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 21 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
21 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -7 0 +11
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 736 997 1,490
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.74% 21.10% 13.25%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.63% 22.34% 16.87%
Number of salaries quoted 590 498 905
10th Percentile £26,475 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,250 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.70% +2.78% -5.26%
75th Percentile £61,250 £63,063 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £77,000
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £49,274
% change year-on-year -5.00% +1.47% -10.41%

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 7,639 4,462 8,830
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 69.97% 94.41% 78.52%
Number of salaries quoted 5,863 2,055 6,667
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £27,900
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,250 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +5.77% +4.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £73,750 £68,750 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £83,350 £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 21 June 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 21 June 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 -13 394 £50,000 - 182
Merseyside -7 116 £42,500 +6.25% 22
Cheshire -11 114 £41,000 +9.33% 61
Lancashire +5 73 £40,000 +17.28% 68
Cumbria -7 34 £32,500 +0.62% 15
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 65 (8.83%) SharePoint
2 52 (7.07%) Microsoft Exchange
3 7 (0.95%) IIS
4 6 (0.82%) Confluence
5 4 (0.54%) Moodle
5 4 (0.54%) Totara
6 3 (0.41%) Apache Spark
7 2 (0.27%) Apache
7 2 (0.27%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.27%) nginx
7 2 (0.27%) WordPress
8 1 (0.14%) CMS
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.14%) Umbraco
Applications
1 45 (6.11%) Microsoft Excel
2 27 (3.67%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.22%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
5 2 (0.27%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.27%) Windchill
6 1 (0.14%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.14%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.14%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 24 (3.26%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.77%) SAP ERP
3 7 (0.95%) Magento
4 6 (0.82%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.68%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.54%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.54%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.54%) Shopify
7 2 (0.27%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.14%) Odoo
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
8 1 (0.14%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 168 (22.83%) Azure
2 152 (20.65%) Microsoft 365
3 86 (11.68%) AWS
4 82 (11.14%) Power Platform
5 33 (4.48%) PowerApps
6 28 (3.80%) Dynamics 365
7 27 (3.67%) Power Automate
8 26 (3.53%) Azure DevOps
8 26 (3.53%) Entra ID
8 26 (3.53%) GitHub
9 25 (3.40%) GCP
9 25 (3.40%) SaaS
10 19 (2.58%) Microsoft Copilot
11 18 (2.45%) OneDrive
12 17 (2.31%) Microsoft Purview
13 15 (2.04%) Serverless
14 12 (1.63%) Boomi
15 8 (1.09%) Azure Logic Apps
15 8 (1.09%) Copilot Studio
15 8 (1.09%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 71 (9.65%) Firewall
2 47 (6.39%) DNS
3 43 (5.84%) DHCP
4 37 (5.03%) VLAN
5 35 (4.76%) VPN
6 31 (4.21%) Wi-Fi
7 30 (4.08%) TCP/IP
8 23 (3.13%) VoIP
9 21 (2.85%) Wireless
10 16 (2.17%) Network Security
11 15 (2.04%) WAN
12 13 (1.77%) LAN
12 13 (1.77%) Structured Cabling
13 10 (1.36%) Broadband
13 10 (1.36%) SD-WAN
14 6 (0.82%) IP Telephony
14 6 (0.82%) SAN
14 6 (0.82%) Unified Communications
14 6 (0.82%) Wireshark
15 4 (0.54%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 54 (7.34%) Power BI
2 34 (4.62%) SQL Server
3 31 (4.21%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 14 (1.90%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (1.49%) MySQL
5 11 (1.49%) PostgreSQL
6 10 (1.36%) NoSQL
7 9 (1.22%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 8 (1.09%) Big Data
9 5 (0.68%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.68%) Power Query
9 5 (0.68%) Tableau
10 4 (0.54%) Elasticsearch
10 4 (0.54%) Looker
10 4 (0.54%) Redis
11 3 (0.41%) Amazon RDS
11 3 (0.41%) Neo4j
11 3 (0.41%) PowerPivot
11 3 (0.41%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.41%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 31 (4.21%) Git
2 26 (3.53%) JIRA
3 7 (0.95%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.82%) GitLab
5 5 (0.68%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.41%) Claude Code
6 3 (0.41%) Cucumber
6 3 (0.41%) Cypress.io
6 3 (0.41%) Robot Framework
7 2 (0.27%) Rational DOORS
7 2 (0.27%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 1 (0.14%) Gemini Tracker
8 1 (0.14%) gulp
8 1 (0.14%) LabVIEW
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle Forms
8 1 (0.14%) Rational Rhapsody
8 1 (0.14%) webpack
General
1 292 (39.67%) Social Skills
2 207 (28.13%) Analytical Skills
3 114 (15.49%) Finance
4 63 (8.56%) Manufacturing
5 57 (7.74%) Organisational Skills
6 50 (6.79%) Law
7 37 (5.03%) Retail
8 35 (4.76%) Legal
9 33 (4.48%) Marketing
10 31 (4.21%) Public Sector
11 18 (2.45%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 16 (2.17%) Banking
13 14 (1.90%) Documentation Skills
14 13 (1.77%) Telecoms
15 10 (1.36%) Games
15 10 (1.36%) Investment Banking
16 8 (1.09%) Influencing Skills
17 7 (0.95%) Portuguese Language
17 7 (0.95%) Presentation Skills
17 7 (0.95%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 94 (12.77%) Senior
2 93 (12.64%) Developer
3 84 (11.41%) Analyst
4 82 (11.14%) IT Support
5 75 (10.19%) Support Engineer
6 51 (6.93%) IT Engineer
7 49 (6.66%) IT Support Engineer
8 41 (5.57%) Consultant
9 39 (5.30%) Lead
10 36 (4.89%) Support Technician
11 35 (4.76%) Software Engineer
12 33 (4.48%) Senior Developer
13 21 (2.85%) Business Analyst
14 19 (2.58%) Administrator
15 18 (2.45%) IT Support Technician
15 18 (2.45%) IT Technician
16 17 (2.31%) Infrastructure Engineer
17 16 (2.17%) 1st Line Support
17 16 (2.17%) Technical Analyst
18 15 (2.04%) Senior Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 42 (5.71%) .NET
2 39 (5.30%) React
3 36 (4.89%) HTML
4 34 (4.62%) REST
5 24 (3.26%) Spring
5 24 (3.26%) Spring Boot
6 22 (2.99%) AngularJS
6 22 (2.99%) CSS
6 22 (2.99%) EDI
7 20 (2.72%) Vue
8 19 (2.58%) Middleware
9 16 (2.17%) SOAP
10 14 (1.90%) XML
11 13 (1.77%) JSON
11 13 (1.77%) Node.js
12 10 (1.36%) Next.js
12 10 (1.36%) RESTful
12 10 (1.36%) Web Services
13 9 (1.22%) React Native
13 9 (1.22%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 69 (9.38%) Driving Licence
2 50 (6.79%) Onboarding
3 34 (4.62%) Product Ownership
4 33 (4.48%) Cloud Native
5 24 (3.26%) Data Centre
6 20 (2.72%) Distributed Systems
6 20 (2.72%) Self-Motivation
7 16 (2.17%) Mobile App
8 13 (1.77%) CCTV
9 12 (1.63%) Analytical Mindset
10 10 (1.36%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
10 10 (1.36%) Management Information System
11 9 (1.22%) Enterprise Cloud
11 9 (1.22%) Security Posture
11 9 (1.22%) Social Media
12 8 (1.09%) AI Agents
13 7 (0.95%) Low-Code
14 6 (0.82%) CMDB
14 6 (0.82%) FMCG
14 6 (0.82%) Legacy Systems
Operating Systems
1 131 (17.80%) Windows
2 63 (8.56%) Windows Server
3 45 (6.11%) Windows 10
4 24 (3.26%) Apple iOS
5 22 (2.99%) Linux
6 17 (2.31%) Android
7 7 (0.95%) Windows 7
7 7 (0.95%) Windows 8
7 7 (0.95%) Windows Server 2016
8 6 (0.82%) Mac OS
9 5 (0.68%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.41%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 3 (0.41%) Unix
11 2 (0.27%) Solaris
12 1 (0.14%) CentOS
12 1 (0.14%) CoreOS
12 1 (0.14%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.14%) VME
12 1 (0.14%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 170 (23.10%) Continuous Improvement
2 161 (21.88%) Customer Service
3 111 (15.08%) Mentoring
4 85 (11.55%) Agile
5 84 (11.41%) Stakeholder Management
6 82 (11.14%) AI
6 82 (11.14%) Decision-Making
7 78 (10.60%) CI/CD
8 74 (10.05%) Roadmaps
9 69 (9.38%) CRM
10 66 (8.97%) DevOps
11 65 (8.83%) Analytics
12 61 (8.29%) Software Engineering
13 58 (7.88%) ERP
14 57 (7.74%) User Experience
15 55 (7.47%) Collaborative Working
16 50 (6.79%) Test Automation
17 45 (6.11%) Business Intelligence
18 42 (5.71%) Process Improvement
19 41 (5.57%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 124 (16.85%) SQL
2 93 (12.64%) Python
3 51 (6.93%) C#
4 48 (6.52%) JavaScript
5 41 (5.57%) Java
6 22 (2.99%) PowerShell
7 15 (2.04%) TypeScript
8 14 (1.90%) Bash
9 12 (1.63%) C++
9 12 (1.63%) PHP
10 10 (1.36%) T-SQL
11 8 (1.09%) Kotlin
11 8 (1.09%) Ruby
12 6 (0.82%) R
13 5 (0.68%) Bicep
13 5 (0.68%) C
13 5 (0.68%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 5 (0.68%) Shell Script
14 4 (0.54%) Apex Code
15 3 (0.41%) Scala
Qualifications
1 85 (11.55%) Degree
2 37 (5.03%) Security Cleared
3 23 (3.13%) SC Cleared
4 20 (2.72%) DBS Check
5 19 (2.58%) Microsoft Certification
6 15 (2.04%) BPSS Clearance
7 14 (1.90%) Computer Science Degree
8 12 (1.63%) Cisco Certification
8 12 (1.63%) HNC
9 10 (1.36%) DV Cleared
10 8 (1.09%) Azure Certification
10 8 (1.09%) CCNP
11 7 (0.95%) CCNA
11 7 (0.95%) MCSA
12 6 (0.82%) Network+ Certification
13 5 (0.68%) CompTIA Security+
13 5 (0.68%) Master's Degree
13 5 (0.68%) Postgraduate
14 4 (0.54%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.54%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 41 (5.57%) Data Quality
2 28 (3.80%) QA
3 27 (3.67%) SLA
4 24 (3.26%) GDPR
5 21 (2.85%) Accessibility
6 14 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.63%) TickIT
8 8 (1.09%) Cyber Essentials
8 8 (1.09%) ISO 9001
9 4 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 3 (0.41%) NIST
11 2 (0.27%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.27%) WCAG
12 1 (0.14%) DICOM
12 1 (0.14%) GMP
12 1 (0.14%) IFRS
12 1 (0.14%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.14%) NEBOSH
12 1 (0.14%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 94 (12.77%) Active Directory
2 31 (4.21%) Docker
2 31 (4.21%) VMware Infrastructure
3 20 (2.72%) Hyper-V
4 7 (0.95%) VMware Workstation
5 4 (0.54%) VMware ESXi
6 3 (0.41%) Virtual Desktop
6 3 (0.41%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.27%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 31 (4.21%) Kubernetes
2 30 (4.08%) Microsoft Intune
3 25 (3.40%) Terraform
4 17 (2.31%) SCCM
5 11 (1.49%) Ansible
6 10 (1.36%) Grafana
6 10 (1.36%) Prometheus
7 8 (1.09%) Autotask
7 8 (1.09%) FortiGate
8 4 (0.54%) Argo
8 4 (0.54%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.41%) Jamf Pro
10 2 (0.27%) Nagios
10 2 (0.27%) Podman
10 2 (0.27%) Single Sign-On
11 1 (0.14%) Istio
11 1 (0.14%) linkerd
11 1 (0.14%) Rancher
11 1 (0.14%) SCVMM
11 1 (0.14%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 255 (34.65%) Microsoft
2 35 (4.76%) VMware
3 30 (4.08%) SAP
4 16 (2.17%) Google
5 11 (1.49%) Cisco
5 11 (1.49%) HubSpot
6 10 (1.36%) Aruba
6 10 (1.36%) iManage
6 10 (1.36%) Oracle
7 9 (1.22%) Adobe
7 9 (1.22%) Salesforce
7 9 (1.22%) ServiceNow
8 8 (1.09%) Apple
8 8 (1.09%) Meraki
8 8 (1.09%) SonicWALL
8 8 (1.09%) Sophos
9 7 (0.95%) ESET
10 6 (0.82%) Intapp
10 6 (0.82%) Juniper
10 6 (0.82%) Workday