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

6 months to
1 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -7 0 +11
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 767 1,006 1,460
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.90% 20.50% 13.51%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.77% 22.04% 17.07%
Number of salaries quoted 613 508 882
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,000 £46,750
Median % change year-on-year -2.17% -1.60% -1.58%
75th Percentile £61,250 £63,313 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £77,500
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -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 7,851 4,565 8,554
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 70.65% 93.03% 79.15%
Number of salaries quoted 6,042 2,162 6,396
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,775 £27,750
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,250 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £51,564 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +6.66% +3.13% -9.09%
75th Percentile £74,375 £68,114 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £82,500 £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 1 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 1 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 -12 410 £50,000 - 235
Merseyside -6 123 £42,500 +6.25% 28
Cheshire -7 121 £41,000 +9.33% 76
Lancashire +2 73 £41,500 +21.68% 74
Cumbria -8 35 £32,500 +0.62% 17
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 (8.47%) SharePoint
2 55 (7.17%) Microsoft Exchange
3 10 (1.30%) IIS
4 6 (0.78%) Confluence
5 5 (0.65%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.52%) Moodle
6 4 (0.52%) Totara
7 2 (0.26%) Apache
7 2 (0.26%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.26%) nginx
7 2 (0.26%) WordPress
8 1 (0.13%) CMS
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.13%) Umbraco
Applications
1 48 (6.26%) Microsoft Excel
2 28 (3.65%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.17%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.65%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.39%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.26%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.26%) Windchill
7 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.13%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 24 (3.13%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.69%) SAP ERP
3 7 (0.91%) Magento
4 6 (0.78%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.65%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.52%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.52%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.52%) Shopify
7 2 (0.26%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.13%) Odoo
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.13%) Salesforce CRM
8 1 (0.13%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 178 (23.21%) Azure
2 158 (20.60%) Microsoft 365
3 94 (12.26%) AWS
4 84 (10.95%) Power Platform
5 36 (4.69%) PowerApps
6 29 (3.78%) Power Automate
7 28 (3.65%) Dynamics 365
8 26 (3.39%) Azure DevOps
8 26 (3.39%) GCP
8 26 (3.39%) GitHub
9 25 (3.26%) SaaS
10 23 (3.00%) Entra ID
10 23 (3.00%) Microsoft Copilot
11 19 (2.48%) OneDrive
12 17 (2.22%) Microsoft Purview
13 16 (2.09%) Serverless
14 12 (1.56%) Boomi
15 9 (1.17%) Azure Data Factory
15 9 (1.17%) Copilot Studio
16 8 (1.04%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 78 (10.17%) Firewall
2 55 (7.17%) DNS
3 51 (6.65%) DHCP
4 40 (5.22%) VPN
5 39 (5.08%) TCP/IP
6 37 (4.82%) VLAN
7 35 (4.56%) Wi-Fi
8 24 (3.13%) VoIP
9 21 (2.74%) Wireless
10 18 (2.35%) Network Security
11 16 (2.09%) WAN
12 14 (1.83%) LAN
12 14 (1.83%) Structured Cabling
13 11 (1.43%) SD-WAN
14 10 (1.30%) Broadband
15 6 (0.78%) IP Telephony
15 6 (0.78%) SAN
15 6 (0.78%) Wireshark
16 5 (0.65%) Unified Communications
17 4 (0.52%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 54 (7.04%) Power BI
2 40 (5.22%) SQL Server
3 31 (4.04%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 15 (1.96%) Data Warehouse
5 14 (1.83%) MySQL
6 12 (1.56%) PostgreSQL
7 9 (1.17%) NoSQL
7 9 (1.17%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 8 (1.04%) Big Data
9 5 (0.65%) Elasticsearch
9 5 (0.65%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.65%) Power Query
9 5 (0.65%) Tableau
10 4 (0.52%) Looker
10 4 (0.52%) Neo4j
10 4 (0.52%) Redis
11 3 (0.39%) Azure SQL Database
11 3 (0.39%) PowerPivot
11 3 (0.39%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.39%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 31 (4.04%) Git
2 26 (3.39%) JIRA
3 7 (0.91%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.78%) GitLab
5 5 (0.65%) Bitbucket
6 4 (0.52%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.52%) Cypress.io
6 4 (0.52%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.39%) Claude Code
8 2 (0.26%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.26%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 1 (0.13%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.13%) gulp
9 1 (0.13%) LabVIEW
9 1 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
9 1 (0.13%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.13%) webpack
General
1 295 (38.46%) Social Skills
2 213 (27.77%) Analytical Skills
3 112 (14.60%) Finance
4 67 (8.74%) Manufacturing
5 63 (8.21%) Organisational Skills
6 55 (7.17%) Law
7 42 (5.48%) Retail
8 37 (4.82%) Legal
9 33 (4.30%) Marketing
10 32 (4.17%) Public Sector
11 18 (2.35%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 17 (2.22%) Documentation Skills
13 15 (1.96%) Banking
14 12 (1.56%) Games
14 12 (1.56%) Telecoms
15 9 (1.17%) Investment Banking
16 8 (1.04%) Aerospace
16 8 (1.04%) Influencing Skills
17 7 (0.91%) Electronics
17 7 (0.91%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 100 (13.04%) Senior
2 97 (12.65%) Developer
3 87 (11.34%) Analyst
4 84 (10.95%) IT Support
5 77 (10.04%) Support Engineer
6 50 (6.52%) IT Engineer
7 48 (6.26%) IT Support Engineer
8 44 (5.74%) Lead
9 40 (5.22%) Consultant
10 35 (4.56%) Software Engineer
10 35 (4.56%) Support Technician
11 34 (4.43%) Senior Developer
12 19 (2.48%) Administrator
12 19 (2.48%) Business Analyst
13 18 (2.35%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 17 (2.22%) 2nd Line Support
14 17 (2.22%) IT Support Technician
14 17 (2.22%) IT Technician
14 17 (2.22%) Support Analyst
15 16 (2.09%) Technical Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 45 (5.87%) .NET
2 42 (5.48%) React
3 39 (5.08%) HTML
4 33 (4.30%) REST
5 24 (3.13%) AngularJS
6 23 (3.00%) CSS
6 23 (3.00%) Spring
6 23 (3.00%) Spring Boot
7 22 (2.87%) EDI
7 22 (2.87%) Middleware
8 21 (2.74%) Vue
9 16 (2.09%) SOAP
10 14 (1.83%) XML
11 13 (1.69%) JSON
11 13 (1.69%) Node.js
12 11 (1.43%) Next.js
12 11 (1.43%) Web Services
13 10 (1.30%) React Native
13 10 (1.30%) RESTful
14 9 (1.17%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 72 (9.39%) Driving Licence
2 55 (7.17%) Onboarding
3 35 (4.56%) Product Ownership
4 34 (4.43%) Cloud Native
5 24 (3.13%) Data Centre
6 21 (2.74%) Distributed Systems
6 21 (2.74%) Self-Motivation
7 16 (2.09%) Mobile App
8 15 (1.96%) CCTV
9 12 (1.56%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
10 11 (1.43%) Analytical Mindset
11 10 (1.30%) Management Information System
11 10 (1.30%) Security Posture
12 9 (1.17%) Enterprise Cloud
12 9 (1.17%) Social Media
13 8 (1.04%) AI Agents
14 7 (0.91%) Legacy Systems
14 7 (0.91%) Low-Code
14 7 (0.91%) Replication
15 6 (0.78%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 139 (18.12%) Windows
2 67 (8.74%) Windows Server
3 49 (6.39%) Windows 10
4 25 (3.26%) Apple iOS
5 24 (3.13%) Linux
6 20 (2.61%) Android
7 7 (0.91%) Windows 7
7 7 (0.91%) Windows 8
7 7 (0.91%) Windows Server 2016
8 6 (0.78%) Mac OS
9 5 (0.65%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.39%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 3 (0.39%) Unix
11 2 (0.26%) Solaris
12 1 (0.13%) CentOS
12 1 (0.13%) CoreOS
12 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.13%) VME
12 1 (0.13%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 185 (24.12%) Continuous Improvement
2 168 (21.90%) Customer Service
3 117 (15.25%) Mentoring
4 87 (11.34%) Agile
4 87 (11.34%) AI
4 87 (11.34%) Decision-Making
5 86 (11.21%) Stakeholder Management
6 84 (10.95%) CI/CD
7 79 (10.30%) Roadmaps
8 73 (9.52%) Analytics
8 73 (9.52%) CRM
9 68 (8.87%) DevOps
9 68 (8.87%) Software Engineering
10 61 (7.95%) ERP
10 61 (7.95%) User Experience
11 57 (7.43%) Collaborative Working
12 53 (6.91%) Test Automation
13 45 (5.87%) Business Intelligence
13 45 (5.87%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 44 (5.74%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 132 (17.21%) SQL
2 98 (12.78%) Python
3 54 (7.04%) C#
4 52 (6.78%) JavaScript
5 40 (5.22%) Java
6 26 (3.39%) PowerShell
7 17 (2.22%) TypeScript
8 15 (1.96%) Bash
9 13 (1.69%) PHP
10 12 (1.56%) C++
11 10 (1.30%) T-SQL
12 8 (1.04%) Ruby
13 7 (0.91%) Kotlin
14 6 (0.78%) R
14 6 (0.78%) Shell Script
15 5 (0.65%) Bicep
15 5 (0.65%) C
15 5 (0.65%) Data Analysis Expressions
16 4 (0.52%) Apex Code
17 3 (0.39%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 87 (11.34%) Degree
2 40 (5.22%) Security Cleared
3 25 (3.26%) DBS Check
4 23 (3.00%) SC Cleared
5 20 (2.61%) Microsoft Certification
6 15 (1.96%) BPSS Clearance
7 14 (1.83%) Computer Science Degree
8 13 (1.69%) Cisco Certification
9 12 (1.56%) HNC
10 11 (1.43%) DV Cleared
11 9 (1.17%) CCNP
12 8 (1.04%) Azure Certification
12 8 (1.04%) CCNA
13 7 (0.91%) MCSA
13 7 (0.91%) Postgraduate
14 6 (0.78%) Master's Degree
15 5 (0.65%) CompTIA Security+
16 4 (0.52%) ITIL Certification
16 4 (0.52%) PMI Certification
16 4 (0.52%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 41 (5.35%) Data Quality
2 32 (4.17%) QA
3 27 (3.52%) SLA
4 26 (3.39%) GDPR
5 25 (3.26%) Accessibility
6 15 (1.96%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.56%) TickIT
8 8 (1.04%) ISO 9001
9 6 (0.78%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (0.52%) ISO/IEC 14443
10 4 (0.52%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 4 (0.52%) NIST
11 2 (0.26%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.26%) 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%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.13%) PMO
System Software
1 96 (12.52%) Active Directory
2 35 (4.56%) VMware Infrastructure
3 33 (4.30%) Docker
4 23 (3.00%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.91%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.52%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.39%) Virtual Desktop
7 3 (0.39%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.26%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 33 (4.30%) Kubernetes
2 28 (3.65%) Microsoft Intune
3 25 (3.26%) Terraform
4 17 (2.22%) SCCM
5 12 (1.56%) Ansible
5 12 (1.56%) Grafana
6 11 (1.43%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.17%) FortiGate
8 8 (1.04%) Autotask
9 4 (0.52%) Argo
9 4 (0.52%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.39%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.26%) Nagios
11 2 (0.26%) Podman
12 1 (0.13%) Istio
12 1 (0.13%) McAfee ePO
12 1 (0.13%) Rancher
12 1 (0.13%) SCVMM
12 1 (0.13%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.13%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 270 (35.20%) Microsoft
2 39 (5.08%) VMware
3 30 (3.91%) SAP
4 16 (2.09%) Google
5 12 (1.56%) HubSpot
5 12 (1.56%) ServiceNow
6 11 (1.43%) Cisco
7 10 (1.30%) Adobe
7 10 (1.30%) Aruba
7 10 (1.30%) iManage
7 10 (1.30%) Salesforce
8 9 (1.17%) SonicWALL
8 9 (1.17%) Sophos
9 8 (1.04%) Meraki
9 8 (1.04%) Oracle
10 7 (0.91%) ESET
11 6 (0.78%) Apple
11 6 (0.78%) Intapp
11 6 (0.78%) Juniper
11 6 (0.78%) Workday