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 4 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 10 7 4
Rank change year-on-year -3 -3 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 1,052 1,017 1,108
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 8.11% 19.37% 14.77%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 11.13% 21.64% 18.55%
Number of salaries quoted 758 504 389
10th Percentile £26,650 £26,288 £26,750
25th Percentile £32,752 £33,125 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,625 £48,979 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -6.85% +8.84% -5.26%
75th Percentile £60,000 £54,573 £58,943
90th Percentile £73,750 £67,500 £73,750
England median annual salary £46,000 £45,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year +2.22% -14.29% -4.55%

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 9,451 4,699 5,973
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.90% 89.50% 79.64%
Number of salaries quoted 7,032 2,211 3,194
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,243 £30,825
25th Percentile £41,250 £35,000 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £50,500
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -0.99% -8.18%
75th Percentile £75,000 £64,875 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £78,750
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year +9.09% -8.33% -2.44%

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 4 October 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 4 October 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 -3 597 £47,500 +5.56% 585
Merseyside -1 170 £42,500 -19.81% 120
Cheshire -9 156 £46,250 -12.74% 146
Lancashire +7 95 £42,500 -10.70% 125
Cumbria -9 22 £31,250 -12.84% 28
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 84 (7.98%) SharePoint
2 51 (4.85%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (1.14%) IIS
4 7 (0.67%) Apache Airflow
4 7 (0.67%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.38%) Apache
5 4 (0.38%) Confluence
6 3 (0.29%) CMS
6 3 (0.29%) Jupyter
6 3 (0.29%) Oracle Workflow
7 2 (0.19%) Exchange Server 2013
7 2 (0.19%) nginx
7 2 (0.19%) Sitecore CMS
8 1 (0.095%) ArcGIS
8 1 (0.095%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.095%) SharePoint Server
8 1 (0.095%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.095%) WebLogic
8 1 (0.095%) WebSphere
8 1 (0.095%) WordPress
Applications
1 66 (6.27%) Microsoft Excel
2 61 (5.80%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (1.43%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.57%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.48%) Microsoft Project
6 4 (0.38%) Spreadsheet
7 2 (0.19%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.19%) Windchill
8 1 (0.095%) Acrobat
8 1 (0.095%) Revit
8 1 (0.095%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 18 (1.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 9 (0.86%) Dynamics CRM
3 7 (0.67%) SAP ERP
4 4 (0.38%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.38%) NetSuite
4 4 (0.38%) Oracle EBS
4 4 (0.38%) Oracle Payables
5 3 (0.29%) Dynamics AX
5 3 (0.29%) Oracle Cash Management
5 3 (0.29%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
5 3 (0.29%) Payment Gateway
5 3 (0.29%) Salesforce CRM
5 3 (0.29%) SAP PP
6 2 (0.19%) Elite 3E
6 2 (0.19%) Magento
6 2 (0.19%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.19%) Remedy ITSM
7 1 (0.095%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.095%) Oracle Applications
7 1 (0.095%) SAP PM
Cloud Services
1 197 (18.73%) Azure
2 159 (15.11%) Microsoft 365
3 116 (11.03%) AWS
4 108 (10.27%) Power Platform
5 48 (4.56%) PowerApps
6 46 (4.37%) Entra ID
7 41 (3.90%) GitHub
7 41 (3.90%) SaaS
8 37 (3.52%) GCP
8 37 (3.52%) Microsoft Copilot
9 35 (3.33%) OneDrive
9 35 (3.33%) Power Automate
10 28 (2.66%) Azure DevOps
11 20 (1.90%) Dynamics 365
11 20 (1.90%) Serverless
12 19 (1.81%) Microsoft Purview
13 16 (1.52%) Copilot Studio
14 12 (1.14%) Azure Data Factory
14 12 (1.14%) GitHub Actions
15 11 (1.05%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 72 (6.84%) DNS
2 58 (5.51%) DHCP
3 56 (5.32%) Firewall
4 41 (3.90%) VPN
5 37 (3.52%) TCP/IP
6 29 (2.76%) Wireless
7 25 (2.38%) Network Security
7 25 (2.38%) VLAN
8 22 (2.09%) VoIP
9 21 (2.00%) Wi-Fi
10 18 (1.71%) LAN
11 16 (1.52%) WAN
12 12 (1.14%) Broadband
12 12 (1.14%) Unified Communications
13 10 (0.95%) BGP
13 10 (0.95%) SD-WAN
14 8 (0.76%) SNMP
15 7 (0.67%) OSPF
16 6 (0.57%) Cisco Firepower
16 6 (0.57%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 63 (5.99%) Power BI
2 53 (5.04%) SQL Server
3 24 (2.28%) MySQL
4 22 (2.09%) Data Warehouse
4 22 (2.09%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 14 (1.33%) BigQuery
6 12 (1.14%) Power Query
7 10 (0.95%) Amazon Redshift
7 10 (0.95%) Big Data
7 10 (0.95%) NoSQL
8 8 (0.76%) Looker
8 8 (0.76%) MongoDB
8 8 (0.76%) Redis
9 7 (0.67%) Data Lake
9 7 (0.67%) Electronic Patient Records
9 7 (0.67%) PostgreSQL
9 7 (0.67%) Relational Database
9 7 (0.67%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 6 (0.57%) Amazon RDS
10 6 (0.57%) MariaDB
Development Applications
1 41 (3.90%) Git
2 37 (3.52%) JIRA
3 16 (1.52%) GitLab
3 16 (1.52%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.67%) Bitbucket
4 7 (0.67%) Cypress.io
5 5 (0.48%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.38%) Claude Code
6 4 (0.38%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.29%) Selenium
7 3 (0.29%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.19%) REST Assured
8 2 (0.19%) Vagrant
9 1 (0.095%) Artifactory
9 1 (0.095%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.095%) gulp
9 1 (0.095%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.095%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.095%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 1 (0.095%) webpack
General
1 421 (40.02%) Social Skills
2 326 (30.99%) Analytical Skills
3 190 (18.06%) Finance
4 90 (8.56%) Law
5 84 (7.98%) Manufacturing
6 77 (7.32%) Organisational Skills
7 74 (7.03%) Retail
8 71 (6.75%) Legal
9 62 (5.89%) Telecoms
10 51 (4.85%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 39 (3.71%) Marketing
12 32 (3.04%) Public Sector
13 27 (2.57%) Military
14 18 (1.71%) Aerospace
14 18 (1.71%) Electronics
15 17 (1.62%) Banking
16 16 (1.52%) Documentation Skills
17 15 (1.43%) Automotive
17 15 (1.43%) Billing
18 13 (1.24%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 157 (14.92%) Analyst
2 139 (13.21%) Senior
3 118 (11.22%) Developer
4 66 (6.27%) IT Support
5 53 (5.04%) Support Engineer
6 49 (4.66%) Support Analyst
7 47 (4.47%) Lead
8 45 (4.28%) Senior Developer
9 42 (3.99%) Consultant
10 39 (3.71%) Software Engineer
11 32 (3.04%) Administrator
12 28 (2.66%) IT Engineer
12 28 (2.66%) Junior
13 26 (2.47%) Support Technician
14 25 (2.38%) Data Engineer
14 25 (2.38%) IT Manager
14 25 (2.38%) IT Support Engineer
15 24 (2.28%) Applications Support
16 23 (2.19%) Architect
16 23 (2.19%) IT Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 49 (4.66%) .NET
2 47 (4.47%) React
3 42 (3.99%) HTML
4 38 (3.61%) REST
5 33 (3.14%) Terraform
6 23 (2.19%) Middleware
7 20 (1.90%) CSS
8 19 (1.81%) Vue
9 17 (1.62%) AngularJS
9 17 (1.62%) Spring
10 16 (1.52%) Kafka
10 16 (1.52%) Node.js
10 16 (1.52%) XML
11 15 (1.43%) Spring Boot
12 14 (1.33%) SOAP
13 13 (1.24%) EDI
14 12 (1.14%) JSON
15 11 (1.05%) Next.js
15 11 (1.05%) Web Services
16 10 (0.95%) Microsoft Graph
Miscellaneous
1 82 (7.79%) Driving Licence
2 68 (6.46%) Onboarding
3 49 (4.66%) Self-Motivation
4 38 (3.61%) Product Ownership
5 37 (3.52%) Management Information System
6 35 (3.33%) Cloud Native
7 25 (2.38%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 22 (2.09%) Enterprise Software
9 20 (1.90%) IoT
10 19 (1.81%) Distributed Systems
10 19 (1.81%) Security Posture
11 18 (1.71%) NHS
12 17 (1.62%) FMCG
13 14 (1.33%) Data Centre
13 14 (1.33%) Replication
14 13 (1.24%) Public Cloud
15 12 (1.14%) Mobile App
16 11 (1.05%) Low-Code
17 9 (0.86%) AI Agents
17 9 (0.86%) Data Structures
Operating Systems
1 132 (12.55%) Windows
2 59 (5.61%) Windows Server
3 40 (3.80%) Linux
4 21 (2.00%) Windows 10
5 15 (1.43%) Apple iOS
6 9 (0.86%) Mac OS
6 9 (0.86%) Windows Server 2016
7 8 (0.76%) Android
8 7 (0.67%) Windows Server 2019
9 4 (0.38%) Unix
10 1 (0.095%) Embedded Linux
10 1 (0.095%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 1 (0.095%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.095%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 315 (29.94%) Continuous Improvement
2 195 (18.54%) Customer Service
3 160 (15.21%) AI
4 157 (14.92%) Agile
5 146 (13.88%) Stakeholder Management
6 140 (13.31%) Mentoring
7 120 (11.41%) CI/CD
8 119 (11.31%) Decision-Making
9 104 (9.89%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 102 (9.70%) Analytics
11 99 (9.41%) DevOps
12 97 (9.22%) CRM
12 97 (9.22%) ERP
13 95 (9.03%) Collaborative Working
14 94 (8.94%) Software Engineering
15 87 (8.27%) Project Delivery
16 81 (7.70%) Roadmaps
17 75 (7.13%) User Acceptance Testing
18 70 (6.65%) Cybersecurity
19 69 (6.56%) Process Improvement
Programming Languages
1 173 (16.44%) SQL
2 132 (12.55%) Python
3 70 (6.65%) JavaScript
4 63 (5.99%) C#
5 50 (4.75%) Java
5 50 (4.75%) PowerShell
6 32 (3.04%) TypeScript
7 23 (2.19%) Bash
8 19 (1.81%) PHP
9 14 (1.33%) C++
10 13 (1.24%) Shell Script
11 11 (1.05%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.76%) C
12 8 (0.76%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 8 (0.76%) Go
12 8 (0.76%) Ruby
13 6 (0.57%) Bicep
13 6 (0.57%) R
14 5 (0.48%) ActionScript
14 5 (0.48%) Apex Code
Qualifications
1 144 (13.69%) Degree
2 66 (6.27%) Security Cleared
3 42 (3.99%) SC Cleared
4 37 (3.52%) HNC
5 35 (3.33%) DBS Check
6 24 (2.28%) DV Cleared
6 24 (2.28%) Microsoft Certification
7 22 (2.09%) Computer Science Degree
8 14 (1.33%) Azure Certification
8 14 (1.33%) CCNP
8 14 (1.33%) Cisco Certification
8 14 (1.33%) Master's Degree
9 13 (1.24%) BPSS Clearance
9 13 (1.24%) HND
10 9 (0.86%) ITIL Certification
11 8 (0.76%) ACCA
11 8 (0.76%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 7 (0.67%) CIMA
12 7 (0.67%) Postgraduate
13 6 (0.57%) Chartered Engineer
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 56 (5.32%) Data Quality
2 49 (4.66%) Accessibility
3 40 (3.80%) QA
4 35 (3.33%) GDPR
5 16 (1.52%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 13 (1.24%) SLA
7 9 (0.86%) NIST
7 9 (0.86%) TickIT
8 6 (0.57%) Cyber Essentials
9 5 (0.48%) NEBOSH
9 5 (0.48%) PMO
10 4 (0.38%) Actionable Recommendations
10 4 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 14443
10 4 (0.38%) ISO/IEC 7816
11 3 (0.29%) IFRS
12 2 (0.19%) Good Clinical Practice
12 2 (0.19%) WCAG
13 1 (0.095%) GxP
13 1 (0.095%) ISO 9001
13 1 (0.095%) JSP 440
System Software
1 103 (9.79%) Active Directory
2 50 (4.75%) Docker
3 27 (2.57%) VMware Infrastructure
4 18 (1.71%) Hyper-V
5 9 (0.86%) Virtual Machines
6 5 (0.48%) Firmware
6 5 (0.48%) Virtual Desktop
7 3 (0.29%) VMware ESXi
8 1 (0.095%) DFS Replication
Systems Management
1 42 (3.99%) Kubernetes
2 34 (3.23%) Microsoft Intune
3 20 (1.90%) BMC PATROL
4 13 (1.24%) FortiGate
4 13 (1.24%) Grafana
5 11 (1.05%) Single Sign-On
6 10 (0.95%) Prometheus
7 7 (0.67%) Ansible
8 5 (0.48%) Argo
9 4 (0.38%) Microsoft Clustering
10 2 (0.19%) Nagios
10 2 (0.19%) Nessus
10 2 (0.19%) Packer
10 2 (0.19%) Progress Chef
10 2 (0.19%) SCCM
10 2 (0.19%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
11 1 (0.095%) Functional Safety
11 1 (0.095%) linkerd
11 1 (0.095%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
11 1 (0.095%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 341 (32.41%) Microsoft
2 41 (3.90%) SAP
2 41 (3.90%) VMware
3 30 (2.85%) Google
4 24 (2.28%) Cisco
5 22 (2.09%) Sage
6 21 (2.00%) YouTube
7 16 (1.52%) Oracle
7 16 (1.52%) ServiceNow
8 15 (1.43%) Aruba
8 15 (1.43%) Civica
8 15 (1.43%) Salesforce
9 13 (1.24%) iManage
10 10 (0.95%) Databricks
10 10 (0.95%) Juniper
11 9 (0.86%) Aderant
11 9 (0.86%) OpenAI
12 8 (0.76%) Fortinet
12 8 (0.76%) HubSpot
12 8 (0.76%) Tanium