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

6 months to
9 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -6 0 +13
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 697 991 1,469
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.54% 21.13% 13.67%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.50% 22.25% 17.25%
Number of salaries quoted 552 491 894
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -3.23% +3.33% -5.26%
75th Percentile £61,250 £63,375 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £77,500
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £49,838
% change year-on-year -5.00% +0.33% -9.39%

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 4,453 8,517
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 68.84% 94.93% 79.26%
Number of salaries quoted 5,580 2,032 6,460
10th Percentile £30,000 £28,000 £27,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,625 £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 £73,750 £70,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £84,975 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £58,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +3.45% +5.45% -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 9 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 9 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 -13 366 £50,014 +0.03% 209
Merseyside -5 113 £43,250 +8.13% 17
Cheshire -11 109 £41,000 +10.81% 61
Lancashire +4 72 £38,750 +12.32% 68
Cumbria -8 32 £33,750 +3.53% 20
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 60 (8.61%) SharePoint
2 47 (6.74%) Microsoft Exchange
3 6 (0.86%) Confluence
4 4 (0.57%) Apache Spark
4 4 (0.57%) IIS
4 4 (0.57%) Moodle
4 4 (0.57%) Totara
5 2 (0.29%) Apache
5 2 (0.29%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.29%) CMS
5 2 (0.29%) nginx
5 2 (0.29%) WordPress
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 1 (0.14%) Umbraco
Applications
1 44 (6.31%) Microsoft Excel
2 25 (3.59%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.29%) MS Visio
4 4 (0.57%) Spreadsheet
5 2 (0.29%) Chatbot
5 2 (0.29%) Simulink
6 1 (0.14%) Acrobat
6 1 (0.14%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 1 (0.14%) Trello
6 1 (0.14%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 24 (3.44%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.87%) SAP ERP
3 7 (1.00%) Magento
4 6 (0.86%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.72%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.57%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.57%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.57%) Shopify
7 2 (0.29%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.14%) Odoo
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 162 (23.24%) Azure
2 139 (19.94%) Microsoft 365
3 79 (11.33%) Power Platform
4 77 (11.05%) AWS
5 29 (4.16%) Entra ID
6 28 (4.02%) Dynamics 365
6 28 (4.02%) PowerApps
7 27 (3.87%) SaaS
8 25 (3.59%) Azure DevOps
9 24 (3.44%) GCP
9 24 (3.44%) GitHub
10 22 (3.16%) Power Automate
11 20 (2.87%) Microsoft Purview
12 15 (2.15%) OneDrive
12 15 (2.15%) Serverless
13 13 (1.87%) Microsoft Copilot
14 12 (1.72%) Boomi
15 8 (1.15%) Azure Logic Apps
16 7 (1.00%) Azure Sentinel
16 7 (1.00%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 59 (8.46%) Firewall
2 36 (5.16%) DNS
3 33 (4.73%) DHCP
3 33 (4.73%) VLAN
4 27 (3.87%) VPN
5 26 (3.73%) Wi-Fi
6 23 (3.30%) VoIP
7 22 (3.16%) TCP/IP
8 18 (2.58%) Wireless
9 14 (2.01%) Network Security
10 13 (1.87%) WAN
11 11 (1.58%) LAN
11 11 (1.58%) Structured Cabling
12 10 (1.43%) Broadband
13 9 (1.29%) Unified Communications
14 8 (1.15%) SD-WAN
15 6 (0.86%) IP Telephony
15 6 (0.86%) SAN
16 4 (0.57%) Telepresence
16 4 (0.57%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 53 (7.60%) Power BI
2 31 (4.45%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 28 (4.02%) SQL Server
4 12 (1.72%) MySQL
5 11 (1.58%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (1.58%) NoSQL
6 9 (1.29%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.29%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 7 (1.00%) Big Data
8 5 (0.72%) MongoDB
8 5 (0.72%) Power Query
8 5 (0.72%) Tableau
9 4 (0.57%) Looker
10 3 (0.43%) Azure SQL Database
10 3 (0.43%) Elasticsearch
10 3 (0.43%) OLAP
10 3 (0.43%) PowerPivot
10 3 (0.43%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.43%) SAP HANA
10 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Analysis Services
Development Applications
1 29 (4.16%) Git
2 28 (4.02%) JIRA
3 7 (1.00%) GitLab
4 6 (0.86%) Bitbucket
4 6 (0.86%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.29%) Claude Code
5 2 (0.29%) Rational DOORS
5 2 (0.29%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.14%) Cucumber
6 1 (0.14%) Cypress.io
6 1 (0.14%) Gemini Tracker
6 1 (0.14%) gulp
6 1 (0.14%) LabVIEW
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.14%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.14%) Robot Framework
6 1 (0.14%) webpack
General
1 289 (41.46%) Social Skills
2 202 (28.98%) Analytical Skills
3 114 (16.36%) Finance
4 58 (8.32%) Manufacturing
5 56 (8.03%) Organisational Skills
6 46 (6.60%) Law
7 36 (5.16%) Retail
8 35 (5.02%) Legal
9 31 (4.45%) Marketing
10 29 (4.16%) Public Sector
11 20 (2.87%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 16 (2.30%) Banking
12 16 (2.30%) Telecoms
13 12 (1.72%) Documentation Skills
14 10 (1.43%) French Language
14 10 (1.43%) Games
14 10 (1.43%) Investment Banking
15 7 (1.00%) Italian Language
15 7 (1.00%) Portuguese Language
15 7 (1.00%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 90 (12.91%) Senior
2 84 (12.05%) Analyst
3 81 (11.62%) Developer
4 77 (11.05%) IT Support
5 76 (10.90%) Support Engineer
6 51 (7.32%) IT Engineer
7 49 (7.03%) IT Support Engineer
8 42 (6.03%) Consultant
9 35 (5.02%) Lead
10 33 (4.73%) Software Engineer
11 32 (4.59%) Support Technician
12 30 (4.30%) Senior Developer
13 24 (3.44%) Business Analyst
14 18 (2.58%) Administrator
14 18 (2.58%) Infrastructure Engineer
15 17 (2.44%) Technical Analyst
16 14 (2.01%) 1st Line Support
16 14 (2.01%) IT Support Technician
16 14 (2.01%) IT Technician
16 14 (2.01%) Senior Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 37 (5.31%) .NET
2 33 (4.73%) React
3 32 (4.59%) REST
4 29 (4.16%) HTML
5 22 (3.16%) EDI
5 22 (3.16%) Spring
5 22 (3.16%) Spring Boot
6 20 (2.87%) CSS
7 19 (2.73%) AngularJS
8 17 (2.44%) Middleware
9 16 (2.30%) SOAP
10 15 (2.15%) Vue
11 14 (2.01%) XML
12 13 (1.87%) JSON
13 12 (1.72%) Node.js
14 11 (1.58%) RESTful
15 10 (1.43%) SAP Fiori
16 8 (1.15%) Next.js
16 8 (1.15%) React Native
16 8 (1.15%) Ruby on Rails
Miscellaneous
1 59 (8.46%) Driving Licence
2 51 (7.32%) Onboarding
3 32 (4.59%) Product Ownership
4 27 (3.87%) Cloud Native
5 21 (3.01%) Data Centre
6 19 (2.73%) Distributed Systems
7 18 (2.58%) Self-Motivation
8 15 (2.15%) Analytical Mindset
8 15 (2.15%) Mobile App
9 12 (1.72%) CCTV
10 9 (1.29%) Enterprise Cloud
10 9 (1.29%) Management Information System
10 9 (1.29%) Social Media
11 8 (1.15%) Security Posture
12 7 (1.00%) AI Agents
12 7 (1.00%) CMDB
12 7 (1.00%) FMCG
12 7 (1.00%) Low-Code
13 6 (0.86%) Enterprise Software
13 6 (0.86%) Hybrid Cloud
Operating Systems
1 116 (16.64%) Windows
2 54 (7.75%) Windows Server
3 40 (5.74%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.16%) Apple iOS
5 19 (2.73%) Linux
6 14 (2.01%) Android
7 7 (1.00%) Windows 7
7 7 (1.00%) Windows 8
7 7 (1.00%) Windows Server 2016
8 6 (0.86%) Mac OS
9 5 (0.72%) Windows Server 2019
10 3 (0.43%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 3 (0.43%) Unix
11 2 (0.29%) Solaris
12 1 (0.14%) CentOS
12 1 (0.14%) CoreOS
12 1 (0.14%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.14%) VME
12 1 (0.14%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 153 (21.95%) Customer Service
2 151 (21.66%) Continuous Improvement
3 108 (15.49%) Mentoring
4 86 (12.34%) Stakeholder Management
5 80 (11.48%) Decision-Making
6 77 (11.05%) Agile
7 74 (10.62%) AI
8 70 (10.04%) CI/CD
9 66 (9.47%) CRM
10 65 (9.33%) Roadmaps
11 63 (9.04%) DevOps
12 58 (8.32%) Analytics
13 57 (8.18%) Software Engineering
13 57 (8.18%) User Experience
14 55 (7.89%) ERP
15 50 (7.17%) Collaborative Working
16 48 (6.89%) Test Automation
17 44 (6.31%) Business Intelligence
17 44 (6.31%) Project Management
18 40 (5.74%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 113 (16.21%) SQL
2 80 (11.48%) Python
3 46 (6.60%) C#
4 39 (5.60%) JavaScript
5 36 (5.16%) Java
6 17 (2.44%) PowerShell
7 12 (1.72%) C++
8 10 (1.43%) Bash
8 10 (1.43%) TypeScript
9 9 (1.29%) PHP
9 9 (1.29%) T-SQL
10 8 (1.15%) Kotlin
10 8 (1.15%) Ruby
11 5 (0.72%) C
11 5 (0.72%) R
12 4 (0.57%) Apex Code
12 4 (0.57%) Bicep
12 4 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 4 (0.57%) Scala
12 4 (0.57%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 75 (10.76%) Degree
2 31 (4.45%) Security Cleared
3 22 (3.16%) SC Cleared
4 20 (2.87%) DBS Check
5 15 (2.15%) BPSS Clearance
5 15 (2.15%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (1.58%) HNC
7 10 (1.43%) Cisco Certification
7 10 (1.43%) Computer Science Degree
8 9 (1.29%) DV Cleared
9 7 (1.00%) Azure Certification
9 7 (1.00%) MCSA
9 7 (1.00%) Network+ Certification
10 6 (0.86%) CCNP
11 5 (0.72%) CCNA
11 5 (0.72%) CompTIA Security+
12 4 (0.57%) ACCA
12 4 (0.57%) ITIL Certification
12 4 (0.57%) PMI Certification
12 4 (0.57%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (5.31%) Data Quality
2 28 (4.02%) SLA
3 25 (3.59%) GDPR
3 25 (3.59%) QA
4 14 (2.01%) Accessibility
5 13 (1.87%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 12 (1.72%) TickIT
7 9 (1.29%) Cyber Essentials
8 8 (1.15%) ISO 9001
9 4 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 2 (0.29%) Actionable Recommendations
10 2 (0.29%) NIST
10 2 (0.29%) WCAG
11 1 (0.14%) IFRS
11 1 (0.14%) IFRS 9
11 1 (0.14%) NEBOSH
11 1 (0.14%) PCI DSS
11 1 (0.14%) PMO
11 1 (0.14%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 88 (12.63%) Active Directory
2 27 (3.87%) VMware Infrastructure
3 25 (3.59%) Docker
4 18 (2.58%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.00%) VMware Workstation
6 3 (0.43%) Virtual Desktop
6 3 (0.43%) Virtual Machines
6 3 (0.43%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.29%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 33 (4.73%) Microsoft Intune
2 27 (3.87%) Terraform
3 25 (3.59%) Kubernetes
4 17 (2.44%) SCCM
5 9 (1.29%) Ansible
6 8 (1.15%) Autotask
6 8 (1.15%) Grafana
6 8 (1.15%) Prometheus
7 6 (0.86%) FortiGate
8 5 (0.72%) Single Sign-On
9 4 (0.57%) Cisco CUCM
9 4 (0.57%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.43%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.29%) Argo
11 2 (0.29%) Nagios
11 2 (0.29%) Podman
11 2 (0.29%) Rancher
12 1 (0.14%) SCVMM
12 1 (0.14%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.14%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 234 (33.57%) Microsoft
2 30 (4.30%) SAP
2 30 (4.30%) VMware
3 16 (2.30%) Google
4 14 (2.01%) Cisco
5 12 (1.72%) Oracle
6 11 (1.58%) ServiceNow
7 10 (1.43%) Aruba
7 10 (1.43%) HubSpot
7 10 (1.43%) iManage
8 9 (1.29%) Apple
8 9 (1.29%) Workday
9 8 (1.15%) Meraki
10 7 (1.00%) Adobe
10 7 (1.00%) ESET
10 7 (1.00%) Salesforce
11 6 (0.86%) Intapp
11 6 (0.86%) Juniper
11 6 (0.86%) SonicWALL
11 6 (0.86%) Sophos