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

6 months to
25 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 14 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -7 0 +12
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 749 997 1,473
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.83% 20.95% 13.42%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.73% 22.26% 16.99%
Number of salaries quoted 600 500 892
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,250 £46,375
Median % change year-on-year -2.70% -0.27% -2.37%
75th Percentile £61,250 £63,500 £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 7,700 4,479 8,671
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 70.25% 94.14% 78.99%
Number of salaries quoted 5,907 2,069 6,518
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £27,675
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 £82,751 £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 25 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 25 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 -12 401 £50,000 - 174
Merseyside -7 119 £42,500 +6.25% 20
Cheshire -10 118 £41,000 +9.33% 58
Lancashire +3 72 £41,500 +21.68% 64
Cumbria -8 34 £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 (8.68%) SharePoint
2 54 (7.21%) Microsoft Exchange
3 9 (1.20%) IIS
4 6 (0.80%) Confluence
5 4 (0.53%) Apache Spark
5 4 (0.53%) Moodle
5 4 (0.53%) Totara
6 2 (0.27%) Apache
6 2 (0.27%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.27%) nginx
6 2 (0.27%) WordPress
7 1 (0.13%) CMS
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.13%) Umbraco
Applications
1 45 (6.01%) Microsoft Excel
2 26 (3.47%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.20%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.67%) Spreadsheet
5 2 (0.27%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.27%) Windchill
6 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.13%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.13%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 24 (3.20%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.74%) SAP ERP
3 7 (0.93%) Magento
4 6 (0.80%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.67%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.53%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.53%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.53%) Shopify
7 2 (0.27%) 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
1 173 (23.10%) Azure
2 155 (20.69%) Microsoft 365
3 90 (12.02%) AWS
4 83 (11.08%) Power Platform
5 34 (4.54%) PowerApps
6 28 (3.74%) Dynamics 365
7 27 (3.60%) Power Automate
8 26 (3.47%) Azure DevOps
8 26 (3.47%) GCP
8 26 (3.47%) GitHub
8 26 (3.47%) SaaS
9 25 (3.34%) Entra ID
10 20 (2.67%) Microsoft Copilot
11 19 (2.54%) OneDrive
12 18 (2.40%) Microsoft Purview
13 16 (2.14%) Serverless
14 12 (1.60%) Boomi
15 8 (1.07%) Azure Logic Apps
15 8 (1.07%) Copilot Studio
15 8 (1.07%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 74 (9.88%) Firewall
2 51 (6.81%) DNS
3 47 (6.28%) DHCP
4 37 (4.94%) VLAN
4 37 (4.94%) VPN
5 35 (4.67%) TCP/IP
6 33 (4.41%) Wi-Fi
7 24 (3.20%) VoIP
8 20 (2.67%) Wireless
9 17 (2.27%) Network Security
10 15 (2.00%) WAN
11 14 (1.87%) Structured Cabling
12 13 (1.74%) LAN
13 10 (1.34%) Broadband
13 10 (1.34%) SD-WAN
14 6 (0.80%) IP Telephony
14 6 (0.80%) SAN
14 6 (0.80%) Wireshark
15 5 (0.67%) Unified Communications
16 4 (0.53%) VXLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 54 (7.21%) Power BI
2 37 (4.94%) SQL Server
3 31 (4.14%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 14 (1.87%) Data Warehouse
5 13 (1.74%) MySQL
6 12 (1.60%) PostgreSQL
7 10 (1.34%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.20%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 8 (1.07%) Big Data
10 5 (0.67%) MongoDB
10 5 (0.67%) Power Query
10 5 (0.67%) Tableau
11 4 (0.53%) Elasticsearch
11 4 (0.53%) Looker
11 4 (0.53%) Redis
12 3 (0.40%) Amazon RDS
12 3 (0.40%) Amazon Redshift
12 3 (0.40%) Neo4j
12 3 (0.40%) Relational Database
12 3 (0.40%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 31 (4.14%) Git
2 26 (3.47%) JIRA
3 7 (0.93%) Jenkins
4 6 (0.80%) GitLab
5 5 (0.67%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.40%) Claude Code
6 3 (0.40%) Cucumber
6 3 (0.40%) Cypress.io
6 3 (0.40%) Robot Framework
7 2 (0.27%) Rational DOORS
7 2 (0.27%) 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%) webpack
General
1 294 (39.25%) Social Skills
2 207 (27.64%) Analytical Skills
3 113 (15.09%) Finance
4 65 (8.68%) Manufacturing
5 59 (7.88%) Organisational Skills
6 52 (6.94%) Law
7 38 (5.07%) Retail
8 36 (4.81%) Legal
9 33 (4.41%) Marketing
10 30 (4.01%) Public Sector
11 18 (2.40%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 16 (2.14%) Documentation Skills
13 15 (2.00%) Banking
14 12 (1.60%) Telecoms
15 11 (1.47%) Games
16 9 (1.20%) Investment Banking
17 8 (1.07%) Influencing Skills
18 7 (0.93%) Portuguese Language
18 7 (0.93%) Presentation Skills
18 7 (0.93%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 98 (13.08%) Senior
2 94 (12.55%) Developer
3 86 (11.48%) Analyst
4 82 (10.95%) IT Support
5 77 (10.28%) Support Engineer
6 51 (6.81%) IT Engineer
7 49 (6.54%) IT Support Engineer
8 43 (5.74%) Lead
9 40 (5.34%) Consultant
10 36 (4.81%) Software Engineer
11 35 (4.67%) Support Technician
12 33 (4.41%) Senior Developer
13 21 (2.80%) Business Analyst
14 19 (2.54%) Administrator
15 17 (2.27%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 17 (2.27%) IT Support Technician
15 17 (2.27%) IT Technician
16 16 (2.14%) 1st Line Support
16 16 (2.14%) Senior Analyst
16 16 (2.14%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 44 (5.87%) .NET
2 41 (5.47%) React
3 36 (4.81%) HTML
4 34 (4.54%) REST
5 24 (3.20%) Spring
5 24 (3.20%) Spring Boot
6 23 (3.07%) AngularJS
7 22 (2.94%) CSS
7 22 (2.94%) EDI
8 21 (2.80%) Middleware
9 20 (2.67%) Vue
10 16 (2.14%) SOAP
11 14 (1.87%) XML
12 13 (1.74%) JSON
12 13 (1.74%) Node.js
13 11 (1.47%) Next.js
14 10 (1.34%) React Native
14 10 (1.34%) RESTful
14 10 (1.34%) Web Services
15 9 (1.20%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 70 (9.35%) Driving Licence
2 52 (6.94%) Onboarding
3 35 (4.67%) Product Ownership
4 34 (4.54%) Cloud Native
5 24 (3.20%) Data Centre
6 21 (2.80%) Distributed Systems
6 21 (2.80%) Self-Motivation
7 17 (2.27%) Mobile App
8 14 (1.87%) CCTV
9 12 (1.60%) Analytical Mindset
10 10 (1.34%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
10 10 (1.34%) Management Information System
10 10 (1.34%) Security Posture
11 9 (1.20%) Enterprise Cloud
11 9 (1.20%) Social Media
12 8 (1.07%) AI Agents
13 7 (0.93%) Low-Code
13 7 (0.93%) Replication
14 6 (0.80%) CMDB
14 6 (0.80%) FMCG
Operating Systems
1 135 (18.02%) Windows
2 66 (8.81%) Windows Server
3 47 (6.28%) Windows 10
4 24 (3.20%) Apple iOS
4 24 (3.20%) Linux
5 18 (2.40%) Android
6 7 (0.93%) Windows 7
6 7 (0.93%) Windows 8
6 7 (0.93%) Windows Server 2016
7 6 (0.80%) Mac OS
8 5 (0.67%) Windows Server 2019
9 3 (0.40%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.40%) Unix
10 2 (0.27%) Solaris
11 1 (0.13%) CentOS
11 1 (0.13%) CoreOS
11 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.13%) VME
11 1 (0.13%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (24.03%) Continuous Improvement
2 166 (22.16%) Customer Service
3 116 (15.49%) Mentoring
4 85 (11.35%) Agile
4 85 (11.35%) AI
4 85 (11.35%) Decision-Making
5 84 (11.21%) Stakeholder Management
6 82 (10.95%) CI/CD
7 77 (10.28%) Roadmaps
8 71 (9.48%) CRM
9 68 (9.08%) Analytics
9 68 (9.08%) DevOps
10 66 (8.81%) Software Engineering
11 61 (8.14%) User Experience
12 59 (7.88%) ERP
13 55 (7.34%) Collaborative Working
14 51 (6.81%) Test Automation
15 45 (6.01%) Business Intelligence
16 43 (5.74%) Process Improvement
16 43 (5.74%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 128 (17.09%) SQL
2 94 (12.55%) Python
3 53 (7.08%) C#
4 48 (6.41%) JavaScript
5 40 (5.34%) Java
6 24 (3.20%) PowerShell
7 16 (2.14%) TypeScript
8 15 (2.00%) Bash
9 12 (1.60%) C++
9 12 (1.60%) PHP
10 10 (1.34%) T-SQL
11 8 (1.07%) Kotlin
11 8 (1.07%) Ruby
12 6 (0.80%) R
12 6 (0.80%) Shell Script
13 5 (0.67%) Bicep
13 5 (0.67%) C
13 5 (0.67%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 4 (0.53%) Apex Code
15 3 (0.40%) Scala
Qualifications
1 87 (11.62%) Degree
2 38 (5.07%) Security Cleared
3 23 (3.07%) SC Cleared
4 21 (2.80%) DBS Check
5 20 (2.67%) Microsoft Certification
6 15 (2.00%) BPSS Clearance
7 14 (1.87%) Computer Science Degree
8 12 (1.60%) Cisco Certification
8 12 (1.60%) HNC
9 11 (1.47%) DV Cleared
10 8 (1.07%) Azure Certification
10 8 (1.07%) CCNP
11 7 (0.93%) CCNA
11 7 (0.93%) MCSA
11 7 (0.93%) Postgraduate
12 5 (0.67%) CompTIA Security+
12 5 (0.67%) Master's Degree
12 5 (0.67%) Network+ Certification
13 4 (0.53%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (0.53%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 40 (5.34%) Data Quality
2 29 (3.87%) QA
3 27 (3.60%) SLA
4 25 (3.34%) GDPR
5 22 (2.94%) Accessibility
6 15 (2.00%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.60%) TickIT
8 8 (1.07%) ISO 9001
9 7 (0.93%) Cyber Essentials
10 4 (0.53%) ISO/IEC 14443
10 4 (0.53%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 4 (0.53%) NIST
11 2 (0.27%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.27%) WCAG
12 1 (0.13%) DICOM
12 1 (0.13%) GMP
12 1 (0.13%) IFRS
12 1 (0.13%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.13%) NEBOSH
12 1 (0.13%) PMO
System Software
1 95 (12.68%) Active Directory
2 34 (4.54%) VMware Infrastructure
3 32 (4.27%) Docker
4 22 (2.94%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.93%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.53%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.40%) Virtual Desktop
7 3 (0.40%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.27%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 31 (4.14%) Kubernetes
2 30 (4.01%) Microsoft Intune
3 26 (3.47%) Terraform
4 17 (2.27%) SCCM
5 12 (1.60%) Ansible
6 11 (1.47%) Grafana
6 11 (1.47%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.20%) FortiGate
8 8 (1.07%) Autotask
9 4 (0.53%) Argo
9 4 (0.53%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.40%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.27%) Nagios
11 2 (0.27%) Podman
11 2 (0.27%) Single Sign-On
12 1 (0.13%) Istio
12 1 (0.13%) linkerd
12 1 (0.13%) SCVMM
12 1 (0.13%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.13%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 262 (34.98%) Microsoft
2 38 (5.07%) VMware
3 30 (4.01%) SAP
4 16 (2.14%) Google
5 12 (1.60%) HubSpot
6 10 (1.34%) Aruba
6 10 (1.34%) Cisco
6 10 (1.34%) iManage
7 9 (1.20%) Adobe
7 9 (1.20%) Salesforce
7 9 (1.20%) ServiceNow
7 9 (1.20%) SonicWALL
7 9 (1.20%) Sophos
8 8 (1.07%) Meraki
8 8 (1.07%) Oracle
9 7 (0.93%) Apple
9 7 (0.93%) ESET
10 6 (0.80%) Intapp
10 6 (0.80%) Juniper
10 6 (0.80%) Workday