%) Senior Developer
7 37 (4.02%) Systems Analyst
8 33 (3.58%) Support Engineer
9 29 (3.15%) Architect
10 27 (2.93%) Delivery Manager
10 27 (2.93%) HR Analyst
10 27 (2.93%) Senior Analyst
10 27 (2.93%) Service Manager
11 26 (2.82%) Support Analyst
12 24 (2.61%) Data Analyst
13 23 (2.50%) Software Engineer
14 22 (2.39%) Business Analyst
15 21 (2.28%) IT Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (5.75%) Terraform
2 30 (3.26%) HTML
2 30 (3.26%) React
3 28 (3.04%) .NET
4 26 (2.82%) Spring
5 22 (2.39%) Kafka
5 22 (2.39%) Spring Boot
6 20 (2.17%) CSS
7 19 (2.06%) AngularJS
7 19 (2.06%) Node.js
7 19 (2.06%) REST
8 11 (1.19%) Middleware
8 11 (1.19%) Vue
9 8 (0.87%) HTML5 Canvas
9 8 (0.87%) Microsoft Graph
9 8 (0.87%) SPFx
10 7 (0.76%) EDI
10 7 (0.76%) Playwright
11 6 (0.65%) PySpark
11 6 (0.65%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 51 (5.54%) Cloud Native
1 51 (5.54%) Onboarding
2 45 (4.89%) Product Ownership
3 22 (2.39%) Security Posture
4 21 (2.28%) Distributed Systems
4 21 (2.28%) Self-Motivation
5 16 (1.74%) Enterprise Software
5 16 (1.74%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
6 15 (1.63%) Management Information System
7 14 (1.52%) SystemC
8 11 (1.19%) Data Centre
8 11 (1.19%) NHS
8 11 (1.19%) Replication
9 10 (1.09%) Driving Licence
10 9 (0.98%) Enterprise Cloud
10 9 (0.98%) Mobile App
10 9 (0.98%) PMI
11 8 (0.87%) Data Structures
11 8 (0.87%) Operational Technology
11 8 (0.87%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 80 (8.69%) Windows
2 47 (5.10%) Windows Server
3 33 (3.58%) Linux
4 11 (1.19%) Windows 10
5 9 (0.98%) Unix
6 8 (0.87%) Windows Server 2016
6 8 (0.87%) Windows Server 2019
7 5 (0.54%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.43%) Android
8 4 (0.43%) VMS
9 3 (0.33%) Apple iOS
9 3 (0.33%) Solaris
10 2 (0.22%) AIX
10 2 (0.22%) Embedded Linux
10 2 (0.22%) FreeRTOS
10 2 (0.22%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 268 (29.10%) Problem-Solving
2 238 (25.84%) Stakeholder Management
3 232 (25.19%) Agile
4 198 (21.50%) Decision-Making
5 194 (21.06%) Mentoring
6 167 (18.13%) AI
7 133 (14.44%) Coaching
8 129 (14.01%) Stakeholder Engagement
9 125 (13.57%) CI/CD
10 123 (13.36%) DevOps
11 117 (12.70%) Roadmaps
12 110 (11.94%) Customer Service
13 103 (11.18%) ITIL
14 91 (9.88%) ERP
15 85 (9.23%) Software Engineering
16 83 (9.01%) Analytics
17 76 (8.25%) Collaborative Culture
17 76 (8.25%) Collaborative Working
18 70 (7.60%) Cybersecurity
19 68 (7.38%) CRM
Programming Languages
1 81 (8.79%) SQL
2 71 (7.71%) Python
3 62 (6.73%) JavaScript
4 59 (6.41%) Java
5 53 (5.75%) C#
6 39 (4.23%) TypeScript
7 27 (2.93%) PowerShell
8 16 (1.74%) Bash
9 10 (1.09%) Go
9 10 (1.09%) Shell Script
10 6 (0.65%) Bicep
11 5 (0.54%) C
11 5 (0.54%) C++
11 5 (0.54%) Scala
12 4 (0.43%) Groovy
12 4 (0.43%) Rust
13 3 (0.33%) ABAP
13 3 (0.33%) Kotlin
13 3 (0.33%) PHP
13 3 (0.33%) Swift
Qualifications
1 115 (12.49%) Degree
2 59 (6.41%) DBS Check
3 56 (6.08%) Security Cleared
4 38 (4.13%) SC Cleared
5 34 (3.69%) ACCA
6 32 (3.47%) CIMA
7 30 (3.26%) Microsoft Certification
8 29 (3.15%) HNC
9 24 (2.61%) BPSS Clearance
10 17 (1.85%) Azure Certification
11 16 (1.74%) HND
11 16 (1.74%) ITIL Certification
12 15 (1.63%) Postgraduate
13 13 (1.41%) PMI Certification
14 9 (0.98%) DV Cleared
14 9 (0.98%) NVQ Level 3
15 8 (0.87%) CISM
15 8 (0.87%) CISSP
16 5 (0.54%) Cisco Certification
16 5 (0.54%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 72 (7.82%) Data Quality
2 59 (6.41%) QA
3 40 (4.34%) Accessibility
3 40 (4.34%) GDPR
4 21 (2.28%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 19 (2.06%) PMO
6 17 (1.85%) ISO 9001
6 17 (1.85%) SLA
7 14 (1.52%) Cyber Essentials
8 12 (1.30%) NIST
9 9 (0.98%) GMP
10 8 (0.87%) TickIT
11 5 (0.54%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 5 (0.54%) WCAG
12 4 (0.43%) GRC
13 3 (0.33%) Actionable Recommendations
13 3 (0.33%) NEBOSH
13 3 (0.33%) NIST 800
13 3 (0.33%) SOC 2
14 2 (0.22%) ISO/IEC 20000
System Software
1 67 (7.27%) Active Directory
2 38 (4.13%) Docker
3 16 (1.74%) Hyper-V
4 13 (1.41%) VMware Infrastructure
5 10 (1.09%) Virtual Desktop
6 6 (0.65%) Virtual Machines
7 3 (0.33%) DFS Replication
8 1 (0.11%) Citrix Hypervisor
8 1 (0.11%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 42 (4.56%) Kubernetes
2 35 (3.80%) Microsoft Intune
3 20 (2.17%) Ansible
4 11 (1.19%) Single Sign-On
5 10 (1.09%) Grafana
6 8 (0.87%) Prometheus
7 6 (0.65%) SCCM
8 5 (0.54%) Argo
8 5 (0.54%) FortiGate
9 4 (0.43%) Jamf Pro
10 3 (0.33%) cPanel
10 3 (0.33%) Plesk
11 2 (0.22%) Nessus
11 2 (0.22%) Packer
11 2 (0.22%) Progress Chef
11 2 (0.22%) SolarWinds Orion
12 1 (0.11%) Istio
12 1 (0.11%) linkerd
12 1 (0.11%) Nagios
12 1 (0.11%) Proxmox
Vendors
1 229 (24.86%) Microsoft
2 42 (4.56%) YouTube
3 37 (4.02%) SAP
4 36 (3.91%) Workday
5 24 (2.61%) ServiceNow
6 21 (2.28%) VMware
7 17 (1.85%) Google
8 15 (1.63%) Oracle
9 14 (1.52%) Cisco
10 10 (1.09%) Databricks
10 10 (1.09%) Splunk
11 8 (0.87%) Sage
11 8 (0.87%) Salesforce
12 7 (0.76%) iManage
12 7 (0.76%) Okta
12 7 (0.76%) SolarWinds
13 6 (0.65%) Adobe
13 6 (0.65%) Apple
13 6 (0.65%) Meraki
14 5 (0.54%) Alteryx