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 20 July 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -7 0 +8
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 794 1,031 1,339
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.98% 20.08% 13.71%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.82% 21.92% 17.37%
Number of salaries quoted 627 512 767
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,009 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -2.17% -3.16% -
75th Percentile £61,250 £61,250 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £74,250
England median annual salary £47,500 £48,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -1.04% -4.00% -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 8,088 4,704 7,707
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.08% 91.61% 78.88%
Number of salaries quoted 6,207 2,286 5,598
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £38,507
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,055 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +9.88% +0.11% -9.09%
75th Percentile £75,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £81,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year +4.35% +4.55% -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 20 July 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 20 July 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 -9 422 £50,000 - 155
Cheshire -10 132 £41,000 +9.33% 73
Merseyside -7 125 £42,500 +1.80% 35
Lancashire 0 74 £40,000 +6.67% 66
Cumbria -8 35 £32,500 -0.31% 7
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 70 (8.82%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.93%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.39%) IIS
4 5 (0.63%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.63%) Confluence
5 4 (0.50%) Moodle
5 4 (0.50%) Totara
6 2 (0.25%) Apache
6 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.25%) nginx
6 2 (0.25%) WordPress
7 1 (0.13%) CMS
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.13%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.13%) WebSphere
Applications
1 50 (6.30%) Microsoft Excel
2 31 (3.90%) Microsoft Office
3 12 (1.51%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.63%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.25%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.25%) Windchill
7 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.13%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 23 (2.90%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.64%) SAP ERP
3 6 (0.76%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (0.76%) Magento
3 6 (0.76%) Workday HCM
4 4 (0.50%) Dynamics AX
4 4 (0.50%) SAP PP
5 3 (0.38%) Shopify
6 2 (0.25%) Dynamics NAV
6 2 (0.25%) NEC Housing
7 1 (0.13%) Odoo
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.13%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.13%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 182 (22.92%) Azure
2 161 (20.28%) Microsoft 365
3 94 (11.84%) AWS
4 91 (11.46%) Power Platform
5 41 (5.16%) PowerApps
6 32 (4.03%) Power Automate
7 30 (3.78%) SaaS
8 28 (3.53%) Dynamics 365
9 27 (3.40%) GCP
10 26 (3.27%) Azure DevOps
10 26 (3.27%) GitHub
11 25 (3.15%) Microsoft Copilot
12 24 (3.02%) Entra ID
13 22 (2.77%) OneDrive
14 19 (2.39%) Microsoft Purview
15 16 (2.02%) Serverless
16 12 (1.51%) Boomi
17 10 (1.26%) Copilot Studio
18 9 (1.13%) Azure Data Factory
19 8 (1.01%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 72 (9.07%) Firewall
2 51 (6.42%) DNS
3 47 (5.92%) DHCP
4 38 (4.79%) VPN
5 37 (4.66%) TCP/IP
6 34 (4.28%) VLAN
7 31 (3.90%) Wi-Fi
8 25 (3.15%) VoIP
8 25 (3.15%) Wireless
9 21 (2.64%) Network Security
10 17 (2.14%) WAN
11 16 (2.02%) Broadband
11 16 (2.02%) LAN
12 12 (1.51%) Structured Cabling
13 11 (1.39%) SD-WAN
14 6 (0.76%) IP Telephony
14 6 (0.76%) SAN
15 5 (0.63%) Unified Communications
16 4 (0.50%) OSPF
16 4 (0.50%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 56 (7.05%) Power BI
2 43 (5.42%) SQL Server
3 32 (4.03%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 17 (2.14%) Data Warehouse
5 16 (2.02%) MySQL
6 11 (1.39%) PostgreSQL
7 10 (1.26%) Big Data
8 9 (1.13%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.63%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.63%) Power Query
9 5 (0.63%) Redis
9 5 (0.63%) Tableau
10 4 (0.50%) Amazon Redshift
10 4 (0.50%) Elasticsearch
10 4 (0.50%) Looker
10 4 (0.50%) Neo4j
11 3 (0.38%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.38%) MariaDB
11 3 (0.38%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 27 (3.40%) Git
2 26 (3.27%) JIRA
3 8 (1.01%) Jenkins
4 5 (0.63%) Bitbucket
4 5 (0.63%) GitLab
5 4 (0.50%) Cucumber
5 4 (0.50%) Cypress.io
5 4 (0.50%) Robot Framework
6 3 (0.38%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.25%) Rational DOORS
7 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 1 (0.13%) Gemini Tracker
8 1 (0.13%) gulp
8 1 (0.13%) LabVIEW
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
8 1 (0.13%) Rational Rhapsody
8 1 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
8 1 (0.13%) webpack
General
1 317 (39.92%) Social Skills
2 220 (27.71%) Analytical Skills
3 117 (14.74%) Finance
4 67 (8.44%) Manufacturing
5 62 (7.81%) Organisational Skills
6 59 (7.43%) Law
7 43 (5.42%) Legal
8 38 (4.79%) Retail
9 32 (4.03%) Marketing
10 29 (3.65%) Public Sector
11 17 (2.14%) Telecoms
12 16 (2.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 15 (1.89%) Banking
13 15 (1.89%) Documentation Skills
14 12 (1.51%) Games
15 10 (1.26%) Aerospace
16 9 (1.13%) Influencing Skills
16 9 (1.13%) Investment Banking
17 7 (0.88%) Electronics
18 6 (0.76%) Military
Job Titles
1 111 (13.98%) Senior
2 107 (13.48%) Developer
3 97 (12.22%) Analyst
4 81 (10.20%) IT Support
5 73 (9.19%) Support Engineer
6 48 (6.05%) IT Engineer
7 46 (5.79%) IT Support Engineer
8 45 (5.67%) Lead
9 40 (5.04%) Senior Developer
10 38 (4.79%) Consultant
11 37 (4.66%) Software Engineer
12 35 (4.41%) Support Technician
13 20 (2.52%) Administrator
13 20 (2.52%) Support Analyst
14 19 (2.39%) Senior Analyst
15 18 (2.27%) Architect
15 18 (2.27%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 18 (2.27%) Technical Analyst
16 17 (2.14%) Business Analyst
16 17 (2.14%) IT Support Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 49 (6.17%) .NET
2 43 (5.42%) HTML
2 43 (5.42%) React
3 33 (4.16%) REST
4 24 (3.02%) AngularJS
4 24 (3.02%) CSS
5 23 (2.90%) Middleware
5 23 (2.90%) Spring
6 22 (2.77%) Vue
7 21 (2.64%) Spring Boot
8 18 (2.27%) EDI
9 16 (2.02%) SOAP
9 16 (2.02%) XML
10 13 (1.64%) JSON
10 13 (1.64%) Node.js
11 11 (1.39%) Next.js
11 11 (1.39%) Web Services
12 10 (1.26%) React Native
13 9 (1.13%) Laravel
13 9 (1.13%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 66 (8.31%) Driving Licence
2 51 (6.42%) Onboarding
3 35 (4.41%) Cloud Native
4 33 (4.16%) Product Ownership
5 22 (2.77%) Self-Motivation
6 21 (2.64%) Data Centre
7 20 (2.52%) Distributed Systems
8 15 (1.89%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 15 (1.89%) Mobile App
9 14 (1.76%) Security Posture
10 12 (1.51%) CCTV
10 12 (1.51%) Management Information System
11 9 (1.13%) Analytical Mindset
11 9 (1.13%) Enterprise Cloud
12 8 (1.01%) AI Agents
12 8 (1.01%) Replication
12 8 (1.01%) Social Media
13 7 (0.88%) Legacy Systems
13 7 (0.88%) Low-Code
14 6 (0.76%) IoT
Operating Systems
1 136 (17.13%) Windows
2 66 (8.31%) Windows Server
3 43 (5.42%) Windows 10
4 24 (3.02%) Linux
5 21 (2.64%) Apple iOS
6 16 (2.02%) Android
7 6 (0.76%) Mac OS
7 6 (0.76%) Windows 7
7 6 (0.76%) Windows 8
7 6 (0.76%) Windows Server 2016
8 4 (0.50%) Unix
8 4 (0.50%) Windows Server 2019
9 2 (0.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.25%) Solaris
10 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.13%) VME
10 1 (0.13%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 198 (24.94%) Continuous Improvement
2 180 (22.67%) Customer Service
3 113 (14.23%) Mentoring
4 99 (12.47%) Agile
5 94 (11.84%) Stakeholder Management
6 91 (11.46%) Decision-Making
7 89 (11.21%) AI
7 89 (11.21%) CI/CD
8 79 (9.95%) Roadmaps
9 77 (9.70%) CRM
10 73 (9.19%) DevOps
11 72 (9.07%) Analytics
12 71 (8.94%) Software Engineering
13 64 (8.06%) ERP
13 64 (8.06%) User Experience
14 60 (7.56%) Collaborative Working
15 51 (6.42%) Test Automation
16 49 (6.17%) Business Intelligence
16 49 (6.17%) Cybersecurity
17 46 (5.79%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 138 (17.38%) SQL
2 97 (12.22%) Python
3 60 (7.56%) C#
4 55 (6.93%) JavaScript
5 41 (5.16%) Java
6 27 (3.40%) PowerShell
7 18 (2.27%) TypeScript
8 16 (2.02%) PHP
9 15 (1.89%) Bash
10 12 (1.51%) C++
11 10 (1.26%) T-SQL
12 8 (1.01%) Ruby
13 6 (0.76%) Kotlin
13 6 (0.76%) R
13 6 (0.76%) Shell Script
14 5 (0.63%) Bicep
14 5 (0.63%) C
14 5 (0.63%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 4 (0.50%) Apex Code
16 3 (0.38%) Go
Qualifications
1 93 (11.71%) Degree
2 43 (5.42%) Security Cleared
3 24 (3.02%) DBS Check
4 23 (2.90%) SC Cleared
5 20 (2.52%) Microsoft Certification
6 16 (2.02%) Cisco Certification
7 15 (1.89%) BPSS Clearance
7 15 (1.89%) Computer Science Degree
7 15 (1.89%) DV Cleared
8 12 (1.51%) CCNP
8 12 (1.51%) HNC
9 9 (1.13%) Azure Certification
9 9 (1.13%) Master's Degree
10 8 (1.01%) CCNA
11 7 (0.88%) MCSA
11 7 (0.88%) Postgraduate
12 5 (0.63%) ACCA
12 5 (0.63%) PMI Certification
13 4 (0.50%) CIMA
13 4 (0.50%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (5.42%) Data Quality
2 33 (4.16%) QA
3 31 (3.90%) GDPR
4 29 (3.65%) Accessibility
5 27 (3.40%) SLA
6 19 (2.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.51%) TickIT
8 8 (1.01%) ISO 9001
8 8 (1.01%) NIST
9 5 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 14443
10 4 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 7816
11 2 (0.25%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.25%) WCAG
12 1 (0.13%) DICOM
12 1 (0.13%) IFRS
12 1 (0.13%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.13%) NEBOSH
12 1 (0.13%) PMO
12 1 (0.13%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 95 (11.96%) Active Directory
2 36 (4.53%) VMware Infrastructure
3 35 (4.41%) Docker
4 23 (2.90%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.76%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.50%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.38%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.25%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 32 (4.03%) Kubernetes
2 31 (3.90%) Microsoft Intune
3 24 (3.02%) Terraform
4 15 (1.89%) SCCM
5 13 (1.64%) Grafana
6 11 (1.39%) Ansible
6 11 (1.39%) Prometheus
7 10 (1.26%) FortiGate
8 7 (0.88%) Autotask
9 4 (0.50%) Argo
9 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.38%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.25%) Nagios
11 2 (0.25%) Podman
11 2 (0.25%) Single Sign-On
12 1 (0.13%) Istio
12 1 (0.13%) linkerd
12 1 (0.13%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.13%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 283 (35.64%) Microsoft
2 40 (5.04%) VMware
3 29 (3.65%) SAP
4 18 (2.27%) Google
5 14 (1.76%) Cisco
6 13 (1.64%) ServiceNow
7 11 (1.39%) Adobe
7 11 (1.39%) Aruba
7 11 (1.39%) iManage
8 10 (1.26%) HubSpot
8 10 (1.26%) Salesforce
9 9 (1.13%) SonicWALL
9 9 (1.13%) Sophos
10 8 (1.01%) Meraki
10 8 (1.01%) Oracle
10 8 (1.01%) Tanium
11 7 (0.88%) Juniper
11 7 (0.88%) OpenAI
11 7 (0.88%) Workday
12 6 (0.76%) Apple