Problem-Solving Job Trends in the North West

Problem Solving
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 27 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 23 8 8
Rank change year-on-year -15 0 +14
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 667 716 1,232
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.51% 17.21% 13.33%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 8.81% 18.12% 16.18%
Number of salaries quoted 501 544 895
10th Percentile £27,250 £27,500 £26,250
25th Percentile £30,000 £35,750 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £49,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -14.14% +10.00% -5.26%
75th Percentile £58,750 £65,000 £61,250
90th Percentile £70,000 £79,625 £78,100
England median annual salary £47,500 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -9.52% +5.00% -9.09%

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 permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in the North West.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 7,570 3,952 7,614
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 73.91% 94.98% 82.36%
Number of salaries quoted 4,466 2,153 6,063
10th Percentile £30,000 £31,250 £27,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £40,000 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £52,500 £54,793 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.18% +9.59% -9.09%
75th Percentile £70,000 £71,250 £65,603
90th Percentile £87,500 £83,750 £80,000
England median annual salary £59,450 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -0.92% +9.09% -12.00%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

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

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the North West

Problem-Solving
Salary Trend in the North West

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

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Salary Histogram in the North West

Salary distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the North West over the 6 months to 27 April 2026.

Salary histogram for Problem-Solving in the North West

Problem-Solving
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 Problem-Solving within the North West region over the 6 months to 27 April 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 -24 315 £50,000 -4.31% 166
Merseyside -1 119 £37,500 +15.38% 34
Cheshire -20 104 £42,500 +14.86% 62
Lancashire -4 76 £36,500 -23.96% 85
Cumbria +5 50 £42,500 +8.28% 10
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 49 (7.35%) SharePoint
2 39 (5.85%) Microsoft Exchange
3 8 (1.20%) Confluence
4 4 (0.60%) Moodle
4 4 (0.60%) Totara
5 3 (0.45%) WordPress
6 2 (0.30%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.30%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.30%) CMS
7 1 (0.15%) Umbraco
Applications
1 43 (6.45%) Microsoft Excel
2 27 (4.05%) Microsoft Office
3 5 (0.75%) MS Visio
4 3 (0.45%) Simulink
4 3 (0.45%) Spreadsheet
5 1 (0.15%) AutoCAD
5 1 (0.15%) Chatbot
5 1 (0.15%) Revit
5 1 (0.15%) Trello
Business Applications
1 24 (3.60%) SAP S/4HANA
2 12 (1.80%) SAP ERP
3 7 (1.05%) Magento
4 6 (0.90%) Workday HCM
5 4 (0.60%) Dynamics CRM
5 4 (0.60%) SAP PP
5 4 (0.60%) Shopify
6 3 (0.45%) Dynamics AX
7 1 (0.15%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
7 1 (0.15%) Oracle Assets
7 1 (0.15%) Oracle General Ledger
7 1 (0.15%) Oracle Payables
7 1 (0.15%) Oracle Receivables
7 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 152 (22.79%) Azure
2 130 (19.49%) Microsoft 365
3 69 (10.34%) Power Platform
4 62 (9.30%) AWS
5 41 (6.15%) Entra ID
6 30 (4.50%) GCP
7 26 (3.90%) SaaS
8 25 (3.75%) Dynamics 365
8 25 (3.75%) GitHub
9 19 (2.85%) Azure DevOps
10 18 (2.70%) Power Automate
11 16 (2.40%) Microsoft Purview
11 16 (2.40%) PowerApps
12 14 (2.10%) Serverless
13 11 (1.65%) Azure Monitor
13 11 (1.65%) Boomi
14 10 (1.50%) OneDrive
15 9 (1.35%) Google Workspace
16 8 (1.20%) Azure Sentinel
16 8 (1.20%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 61 (9.15%) Firewall
2 38 (5.70%) DNS
3 36 (5.40%) DHCP
4 30 (4.50%) VLAN
5 29 (4.35%) VPN
6 26 (3.90%) Wi-Fi
7 22 (3.30%) TCP/IP
7 22 (3.30%) Wireless
8 20 (3.00%) WAN
9 19 (2.85%) VoIP
10 13 (1.95%) LAN
10 13 (1.95%) Structured Cabling
11 12 (1.80%) Unified Communications
12 11 (1.65%) Broadband
12 11 (1.65%) SD-WAN
13 8 (1.20%) Network Security
13 8 (1.20%) Telepresence
13 8 (1.20%) WebEx
14 6 (0.90%) IP Telephony
15 5 (0.75%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 51 (7.65%) Power BI
2 28 (4.20%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 17 (2.55%) SQL Server
4 12 (1.80%) NoSQL
5 10 (1.50%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.35%) MongoDB
7 8 (1.20%) MySQL
8 7 (1.05%) Azure SQL Database
9 5 (0.75%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (0.60%) DynamoDB
10 4 (0.60%) Looker
11 3 (0.45%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.45%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.45%) SAP HANA
12 2 (0.30%) Big Data
12 2 (0.30%) Hadoop
12 2 (0.30%) Power Query
12 2 (0.30%) Tableau
13 1 (0.15%) Data Warehouse
13 1 (0.15%) DB2
Development Applications
1 29 (4.35%) Git
2 25 (3.75%) JIRA
3 7 (1.05%) Bitbucket
3 7 (1.05%) GitLab
4 3 (0.45%) Jenkins
5 1 (0.15%) gulp
5 1 (0.15%) LabVIEW
5 1 (0.15%) Rational DOORS
5 1 (0.15%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
5 1 (0.15%) TeamCity
5 1 (0.15%) webpack
General
1 310 (46.48%) Social Skills
2 181 (27.14%) Analytical Skills
3 118 (17.69%) Finance
4 59 (8.85%) Organisational Skills
5 51 (7.65%) Manufacturing
6 36 (5.40%) Retail
7 33 (4.95%) Public Sector
8 29 (4.35%) Marketing
9 27 (4.05%) Law
10 26 (3.90%) Legal
11 25 (3.75%) Automotive
12 20 (3.00%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 18 (2.70%) Telecoms
14 14 (2.10%) Advertising
14 14 (2.10%) Presentation Skills
15 13 (1.95%) Banking
16 10 (1.50%) Documentation Skills
17 9 (1.35%) Electronics
17 9 (1.35%) French Language
17 9 (1.35%) Games
Job Titles
1 87 (13.04%) Analyst
2 83 (12.44%) Support Engineer
3 78 (11.69%) IT Support
4 77 (11.54%) Senior
5 55 (8.25%) Developer
6 47 (7.05%) IT Engineer
7 45 (6.75%) IT Support Engineer
8 35 (5.25%) Support Technician
9 32 (4.80%) Consultant
10 31 (4.65%) Lead
11 30 (4.50%) Business Analyst
12 24 (3.60%) Senior Developer
13 21 (3.15%) Architect
14 20 (3.00%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 19 (2.85%) 2nd Line Support
15 19 (2.85%) Technical Engineer
15 19 (2.85%) Technical Support
15 19 (2.85%) Technical Support Engineer
16 18 (2.70%) IT Support Technician
16 18 (2.70%) Solutions Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (4.05%) React
2 24 (3.60%) .NET
2 24 (3.60%) HTML
3 21 (3.15%) REST
4 20 (3.00%) EDI
5 19 (2.85%) Spring
5 19 (2.85%) Spring Boot
6 16 (2.40%) CSS
7 13 (1.95%) AngularJS
7 13 (1.95%) XML
8 12 (1.80%) SOAP
9 11 (1.65%) JSON
9 11 (1.65%) Middleware
9 11 (1.65%) RESTful
9 11 (1.65%) SAP Fiori
9 11 (1.65%) Vue
10 9 (1.35%) Node.js
11 7 (1.05%) OAuth
11 7 (1.05%) OAuth2
11 7 (1.05%) SAP Core Interface
Miscellaneous
1 89 (13.34%) Driving Licence
2 50 (7.50%) Onboarding
3 26 (3.90%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (3.15%) Analytical Mindset
5 16 (2.40%) CCTV
5 16 (2.40%) Distributed Systems
6 15 (2.25%) Data Centre
7 13 (1.95%) Enterprise Software
7 13 (1.95%) Product Ownership
8 12 (1.80%) Cloud Native
8 12 (1.80%) EPoS
9 11 (1.65%) Management Information System
9 11 (1.65%) Social Media
10 9 (1.35%) CMDB
11 8 (1.20%) Enterprise Cloud
11 8 (1.20%) FMCG
12 7 (1.05%) Renewable Energy
12 7 (1.05%) Security Posture
13 6 (0.90%) Hybrid Cloud
13 6 (0.90%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 121 (18.14%) Windows
2 53 (7.95%) Windows Server
3 34 (5.10%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.30%) Apple iOS
5 20 (3.00%) Linux
6 14 (2.10%) Android
7 9 (1.35%) Windows 7
7 9 (1.35%) Windows 8
8 8 (1.20%) Windows Server 2016
9 7 (1.05%) Mac OS
10 5 (0.75%) Windows Server 2019
11 4 (0.60%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 4 (0.60%) Unix
12 3 (0.45%) Solaris
13 1 (0.15%) CentOS
13 1 (0.15%) CoreOS
13 1 (0.15%) Ubuntu
13 1 (0.15%) VME
Processes & Methodologies
1 138 (20.69%) Customer Service
2 120 (17.99%) Continuous Improvement
3 90 (13.49%) Mentoring
4 87 (13.04%) Decision-Making
5 81 (12.14%) Stakeholder Management
6 70 (10.49%) Agile
7 65 (9.75%) AI
8 53 (7.95%) CI/CD
8 53 (7.95%) Project Management
9 52 (7.80%) DevOps
10 51 (7.65%) Collaborative Working
11 47 (7.05%) ERP
11 47 (7.05%) Roadmaps
12 46 (6.90%) Business Intelligence
13 44 (6.60%) Analytics
13 44 (6.60%) CRM
13 44 (6.60%) Cybersecurity
14 43 (6.45%) Coaching
14 43 (6.45%) User Experience
15 40 (6.00%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 86 (12.89%) SQL
2 49 (7.35%) Python
3 32 (4.80%) JavaScript
4 29 (4.35%) C#
5 27 (4.05%) Java
6 14 (2.10%) PowerShell
7 11 (1.65%) TypeScript
8 9 (1.35%) Kotlin
9 7 (1.05%) Bash
10 6 (0.90%) PHP
11 5 (0.75%) Bicep
11 5 (0.75%) C++
12 4 (0.60%) C
12 4 (0.60%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 4 (0.60%) T-SQL
13 3 (0.45%) Go
13 3 (0.45%) MATLAB
13 3 (0.45%) Swift
14 2 (0.30%) Ladder Logic
14 2 (0.30%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 85 (12.74%) Degree
2 25 (3.75%) DBS Check
3 20 (3.00%) BPSS Clearance
4 15 (2.25%) Security Cleared
5 12 (1.80%) Microsoft Certification
6 10 (1.50%) Computer Science Degree
7 9 (1.35%) HNC
8 8 (1.20%) Cisco Certification
8 8 (1.20%) Network+ Certification
9 6 (0.90%) Azure Certification
9 6 (0.90%) CCNA
9 6 (0.90%) CompTIA Security+
9 6 (0.90%) SC Cleared
10 4 (0.60%) HND
10 4 (0.60%) ITIL Certification
10 4 (0.60%) Master's Degree
10 4 (0.60%) MCSA
11 3 (0.45%) CCNP
11 3 (0.45%) PMI Certification
11 3 (0.45%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 34 (5.10%) QA
2 26 (3.90%) SLA
3 23 (3.45%) Data Quality
4 19 (2.85%) GDPR
5 11 (1.65%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 11 (1.65%) TickIT
6 9 (1.35%) Cyber Essentials
7 8 (1.20%) ISO 9001
8 4 (0.60%) Accessibility
9 2 (0.30%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.30%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.15%) DICOM
10 1 (0.15%) GMP
10 1 (0.15%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.15%) PMO
System Software
1 93 (13.94%) Active Directory
2 26 (3.90%) Hyper-V
3 23 (3.45%) Docker
4 21 (3.15%) VMware Infrastructure
5 9 (1.35%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.60%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.60%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.30%) Firmware
8 1 (0.15%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 33 (4.95%) Microsoft Intune
2 31 (4.65%) Terraform
3 22 (3.30%) Kubernetes
4 21 (3.15%) SCCM
5 20 (3.00%) BMC PATROL
6 12 (1.80%) Ansible
7 10 (1.50%) Autotask
7 10 (1.50%) Single Sign-On
8 8 (1.20%) Cisco CUCM
9 5 (0.75%) FortiGate
10 4 (0.60%) Grafana
10 4 (0.60%) Jamf Pro
10 4 (0.60%) Prometheus
11 3 (0.45%) Podman
11 3 (0.45%) Rancher
12 2 (0.30%) cPanel
12 2 (0.30%) Plesk
13 1 (0.15%) McAfee ePO
13 1 (0.15%) Nagios
13 1 (0.15%) SCVMM
Vendors
1 211 (31.63%) Microsoft
2 27 (4.05%) SAP
3 23 (3.45%) VMware
4 18 (2.70%) Google
5 16 (2.40%) Oracle
6 14 (2.10%) Cisco
7 11 (1.65%) Apple
7 11 (1.65%) ServiceNow
7 11 (1.65%) Workday
8 9 (1.35%) ESET
8 9 (1.35%) iManage
9 8 (1.20%) Meraki
9 8 (1.20%) New Relic
9 8 (1.20%) Splunk
10 7 (1.05%) Aruba
11 6 (0.90%) Siemens
12 5 (0.75%) Adobe
12 5 (0.75%) BiZZdesign
13 4 (0.60%) Arista
13 4 (0.60%) Ubiquiti