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 19 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 7 8
Rank change year-on-year -15 +1 +15
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 670 725 1,216
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.78% 17.81% 13.33%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.13% 18.77% 16.14%
Number of salaries quoted 503 552 887
10th Percentile £27,250 £27,625 £26,250
25th Percentile £30,000 £35,750 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £47,842 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -11.16% +6.31% -5.26%
75th Percentile £57,500 £65,000 £61,250
90th Percentile £69,878 £78,625 £77,500
England median annual salary £47,500 £53,688 £50,000
% change year-on-year -11.53% +7.38% -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 7,340 3,862 7,536
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 74.25% 94.89% 82.63%
Number of salaries quoted 4,302 2,155 6,023
10th Percentile £29,003 £31,250 £27,500
25th Percentile £39,750 £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 £66,067
90th Percentile £86,430 £83,750 £80,000
England median annual salary £57,500 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -4.17% +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 19 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 19 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 -23 311 £50,000 - 200
Merseyside -1 114 £35,000 +7.69% 39
Cheshire -20 106 £42,500 +13.33% 59
Lancashire 0 81 £36,500 -27.03% 77
Cumbria +5 55 £45,000 +14.65% 11
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 48 (7.16%) SharePoint
2 39 (5.82%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (1.34%) Confluence
4 4 (0.60%) Moodle
4 4 (0.60%) Totara
4 4 (0.60%) WordPress
5 2 (0.30%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.30%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.30%) CMS
6 1 (0.15%) Umbraco
Applications
1 42 (6.27%) Microsoft Excel
2 28 (4.18%) Microsoft Office
3 4 (0.60%) 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 20 (2.99%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.49%) SAP ERP
3 7 (1.04%) Magento
4 6 (0.90%) Workday HCM
5 4 (0.60%) Shopify
6 3 (0.45%) Dynamics CRM
6 3 (0.45%) SAP PP
7 2 (0.30%) Dynamics AX
7 2 (0.30%) Oracle Assets
7 2 (0.30%) Oracle General Ledger
7 2 (0.30%) Oracle Payables
7 2 (0.30%) Oracle Receivables
7 2 (0.30%) SAP Business One
8 1 (0.15%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
8 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 153 (22.84%) Azure
2 128 (19.10%) Microsoft 365
3 65 (9.70%) AWS
3 65 (9.70%) Power Platform
4 43 (6.42%) Entra ID
5 34 (5.07%) GCP
6 27 (4.03%) SaaS
7 22 (3.28%) GitHub
8 21 (3.13%) Dynamics 365
9 18 (2.69%) Power Automate
10 17 (2.54%) Azure DevOps
11 16 (2.39%) Microsoft Purview
11 16 (2.39%) PowerApps
12 15 (2.24%) Serverless
13 11 (1.64%) Azure Monitor
14 10 (1.49%) Google Workspace
14 10 (1.49%) OneDrive
15 9 (1.34%) Boomi
16 8 (1.19%) Azure Sentinel
16 8 (1.19%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 61 (9.10%) Firewall
2 39 (5.82%) DNS
3 37 (5.52%) DHCP
4 30 (4.48%) VLAN
5 29 (4.33%) VPN
6 26 (3.88%) Wi-Fi
7 22 (3.28%) TCP/IP
7 22 (3.28%) WAN
7 22 (3.28%) Wireless
8 20 (2.99%) VoIP
9 14 (2.09%) LAN
9 14 (2.09%) Structured Cabling
9 14 (2.09%) Unified Communications
10 12 (1.79%) SD-WAN
11 10 (1.49%) Broadband
11 10 (1.49%) Telepresence
11 10 (1.49%) WebEx
12 8 (1.19%) Network Security
13 6 (0.90%) IP Telephony
14 5 (0.75%) Ethernet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 49 (7.31%) Power BI
2 24 (3.58%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 16 (2.39%) SQL Server
4 13 (1.94%) NoSQL
5 11 (1.64%) PostgreSQL
6 10 (1.49%) MongoDB
7 7 (1.04%) Azure SQL Database
7 7 (1.04%) MySQL
8 4 (0.60%) DynamoDB
8 4 (0.60%) Looker
8 4 (0.60%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 3 (0.45%) Elasticsearch
9 3 (0.45%) Relational Database
10 2 (0.30%) Big Data
10 2 (0.30%) Crystal Reports
10 2 (0.30%) Hadoop
10 2 (0.30%) Power Query
10 2 (0.30%) SAP HANA
10 2 (0.30%) Tableau
11 1 (0.15%) DB2
Development Applications
1 29 (4.33%) Git
2 24 (3.58%) JIRA
3 7 (1.04%) GitLab
4 6 (0.90%) Bitbucket
5 3 (0.45%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.15%) gulp
6 1 (0.15%) LabVIEW
6 1 (0.15%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.15%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.15%) TeamCity
6 1 (0.15%) webpack
General
1 313 (46.72%) Social Skills
2 175 (26.12%) Analytical Skills
3 126 (18.81%) Finance
4 61 (9.10%) Organisational Skills
5 47 (7.01%) Manufacturing
6 34 (5.07%) Retail
7 33 (4.93%) Public Sector
8 26 (3.88%) Automotive
9 25 (3.73%) Legal
9 25 (3.73%) Marketing
10 22 (3.28%) Law
11 19 (2.84%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 19 (2.84%) Telecoms
12 16 (2.39%) Presentation Skills
13 14 (2.09%) Advertising
13 14 (2.09%) Banking
14 11 (1.64%) Documentation Skills
14 11 (1.64%) Electronics
15 10 (1.49%) French Language
16 9 (1.34%) Games
Job Titles
1 87 (12.99%) Support Engineer
2 83 (12.39%) Analyst
3 82 (12.24%) IT Support
4 79 (11.79%) Senior
5 51 (7.61%) Developer
6 47 (7.01%) IT Engineer
7 45 (6.72%) IT Support Engineer
8 36 (5.37%) Lead
8 36 (5.37%) Support Technician
9 32 (4.78%) Consultant
10 31 (4.63%) Business Analyst
11 23 (3.43%) Architect
12 22 (3.28%) Senior Developer
13 21 (3.13%) Technical Engineer
13 21 (3.13%) Technical Support
13 21 (3.13%) Technical Support Engineer
14 20 (2.99%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 20 (2.99%) Solutions Architect
15 19 (2.84%) 2nd Line Support
15 19 (2.84%) IT Support Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (4.03%) React
2 24 (3.58%) HTML
3 23 (3.43%) .NET
4 19 (2.84%) Spring
4 19 (2.84%) Spring Boot
5 17 (2.54%) EDI
5 17 (2.54%) REST
6 16 (2.39%) CSS
7 13 (1.94%) XML
8 12 (1.79%) RESTful
8 12 (1.79%) Vue
9 11 (1.64%) AngularJS
9 11 (1.64%) JSON
10 9 (1.34%) Middleware
10 9 (1.34%) SAP Fiori
10 9 (1.34%) SOAP
11 8 (1.19%) Node.js
12 7 (1.04%) OAuth
12 7 (1.04%) OAuth2
13 6 (0.90%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 91 (13.58%) Driving Licence
2 51 (7.61%) Onboarding
3 26 (3.88%) Self-Motivation
4 20 (2.99%) Analytical Mindset
5 18 (2.69%) Distributed Systems
6 17 (2.54%) CCTV
7 15 (2.24%) Data Centre
7 15 (2.24%) EPoS
8 13 (1.94%) Enterprise Software
8 13 (1.94%) Product Ownership
9 12 (1.79%) Management Information System
10 11 (1.64%) Cloud Native
10 11 (1.64%) Social Media
11 9 (1.34%) CMDB
12 8 (1.19%) Renewable Energy
13 7 (1.04%) FMCG
13 7 (1.04%) Security Posture
13 7 (1.04%) Virtual Team
14 6 (0.90%) Mobile App
14 6 (0.90%) Solar Energy
Operating Systems
1 125 (18.66%) Windows
2 57 (8.51%) Windows Server
3 33 (4.93%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.28%) Apple iOS
5 21 (3.13%) Linux
6 14 (2.09%) Android
7 10 (1.49%) Windows 7
7 10 (1.49%) Windows 8
8 8 (1.19%) Windows Server 2016
9 7 (1.04%) 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
1 137 (20.45%) Customer Service
2 115 (17.16%) Continuous Improvement
3 93 (13.88%) Mentoring
4 90 (13.43%) Decision-Making
5 80 (11.94%) Stakeholder Management
6 75 (11.19%) Agile
7 67 (10.00%) AI
8 56 (8.36%) Project Management
9 53 (7.91%) CI/CD
10 51 (7.61%) DevOps
11 49 (7.31%) Collaborative Working
11 49 (7.31%) Cybersecurity
12 48 (7.16%) Coaching
13 45 (6.72%) Business Intelligence
13 45 (6.72%) ITIL
13 45 (6.72%) Roadmaps
14 44 (6.57%) CRM
15 43 (6.42%) ERP
16 42 (6.27%) Analytics
16 42 (6.27%) User Experience
Programming Languages
1 81 (12.09%) SQL
2 49 (7.31%) Python
3 31 (4.63%) JavaScript
4 27 (4.03%) Java
5 26 (3.88%) C#
6 14 (2.09%) PowerShell
7 10 (1.49%) TypeScript
8 9 (1.34%) Kotlin
9 7 (1.04%) Bash
9 7 (1.04%) PHP
10 5 (0.75%) Bicep
10 5 (0.75%) C++
11 4 (0.60%) C
11 4 (0.60%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 3 (0.45%) Go
12 3 (0.45%) Ladder Logic
12 3 (0.45%) MATLAB
12 3 (0.45%) Swift
12 3 (0.45%) T-SQL
13 2 (0.30%) VBA
Qualifications
1 93 (13.88%) Degree
2 27 (4.03%) DBS Check
3 23 (3.43%) BPSS Clearance
4 14 (2.09%) Security Cleared
5 12 (1.79%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (1.64%) Computer Science Degree
7 8 (1.19%) Cisco Certification
7 8 (1.19%) HNC
7 8 (1.19%) Network+ Certification
8 7 (1.04%) Azure Certification
8 7 (1.04%) Master's Degree
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%) MCSA
11 3 (0.45%) CCNP
11 3 (0.45%) PMI Certification
11 3 (0.45%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (4.78%) QA
2 26 (3.88%) SLA
3 22 (3.28%) Data Quality
4 20 (2.99%) GDPR
5 12 (1.79%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 9 (1.34%) Cyber Essentials
6 9 (1.34%) TickIT
7 8 (1.19%) ISO 9001
8 5 (0.75%) 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 91 (13.58%) Active Directory
2 26 (3.88%) Hyper-V
3 25 (3.73%) Docker
4 22 (3.28%) VMware Infrastructure
5 10 (1.49%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.60%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.30%) Firmware
7 2 (0.30%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.15%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 33 (4.93%) Microsoft Intune
2 31 (4.63%) Terraform
3 24 (3.58%) Kubernetes
4 22 (3.28%) SCCM
5 20 (2.99%) BMC PATROL
6 12 (1.79%) Ansible
7 11 (1.64%) Autotask
8 10 (1.49%) Cisco CUCM
8 10 (1.49%) Single Sign-On
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%) cPanel
11 3 (0.45%) Plesk
11 3 (0.45%) Podman
11 3 (0.45%) Rancher
12 1 (0.15%) McAfee ePO
12 1 (0.15%) Nagios
12 1 (0.15%) SCVMM
Vendors
1 206 (30.75%) Microsoft
2 25 (3.73%) SAP
3 24 (3.58%) VMware
4 19 (2.84%) Google
4 19 (2.84%) Oracle
5 16 (2.39%) Cisco
6 12 (1.79%) Workday
7 11 (1.64%) Apple
7 11 (1.64%) ServiceNow
8 10 (1.49%) ESET
9 8 (1.19%) New Relic
9 8 (1.19%) Splunk
10 7 (1.04%) Aruba
10 7 (1.04%) Meraki
10 7 (1.04%) Siemens
11 6 (0.90%) Adobe
11 6 (0.90%) iManage
12 5 (0.75%) BiZZdesign
13 4 (0.60%) Arista
13 4 (0.60%) Ubiquiti