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

6 months to
23 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 7 6
Rank change year-on-year -6 -1 +9
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 795 1,029 1,287
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.99% 20.09% 13.75%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.81% 21.98% 17.45%
Number of salaries quoted 626 510 719
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £45,500 £46,500
Median % change year-on-year -1.10% -2.15% -2.11%
75th Percentile £61,250 £61,250 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £73,750
England median annual salary £47,500 £47,500 £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 8,102 4,681 7,377
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.23% 91.39% 78.80%
Number of salaries quoted 6,214 2,280 5,298
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £28,750
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £38,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,055 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +9.88% +0.11% -9.09%
75th Percentile £75,000 £67,500 £65,600
90th Percentile £90,000 £81,000 £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 23 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 23 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 -11 422 £50,000 - 199
Cheshire -9 136 £41,000 +9.33% 73
Merseyside -6 130 £42,500 +1.80% 40
Lancashire -1 70 £40,000 +14.29% 67
Cumbria -10 31 £32,500 +0.62% 7
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 70 (8.81%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.92%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.38%) IIS
4 5 (0.63%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.63%) Confluence
5 4 (0.50%) Moodle
5 4 (0.50%) Totara
6 2 (0.25%) Apache
6 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.25%) nginx
6 2 (0.25%) WordPress
7 1 (0.13%) CMS
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.13%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.13%) WebSphere
Applications
1 47 (5.91%) Microsoft Excel
2 32 (4.03%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (1.76%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.63%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.25%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.25%) Windchill
7 1 (0.13%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.13%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.13%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 23 (2.89%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.64%) SAP ERP
3 6 (0.75%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (0.75%) Magento
4 4 (0.50%) Dynamics AX
4 4 (0.50%) SAP PP
5 3 (0.38%) Shopify
6 2 (0.25%) Dynamics NAV
6 2 (0.25%) NEC Housing
7 1 (0.13%) Odoo
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
7 1 (0.13%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.13%) Salesforce CRM
7 1 (0.13%) SAP ECC
7 1 (0.13%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 184 (23.14%) Azure
2 163 (20.50%) Microsoft 365
3 93 (11.70%) AWS
3 93 (11.70%) Power Platform
4 42 (5.28%) PowerApps
5 32 (4.03%) Power Automate
5 32 (4.03%) SaaS
6 28 (3.52%) Dynamics 365
6 28 (3.52%) GCP
7 27 (3.40%) Entra ID
8 26 (3.27%) Azure DevOps
8 26 (3.27%) GitHub
8 26 (3.27%) Microsoft Copilot
9 23 (2.89%) OneDrive
10 21 (2.64%) Microsoft Purview
11 16 (2.01%) Serverless
12 12 (1.51%) Boomi
13 10 (1.26%) Copilot Studio
14 9 (1.13%) Azure Data Factory
14 9 (1.13%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 68 (8.55%) Firewall
2 51 (6.42%) DNS
3 47 (5.91%) DHCP
4 37 (4.65%) TCP/IP
5 36 (4.53%) VPN
6 32 (4.03%) VLAN
7 30 (3.77%) Wi-Fi
8 26 (3.27%) Wireless
9 25 (3.14%) VoIP
10 21 (2.64%) Network Security
11 18 (2.26%) WAN
12 17 (2.14%) Broadband
13 16 (2.01%) LAN
14 12 (1.51%) SD-WAN
14 12 (1.51%) Structured Cabling
15 6 (0.75%) IP Telephony
15 6 (0.75%) SAN
16 5 (0.63%) Unified Communications
17 4 (0.50%) BGP
17 4 (0.50%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 56 (7.04%) Power BI
2 44 (5.53%) SQL Server
3 32 (4.03%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 18 (2.26%) Data Warehouse
5 16 (2.01%) MySQL
6 11 (1.38%) PostgreSQL
7 10 (1.26%) Big Data
7 10 (1.26%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 6 (0.75%) MongoDB
10 5 (0.63%) Amazon Redshift
10 5 (0.63%) Power Query
10 5 (0.63%) Redis
10 5 (0.63%) Tableau
11 4 (0.50%) Elasticsearch
11 4 (0.50%) Looker
11 4 (0.50%) Neo4j
12 3 (0.38%) Amazon RDS
12 3 (0.38%) MariaDB
12 3 (0.38%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 27 (3.40%) Git
1 27 (3.40%) JIRA
2 9 (1.13%) Jenkins
3 6 (0.75%) Bitbucket
4 5 (0.63%) GitLab
5 4 (0.50%) Cucumber
5 4 (0.50%) Cypress.io
5 4 (0.50%) Robot Framework
6 3 (0.38%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.25%) Rational DOORS
7 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 2 (0.25%) Visual Studio Code
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
1 313 (39.37%) Social Skills
2 219 (27.55%) Analytical Skills
3 118 (14.84%) Finance
4 67 (8.43%) Manufacturing
5 60 (7.55%) Law
6 56 (7.04%) Organisational Skills
7 47 (5.91%) Legal
8 37 (4.65%) Retail
9 32 (4.03%) Marketing
10 27 (3.40%) Public Sector
11 18 (2.26%) Telecoms
12 17 (2.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 15 (1.89%) Banking
13 15 (1.89%) Documentation Skills
14 13 (1.64%) Games
15 10 (1.26%) Aerospace
16 9 (1.13%) Influencing Skills
16 9 (1.13%) Investment Banking
17 7 (0.88%) Electronics
18 6 (0.75%) Automotive
Job Titles
1 110 (13.84%) Senior
2 108 (13.58%) Developer
3 99 (12.45%) Analyst
4 78 (9.81%) IT Support
5 69 (8.68%) Support Engineer
6 44 (5.53%) IT Engineer
6 44 (5.53%) Lead
7 42 (5.28%) IT Support Engineer
8 40 (5.03%) Senior Developer
9 39 (4.91%) Consultant
10 37 (4.65%) Software Engineer
11 36 (4.53%) Support Technician
12 22 (2.77%) Support Analyst
13 21 (2.64%) Administrator
13 21 (2.64%) Technical Analyst
14 20 (2.52%) IT Technician
15 19 (2.39%) Business Analyst
15 19 (2.39%) Senior Analyst
16 18 (2.26%) Architect
16 18 (2.26%) IT Support Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (6.29%) .NET
2 42 (5.28%) React
3 41 (5.16%) HTML
4 33 (4.15%) REST
5 24 (3.02%) AngularJS
6 23 (2.89%) Middleware
6 23 (2.89%) Spring
7 22 (2.77%) CSS
8 21 (2.64%) Spring Boot
8 21 (2.64%) Vue
9 17 (2.14%) EDI
10 16 (2.01%) SOAP
10 16 (2.01%) XML
11 13 (1.64%) JSON
11 13 (1.64%) Node.js
12 11 (1.38%) Next.js
12 11 (1.38%) Web Services
13 10 (1.26%) React Native
14 9 (1.13%) RESTful
15 8 (1.01%) Ruby on Rails
Miscellaneous
1 63 (7.92%) Driving Licence
2 51 (6.42%) Onboarding
3 34 (4.28%) Cloud Native
4 33 (4.15%) Product Ownership
5 24 (3.02%) Self-Motivation
6 20 (2.52%) Distributed Systems
7 18 (2.26%) Data Centre
8 15 (1.89%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 15 (1.89%) Mobile App
9 14 (1.76%) Security Posture
10 12 (1.51%) CCTV
10 12 (1.51%) Management Information System
11 9 (1.13%) Analytical Mindset
11 9 (1.13%) Enterprise Cloud
11 9 (1.13%) Replication
12 8 (1.01%) AI Agents
12 8 (1.01%) Social Media
13 7 (0.88%) Legacy Systems
13 7 (0.88%) Low-Code
14 6 (0.75%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 138 (17.36%) Windows
2 66 (8.30%) Windows Server
3 42 (5.28%) Windows 10
4 25 (3.14%) Linux
5 20 (2.52%) Apple iOS
6 15 (1.89%) Android
7 6 (0.75%) Mac OS
7 6 (0.75%) Windows 7
7 6 (0.75%) Windows 8
8 5 (0.63%) Windows Server 2016
9 4 (0.50%) Unix
10 3 (0.38%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.25%) Solaris
12 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.13%) VME
12 1 (0.13%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 204 (25.66%) Continuous Improvement
2 183 (23.02%) Customer Service
3 110 (13.84%) Mentoring
4 98 (12.33%) Stakeholder Management
5 97 (12.20%) Agile
6 91 (11.45%) CI/CD
7 89 (11.19%) Decision-Making
8 88 (11.07%) AI
9 81 (10.19%) Roadmaps
10 78 (9.81%) CRM
11 74 (9.31%) DevOps
12 71 (8.93%) Software Engineering
13 69 (8.68%) Analytics
14 66 (8.30%) User Experience
15 65 (8.18%) ERP
16 58 (7.30%) Collaborative Working
17 52 (6.54%) Test Automation
18 49 (6.16%) Business Intelligence
18 49 (6.16%) Cybersecurity
19 47 (5.91%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 140 (17.61%) SQL
2 96 (12.08%) Python
3 62 (7.80%) C#
4 53 (6.67%) JavaScript
5 41 (5.16%) Java
6 27 (3.40%) PowerShell
7 18 (2.26%) TypeScript
8 15 (1.89%) Bash
8 15 (1.89%) PHP
9 13 (1.64%) C++
10 10 (1.26%) T-SQL
11 8 (1.01%) Ruby
12 7 (0.88%) Shell Script
13 6 (0.75%) C
13 6 (0.75%) Kotlin
13 6 (0.75%) R
14 5 (0.63%) Bicep
14 5 (0.63%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 4 (0.50%) Apex Code
16 3 (0.38%) Go
Qualifications
1 93 (11.70%) Degree
2 43 (5.41%) Security Cleared
3 23 (2.89%) SC Cleared
4 20 (2.52%) Microsoft Certification
5 18 (2.26%) DBS Check
6 16 (2.01%) Cisco Certification
7 15 (1.89%) BPSS Clearance
7 15 (1.89%) Computer Science Degree
7 15 (1.89%) DV Cleared
8 12 (1.51%) CCNP
8 12 (1.51%) HNC
9 10 (1.26%) Azure Certification
10 9 (1.13%) Master's Degree
11 8 (1.01%) CCNA
12 7 (0.88%) MCSA
12 7 (0.88%) Postgraduate
13 5 (0.63%) ACCA
13 5 (0.63%) PMI Certification
14 4 (0.50%) CIMA
14 4 (0.50%) MBA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 42 (5.28%) Data Quality
2 33 (4.15%) QA
3 32 (4.03%) GDPR
4 30 (3.77%) Accessibility
5 27 (3.40%) SLA
6 18 (2.26%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.51%) TickIT
8 8 (1.01%) NIST
9 7 (0.88%) ISO 9001
10 5 (0.63%) Cyber Essentials
11 4 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 14443
11 4 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 7816
12 2 (0.25%) Actionable Recommendations
12 2 (0.25%) PMO
12 2 (0.25%) WCAG
13 1 (0.13%) DICOM
13 1 (0.13%) GMP
13 1 (0.13%) IFRS
13 1 (0.13%) PCI DSS
13 1 (0.13%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 98 (12.33%) Active Directory
2 37 (4.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 36 (4.53%) Docker
4 24 (3.02%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.75%) VMware Workstation
6 5 (0.63%) Virtual Machines
7 4 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
8 3 (0.38%) Virtual Desktop
9 2 (0.25%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 32 (4.03%) Kubernetes
1 32 (4.03%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (2.89%) Terraform
3 15 (1.89%) SCCM
4 13 (1.64%) Grafana
5 11 (1.38%) FortiGate
5 11 (1.38%) Prometheus
6 10 (1.26%) Ansible
7 7 (0.88%) Autotask
8 4 (0.50%) Argo
8 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.38%) Jamf Pro
9 3 (0.38%) Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.25%) Nagios
10 2 (0.25%) Podman
11 1 (0.13%) Istio
11 1 (0.13%) linkerd
11 1 (0.13%) Nessus
11 1 (0.13%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.13%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 290 (36.48%) Microsoft
2 42 (5.28%) VMware
3 29 (3.65%) SAP
4 18 (2.26%) Google
5 14 (1.76%) Cisco
6 13 (1.64%) ServiceNow
7 12 (1.51%) iManage
8 11 (1.38%) Adobe
9 10 (1.26%) Aruba
9 10 (1.26%) HubSpot
9 10 (1.26%) Salesforce
10 9 (1.13%) SonicWALL
10 9 (1.13%) Sophos
11 8 (1.01%) Meraki
11 8 (1.01%) Oracle
11 8 (1.01%) Tanium
12 7 (0.88%) Aderant
12 7 (0.88%) Juniper
12 7 (0.88%) OpenAI
13 6 (0.75%) Apple