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

6 months to
30 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -6 0 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 811 1,036 1,221
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.03% 20.09% 13.87%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.84% 22.07% 17.75%
Number of salaries quoted 640 513 640
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,017 £26,750
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,000 £47,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.17% -2.13% -1.05%
75th Percentile £60,125 £61,250 £62,500
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £73,875
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 8,245 4,694 6,877
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.47% 91.04% 78.14%
Number of salaries quoted 6,307 2,293 4,813
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £29,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £39,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,055 £51,364
Median % change year-on-year +9.88% -2.55% -6.61%
75th Percentile £75,000 £67,500 £65,603
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,200 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £56,185 £55,000
% change year-on-year +6.79% +2.16% -11.29%

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 30 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 30 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 -12 426 £50,000 - 176
Merseyside -6 140 £42,500 -7.61% 52
Cheshire -10 135 £41,000 +9.33% 85
Lancashire -1 74 £40,000 +18.64% 69
Cumbria -6 30 £32,500 -0.31% 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 (8.63%) SharePoint
2 53 (6.54%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.36%) IIS
4 5 (0.62%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.62%) Confluence
5 3 (0.37%) Moodle
5 3 (0.37%) Totara
6 2 (0.25%) Apache
6 2 (0.25%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.25%) nginx
6 2 (0.25%) WordPress
7 1 (0.12%) CMS
7 1 (0.12%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.12%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 50 (6.17%) Microsoft Excel
2 34 (4.19%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (1.85%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.62%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.37%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.25%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.25%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.25%) Windchill
7 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.12%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 22 (2.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.60%) SAP ERP
3 7 (0.86%) Dynamics CRM
4 6 (0.74%) Magento
5 4 (0.49%) Dynamics AX
5 4 (0.49%) SAP PP
6 3 (0.37%) NEC Housing
6 3 (0.37%) Shopify
7 2 (0.25%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.12%) Elite 3E
8 1 (0.12%) Odoo
8 1 (0.12%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.12%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.12%) Salesforce CRM
8 1 (0.12%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 185 (22.81%) Azure
2 163 (20.10%) Microsoft 365
3 98 (12.08%) Power Platform
4 97 (11.96%) AWS
5 43 (5.30%) PowerApps
6 33 (4.07%) Power Automate
7 32 (3.95%) GCP
8 30 (3.70%) SaaS
9 28 (3.45%) Dynamics 365
10 27 (3.33%) Entra ID
10 27 (3.33%) GitHub
10 27 (3.33%) Microsoft Copilot
11 26 (3.21%) Azure DevOps
12 24 (2.96%) OneDrive
13 22 (2.71%) Microsoft Purview
14 15 (1.85%) Serverless
15 12 (1.48%) Boomi
16 11 (1.36%) Snowflake
17 10 (1.23%) Copilot Studio
18 9 (1.11%) Azure Data Factory
Communications & Networking
1 66 (8.14%) Firewall
2 50 (6.17%) DNS
3 46 (5.67%) DHCP
4 37 (4.56%) TCP/IP
5 35 (4.32%) VPN
6 30 (3.70%) VLAN
7 27 (3.33%) Wi-Fi
7 27 (3.33%) Wireless
8 25 (3.08%) VoIP
9 21 (2.59%) Network Security
10 18 (2.22%) WAN
11 17 (2.10%) Broadband
11 17 (2.10%) LAN
12 11 (1.36%) SD-WAN
12 11 (1.36%) Structured Cabling
13 6 (0.74%) IP Telephony
13 6 (0.74%) SAN
14 5 (0.62%) BGP
14 5 (0.62%) OSPF
14 5 (0.62%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 60 (7.40%) Power BI
2 47 (5.80%) SQL Server
3 32 (3.95%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 20 (2.47%) Data Warehouse
4 20 (2.47%) MySQL
5 11 (1.36%) NoSQL
6 10 (1.23%) Big Data
6 10 (1.23%) PostgreSQL
7 9 (1.11%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 7 (0.86%) MongoDB
9 6 (0.74%) Amazon Redshift
9 6 (0.74%) BigQuery
9 6 (0.74%) Redis
9 6 (0.74%) Tableau
10 5 (0.62%) Looker
10 5 (0.62%) Power Query
11 4 (0.49%) Elasticsearch
11 4 (0.49%) Electronic Patient Records
11 4 (0.49%) MariaDB
11 4 (0.49%) Neo4j
Development Applications
1 31 (3.82%) Git
2 28 (3.45%) JIRA
3 10 (1.23%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.86%) Bitbucket
5 5 (0.62%) GitLab
6 4 (0.49%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.49%) Cypress.io
6 4 (0.49%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.37%) Claude Code
7 3 (0.37%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.25%) Rational DOORS
8 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 1 (0.12%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.12%) gulp
9 1 (0.12%) LabVIEW
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle Forms
9 1 (0.12%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.12%) webpack
General
1 318 (39.21%) Social Skills
2 228 (28.11%) Analytical Skills
3 120 (14.80%) Finance
4 68 (8.38%) Manufacturing
5 64 (7.89%) Law
6 56 (6.91%) Organisational Skills
7 47 (5.80%) Legal
8 38 (4.69%) Retail
9 32 (3.95%) Marketing
10 26 (3.21%) Public Sector
11 19 (2.34%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 18 (2.22%) Telecoms
13 15 (1.85%) Banking
14 14 (1.73%) Documentation Skills
15 13 (1.60%) Games
16 11 (1.36%) Aerospace
17 9 (1.11%) Influencing Skills
17 9 (1.11%) Investment Banking
18 8 (0.99%) Electronics
19 7 (0.86%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 115 (14.18%) Senior
2 110 (13.56%) Developer
3 107 (13.19%) Analyst
4 73 (9.00%) IT Support
5 63 (7.77%) Support Engineer
6 44 (5.43%) Lead
7 42 (5.18%) Consultant
7 42 (5.18%) Senior Developer
8 40 (4.93%) IT Engineer
8 40 (4.93%) Software Engineer
9 37 (4.56%) IT Support Engineer
10 36 (4.44%) Support Technician
11 27 (3.33%) Support Analyst
12 23 (2.84%) Administrator
12 23 (2.84%) Technical Analyst
13 22 (2.71%) IT Technician
14 19 (2.34%) Business Analyst
14 19 (2.34%) IT Support Technician
14 19 (2.34%) Senior Analyst
15 18 (2.22%) Junior
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (6.17%) .NET
2 42 (5.18%) HTML
2 42 (5.18%) React
3 33 (4.07%) REST
4 24 (2.96%) AngularJS
5 23 (2.84%) Middleware
5 23 (2.84%) Spring
6 22 (2.71%) CSS
6 22 (2.71%) Vue
7 21 (2.59%) Spring Boot
8 17 (2.10%) EDI
8 17 (2.10%) XML
9 16 (1.97%) SOAP
10 13 (1.60%) JSON
10 13 (1.60%) Node.js
11 11 (1.36%) Next.js
11 11 (1.36%) Web Services
12 10 (1.23%) React Native
13 9 (1.11%) Laravel
13 9 (1.11%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 60 (7.40%) Driving Licence
2 49 (6.04%) Onboarding
3 33 (4.07%) Product Ownership
4 32 (3.95%) Cloud Native
5 29 (3.58%) Self-Motivation
6 19 (2.34%) Distributed Systems
7 15 (1.85%) Mobile App
8 14 (1.73%) Data Centre
8 14 (1.73%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 13 (1.60%) Management Information System
9 13 (1.60%) Security Posture
10 12 (1.48%) Replication
11 11 (1.36%) CCTV
12 9 (1.11%) Enterprise Cloud
13 8 (0.99%) AI Agents
14 7 (0.86%) Analytical Mindset
14 7 (0.86%) CMDB
14 7 (0.86%) Cyberattack
14 7 (0.86%) Low-Code
14 7 (0.86%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 136 (16.77%) Windows
2 65 (8.01%) Windows Server
3 38 (4.69%) Windows 10
4 30 (3.70%) Linux
5 17 (2.10%) Apple iOS
6 12 (1.48%) Android
7 7 (0.86%) Mac OS
8 5 (0.62%) Windows 7
8 5 (0.62%) Windows 8
8 5 (0.62%) Windows Server 2016
9 4 (0.49%) Unix
10 3 (0.37%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.25%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.25%) Solaris
12 1 (0.12%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.12%) VME
12 1 (0.12%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 213 (26.26%) Continuous Improvement
2 182 (22.44%) Customer Service
3 110 (13.56%) Mentoring
4 104 (12.82%) Stakeholder Management
5 101 (12.45%) Agile
6 94 (11.59%) Decision-Making
7 92 (11.34%) CI/CD
8 90 (11.10%) AI
9 83 (10.23%) CRM
10 78 (9.62%) Roadmaps
11 77 (9.49%) DevOps
12 74 (9.12%) Software Engineering
13 69 (8.51%) Analytics
14 68 (8.38%) ERP
15 66 (8.14%) User Experience
16 57 (7.03%) Collaborative Working
17 54 (6.66%) Business Intelligence
18 52 (6.41%) Test Automation
19 48 (5.92%) Cybersecurity
20 45 (5.55%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 152 (18.74%) SQL
2 101 (12.45%) Python
3 64 (7.89%) C#
4 55 (6.78%) JavaScript
5 42 (5.18%) Java
6 27 (3.33%) PowerShell
7 18 (2.22%) TypeScript
8 17 (2.10%) PHP
9 15 (1.85%) Bash
10 13 (1.60%) C++
11 10 (1.23%) Shell Script
11 10 (1.23%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.99%) Ruby
13 6 (0.74%) C
13 6 (0.74%) Kotlin
13 6 (0.74%) R
14 5 (0.62%) Bicep
14 5 (0.62%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 4 (0.49%) Apex Code
15 4 (0.49%) Go
Qualifications
1 93 (11.47%) Degree
2 45 (5.55%) Security Cleared
3 23 (2.84%) SC Cleared
4 20 (2.47%) Microsoft Certification
5 16 (1.97%) BPSS Clearance
5 16 (1.97%) Cisco Certification
5 16 (1.97%) DBS Check
5 16 (1.97%) DV Cleared
6 15 (1.85%) Computer Science Degree
7 14 (1.73%) HNC
8 12 (1.48%) CCNP
9 10 (1.23%) Azure Certification
10 9 (1.11%) Master's Degree
11 8 (0.99%) CCNA
12 7 (0.86%) MCSA
12 7 (0.86%) Postgraduate
13 6 (0.74%) ACCA
14 5 (0.62%) CIMA
14 5 (0.62%) CompTIA Security+
14 5 (0.62%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 45 (5.55%) Data Quality
2 34 (4.19%) QA
3 33 (4.07%) GDPR
4 30 (3.70%) Accessibility
5 27 (3.33%) SLA
6 16 (1.97%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.48%) TickIT
8 8 (0.99%) NIST
9 5 (0.62%) Cyber Essentials
9 5 (0.62%) ISO 9001
10 4 (0.49%) ISO/IEC 14443
10 4 (0.49%) ISO/IEC 7816
11 2 (0.25%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.25%) PMO
11 2 (0.25%) WCAG
12 1 (0.12%) DICOM
12 1 (0.12%) GMP
12 1 (0.12%) IFRS
12 1 (0.12%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.12%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 98 (12.08%) Active Directory
2 39 (4.81%) Docker
3 37 (4.56%) VMware Infrastructure
4 23 (2.84%) Hyper-V
5 5 (0.62%) Virtual Machines
5 5 (0.62%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.49%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.37%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.25%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 32 (3.95%) Kubernetes
1 32 (3.95%) Microsoft Intune
2 23 (2.84%) Terraform
3 14 (1.73%) Grafana
4 13 (1.60%) SCCM
5 11 (1.36%) FortiGate
5 11 (1.36%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.11%) Ansible
7 6 (0.74%) Autotask
8 4 (0.49%) Argo
8 4 (0.49%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.37%) Jamf Pro
9 3 (0.37%) Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.25%) Nagios
10 2 (0.25%) Nessus
10 2 (0.25%) Podman
11 1 (0.12%) linkerd
11 1 (0.12%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
11 1 (0.12%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.12%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 290 (35.76%) Microsoft
2 42 (5.18%) VMware
3 29 (3.58%) SAP
4 21 (2.59%) Google
5 15 (1.85%) Cisco
6 14 (1.73%) ServiceNow
7 12 (1.48%) iManage
8 10 (1.23%) Adobe
8 10 (1.23%) Aruba
8 10 (1.23%) Salesforce
9 9 (1.11%) HubSpot
9 9 (1.11%) Oracle
9 9 (1.11%) SonicWALL
9 9 (1.11%) Sophos
10 8 (0.99%) Meraki
10 8 (0.99%) Tanium
11 7 (0.86%) Aderant
11 7 (0.86%) Juniper
11 7 (0.86%) OpenAI
12 6 (0.74%) Intapp