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 24 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
24 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 23 7 8
Rank change year-on-year -16 +1 +15
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 685 990 1,240
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.30% 21.82% 12.88%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 8.79% 22.79% 15.90%
Number of salaries quoted 529 493 893
10th Percentile £26,700 £26,500 £26,150
25th Percentile £31,250 £33,750 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £47,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +5.56% -7.16%
75th Percentile £61,250 £64,010 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £77,500
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -5.94% +1.00% -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 7,795 4,344 7,800
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.68% 95.75% 81.01%
Number of salaries quoted 5,173 1,966 6,177
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,750 £27,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £37,500 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% +5.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £72,500 £71,250 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £84,325 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year - +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 24 May 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 24 May 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 -14 345 £50,000 - 229
Merseyside -4 111 £42,500 +13.33% 32
Cheshire -22 111 £41,750 +14.38% 63
Lancashire -8 75 £36,500 -11.12% 71
Cumbria -4 38 £36,000 +0.85% 9
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 55 (8.03%) SharePoint
2 43 (6.28%) Microsoft Exchange
3 7 (1.02%) Confluence
4 4 (0.58%) Apache Spark
4 4 (0.58%) Moodle
4 4 (0.58%) Totara
5 2 (0.29%) Apache
5 2 (0.29%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.29%) CMS
5 2 (0.29%) IIS
5 2 (0.29%) WordPress
6 1 (0.15%) Umbraco
Applications
1 43 (6.28%) Microsoft Excel
2 26 (3.80%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.31%) MS Visio
4 4 (0.58%) Simulink
5 3 (0.44%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.29%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.15%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.15%) Trello
Business Applications
1 25 (3.65%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.90%) SAP ERP
3 7 (1.02%) Magento
4 6 (0.88%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.73%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.58%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.58%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.58%) Shopify
7 2 (0.29%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.15%) NetSuite
8 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 160 (23.36%) Azure
2 136 (19.85%) Microsoft 365
3 77 (11.24%) Power Platform
4 66 (9.64%) AWS
5 33 (4.82%) Entra ID
6 28 (4.09%) Dynamics 365
7 27 (3.94%) SaaS
8 24 (3.50%) GCP
8 24 (3.50%) PowerApps
9 23 (3.36%) GitHub
10 21 (3.07%) Azure DevOps
10 21 (3.07%) Power Automate
11 20 (2.92%) Microsoft Purview
12 12 (1.75%) Boomi
12 12 (1.75%) Serverless
13 11 (1.61%) Microsoft Copilot
13 11 (1.61%) OneDrive
14 8 (1.17%) Azure Sentinel
15 7 (1.02%) Azure Logic Apps
15 7 (1.02%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 57 (8.32%) Firewall
2 34 (4.96%) DNS
3 33 (4.82%) VLAN
4 30 (4.38%) DHCP
5 29 (4.23%) VPN
6 24 (3.50%) Wi-Fi
7 23 (3.36%) Wireless
8 20 (2.92%) VoIP
9 19 (2.77%) TCP/IP
10 15 (2.19%) WAN
11 13 (1.90%) Unified Communications
12 12 (1.75%) LAN
12 12 (1.75%) Network Security
13 11 (1.61%) Structured Cabling
14 10 (1.46%) Broadband
15 9 (1.31%) SD-WAN
16 6 (0.88%) IP Telephony
16 6 (0.88%) SAN
16 6 (0.88%) Telepresence
16 6 (0.88%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 53 (7.74%) Power BI
2 31 (4.53%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 26 (3.80%) SQL Server
4 11 (1.61%) MySQL
5 10 (1.46%) NoSQL
6 9 (1.31%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.31%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 8 (1.17%) Data Warehouse
8 6 (0.88%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.73%) Big Data
9 5 (0.73%) Power Query
10 4 (0.58%) Looker
10 4 (0.58%) Tableau
11 3 (0.44%) Azure SQL Database
11 3 (0.44%) DynamoDB
11 3 (0.44%) Elasticsearch
11 3 (0.44%) OLAP
11 3 (0.44%) PowerPivot
11 3 (0.44%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.44%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 28 (4.09%) Git
2 25 (3.65%) JIRA
3 9 (1.31%) GitLab
4 7 (1.02%) Bitbucket
5 6 (0.88%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.29%) Claude Code
6 2 (0.29%) Rational DOORS
6 2 (0.29%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.15%) gulp
7 1 (0.15%) LabVIEW
7 1 (0.15%) Rational Rhapsody
7 1 (0.15%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.15%) webpack
General
1 285 (41.61%) Social Skills
2 201 (29.34%) Analytical Skills
3 120 (17.52%) Finance
4 55 (8.03%) Manufacturing
5 54 (7.88%) Organisational Skills
6 41 (5.99%) Law
7 36 (5.26%) Retail
8 33 (4.82%) Public Sector
9 31 (4.53%) Legal
9 31 (4.53%) Marketing
10 21 (3.07%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 19 (2.77%) Telecoms
12 15 (2.19%) Banking
13 11 (1.61%) French Language
14 10 (1.46%) Advertising
14 10 (1.46%) Investment Banking
15 9 (1.31%) Documentation Skills
15 9 (1.31%) Electronics
15 9 (1.31%) Games
16 7 (1.02%) Influencing Skills
Job Titles
1 87 (12.70%) Senior
2 82 (11.97%) Analyst
3 81 (11.82%) IT Support
4 77 (11.24%) Support Engineer
5 70 (10.22%) Developer
6 51 (7.45%) IT Engineer
7 49 (7.15%) IT Support Engineer
8 38 (5.55%) Consultant
9 36 (5.26%) Lead
10 34 (4.96%) Support Technician
11 29 (4.23%) Software Engineer
12 28 (4.09%) Senior Developer
13 27 (3.94%) Business Analyst
14 20 (2.92%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 17 (2.48%) Administrator
15 17 (2.48%) Technical Analyst
16 16 (2.34%) IT Support Technician
16 16 (2.34%) IT Technician
17 15 (2.19%) Architect
18 14 (2.04%) 2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (4.38%) .NET
2 29 (4.23%) REST
3 27 (3.94%) React
4 23 (3.36%) Spring
4 23 (3.36%) Spring Boot
5 22 (3.21%) EDI
5 22 (3.21%) HTML
6 16 (2.34%) SOAP
7 15 (2.19%) AngularJS
7 15 (2.19%) Middleware
8 14 (2.04%) CSS
8 14 (2.04%) XML
9 12 (1.75%) JSON
10 11 (1.61%) RESTful
10 11 (1.61%) SAP Fiori
11 10 (1.46%) Vue
12 8 (1.17%) Web Services
13 7 (1.02%) OAuth
13 7 (1.02%) React Native
13 7 (1.02%) Ruby on Rails
Miscellaneous
1 63 (9.20%) Driving Licence
2 51 (7.45%) Onboarding
3 27 (3.94%) Product Ownership
4 21 (3.07%) Data Centre
5 20 (2.92%) Cloud Native
6 17 (2.48%) Analytical Mindset
7 15 (2.19%) Distributed Systems
7 15 (2.19%) Self-Motivation
8 13 (1.90%) CCTV
8 13 (1.90%) Mobile App
9 10 (1.46%) Management Information System
10 9 (1.31%) Enterprise Cloud
10 9 (1.31%) Enterprise Software
10 9 (1.31%) FMCG
10 9 (1.31%) Social Media
11 8 (1.17%) CMDB
12 7 (1.02%) EPoS
12 7 (1.02%) Low-Code
13 6 (0.88%) AI Agents
13 6 (0.88%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 114 (16.64%) Windows
2 51 (7.45%) Windows Server
3 36 (5.26%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.21%) Apple iOS
5 18 (2.63%) Linux
6 14 (2.04%) Android
7 7 (1.02%) Mac OS
7 7 (1.02%) Windows 7
7 7 (1.02%) Windows 8
7 7 (1.02%) Windows Server 2016
8 5 (0.73%) Windows Server 2019
9 3 (0.44%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.44%) Unix
10 2 (0.29%) Solaris
11 1 (0.15%) CentOS
11 1 (0.15%) CoreOS
11 1 (0.15%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.15%) VME
Processes & Methodologies
1 147 (21.46%) Customer Service
2 136 (19.85%) Continuous Improvement
3 106 (15.47%) Mentoring
4 87 (12.70%) Stakeholder Management
5 78 (11.39%) Agile
6 77 (11.24%) Decision-Making
7 69 (10.07%) AI
8 64 (9.34%) Roadmaps
9 60 (8.76%) CI/CD
9 60 (8.76%) CRM
9 60 (8.76%) DevOps
10 53 (7.74%) User Experience
11 52 (7.59%) ERP
11 52 (7.59%) Software Engineering
12 51 (7.45%) Analytics
13 49 (7.15%) Collaborative Working
14 47 (6.86%) Project Management
15 43 (6.28%) Test Automation
16 42 (6.13%) Business Intelligence
17 40 (5.84%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 103 (15.04%) SQL
2 70 (10.22%) Python
3 39 (5.69%) C#
4 35 (5.11%) Java
5 30 (4.38%) JavaScript
6 16 (2.34%) PowerShell
7 12 (1.75%) C++
8 10 (1.46%) Bash
9 9 (1.31%) Kotlin
9 9 (1.31%) T-SQL
10 7 (1.02%) Ruby
11 6 (0.88%) PHP
11 6 (0.88%) TypeScript
12 5 (0.73%) C
12 5 (0.73%) Shell Script
13 4 (0.58%) Bicep
13 4 (0.58%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 4 (0.58%) MATLAB
13 4 (0.58%) Scala
14 3 (0.44%) Go
Qualifications
1 74 (10.80%) Degree
2 27 (3.94%) Security Cleared
3 22 (3.21%) DBS Check
4 19 (2.77%) SC Cleared
5 18 (2.63%) BPSS Clearance
6 14 (2.04%) Microsoft Certification
7 11 (1.61%) HNC
8 10 (1.46%) Cisco Certification
9 8 (1.17%) Azure Certification
9 8 (1.17%) Computer Science Degree
9 8 (1.17%) DV Cleared
9 8 (1.17%) Network+ Certification
10 7 (1.02%) MCSA
11 6 (0.88%) CCNP
12 5 (0.73%) CCNA
12 5 (0.73%) CompTIA Security+
13 4 (0.58%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (0.58%) PMI Certification
13 4 (0.58%) PMP
13 4 (0.58%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (4.67%) Data Quality
2 28 (4.09%) QA
2 28 (4.09%) SLA
3 23 (3.36%) GDPR
4 12 (1.75%) TickIT
5 10 (1.46%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 9 (1.31%) Accessibility
6 9 (1.31%) Cyber Essentials
7 8 (1.17%) ISO 9001
8 4 (0.58%) ISO/IEC 14443
8 4 (0.58%) ISO/IEC 7816
9 2 (0.29%) 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 92 (13.43%) Active Directory
2 23 (3.36%) Docker
3 22 (3.21%) VMware Infrastructure
4 19 (2.77%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.02%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.58%) Virtual Desktop
7 3 (0.44%) Firmware
7 3 (0.44%) Virtual Machines
7 3 (0.44%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 36 (5.26%) Microsoft Intune
2 32 (4.67%) Terraform
3 24 (3.50%) Kubernetes
4 19 (2.77%) SCCM
5 11 (1.61%) Ansible
6 8 (1.17%) Autotask
6 8 (1.17%) Grafana
6 8 (1.17%) Prometheus
7 7 (1.02%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (0.88%) Cisco CUCM
9 5 (0.73%) FortiGate
10 4 (0.58%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.44%) Argo
11 3 (0.44%) Jamf Pro
11 3 (0.44%) Nagios
11 3 (0.44%) Rancher
12 2 (0.29%) Podman
13 1 (0.15%) McAfee ePO
13 1 (0.15%) SCVMM
13 1 (0.15%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 227 (33.14%) Microsoft
2 32 (4.67%) SAP
3 25 (3.65%) VMware
4 16 (2.34%) Cisco
4 16 (2.34%) Google
5 14 (2.04%) Oracle
6 11 (1.61%) ServiceNow
7 10 (1.46%) Apple
7 10 (1.46%) Aruba
7 10 (1.46%) iManage
7 10 (1.46%) Workday
8 9 (1.31%) HubSpot
9 8 (1.17%) Meraki
10 7 (1.02%) ESET
11 6 (0.88%) Adobe
11 6 (0.88%) Intapp
11 6 (0.88%) Juniper
11 6 (0.88%) New Relic
11 6 (0.88%) Splunk
12 5 (0.73%) Salesforce