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 28 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 6 7
Rank change year-on-year -7 +1 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 878 1,011 1,126
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.20% 19.38% 13.33%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.98% 21.55% 17.24%
Number of salaries quoted 671 493 511
10th Percentile £27,000 £25,087 £27,500
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £46,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -2.17% +2.22% -5.26%
75th Percentile £60,000 £60,000 £61,110
90th Percentile £75,000 £76,000 £76,250
England median annual salary £47,500 £45,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +5.56% -10.00% -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 8,802 4,692 6,530
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.18% 89.92% 77.30%
Number of salaries quoted 6,690 2,271 4,220
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,243 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £39,742
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £51,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -1.96% -7.27%
75th Percentile £75,000 £65,750 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £56,460
% change year-on-year +9.09% -2.59% -8.94%

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 28 August 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 28 August 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 -10 475 £50,000 - 478
Cheshire -9 148 £42,500 -2.86% 111
Merseyside -6 145 £42,500 -13.71% 62
Lancashire -4 71 £42,500 +21.43% 134
Cumbria -4 32 £32,500 -9.16% 13
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 79 (9.00%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.26%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.25%) IIS
4 5 (0.57%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.34%) Apache Airflow
5 3 (0.34%) Confluence
6 2 (0.23%) Apache
6 2 (0.23%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.23%) CMS
6 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2013
6 2 (0.23%) nginx
7 1 (0.11%) Jupyter
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.11%) Sitecore CMS
7 1 (0.11%) Umbraco
7 1 (0.11%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.11%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.11%) WordPress
Applications
1 45 (5.13%) Microsoft Excel
1 45 (5.13%) Microsoft Office
2 15 (1.71%) MS Visio
3 6 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
4 4 (0.46%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.34%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.23%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.23%) Windchill
7 1 (0.11%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.11%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 19 (2.16%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.14%) Dynamics CRM
2 10 (1.14%) SAP ERP
3 5 (0.57%) Magento
4 4 (0.46%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.46%) SAP PP
5 3 (0.34%) Dynamics AX
5 3 (0.34%) Salesforce CRM
6 2 (0.23%) NetSuite
6 2 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.23%) Payment Gateway
7 1 (0.11%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.11%) Elite 3E
7 1 (0.11%) Odoo
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle Applications
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.11%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 193 (21.98%) Azure
2 162 (18.45%) Microsoft 365
3 106 (12.07%) Power Platform
4 102 (11.62%) AWS
5 47 (5.35%) PowerApps
6 40 (4.56%) GCP
7 36 (4.10%) SaaS
8 35 (3.99%) Entra ID
9 34 (3.87%) Power Automate
10 30 (3.42%) GitHub
11 29 (3.30%) Azure DevOps
11 29 (3.30%) Microsoft Copilot
11 29 (3.30%) OneDrive
12 28 (3.19%) Dynamics 365
13 21 (2.39%) Microsoft Purview
14 15 (1.71%) Serverless
15 12 (1.37%) Boomi
15 12 (1.37%) Google Analytics
16 10 (1.14%) Copilot Studio
16 10 (1.14%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 62 (7.06%) Firewall
2 56 (6.38%) DNS
3 52 (5.92%) DHCP
4 42 (4.78%) TCP/IP
5 39 (4.44%) VPN
6 32 (3.64%) Wireless
7 31 (3.53%) VLAN
8 28 (3.19%) VoIP
9 24 (2.73%) Wi-Fi
10 21 (2.39%) Network Security
11 20 (2.28%) LAN
12 17 (1.94%) WAN
13 15 (1.71%) Broadband
14 10 (1.14%) Unified Communications
15 8 (0.91%) SD-WAN
15 8 (0.91%) Structured Cabling
16 7 (0.80%) BGP
16 7 (0.80%) OSPF
17 6 (0.68%) IP Telephony
17 6 (0.68%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 66 (7.52%) Power BI
2 53 (6.04%) SQL Server
3 28 (3.19%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 24 (2.73%) MySQL
5 20 (2.28%) Data Warehouse
6 11 (1.25%) BigQuery
6 11 (1.25%) NoSQL
7 10 (1.14%) Big Data
7 10 (1.14%) Looker
8 9 (1.03%) PostgreSQL
8 9 (1.03%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 7 (0.80%) Electronic Patient Records
9 7 (0.80%) MongoDB
9 7 (0.80%) Power Query
9 7 (0.80%) Redis
10 6 (0.68%) Amazon Redshift
11 5 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
11 5 (0.57%) MariaDB
11 5 (0.57%) Tableau
12 4 (0.46%) Neo4j
Development Applications
1 38 (4.33%) Git
2 33 (3.76%) JIRA
3 10 (1.14%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.80%) Bitbucket
5 6 (0.68%) GitLab
6 5 (0.57%) Cypress.io
7 4 (0.46%) Cucumber
7 4 (0.46%) Robot Framework
8 3 (0.34%) Claude Code
8 3 (0.34%) Visual Studio Code
9 2 (0.23%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
10 1 (0.11%) Gemini Tracker
10 1 (0.11%) gulp
10 1 (0.11%) LabVIEW
10 1 (0.11%) Oracle Forms
10 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
10 1 (0.11%) Rational Rhapsody
10 1 (0.11%) REST Assured
10 1 (0.11%) Selenium
10 1 (0.11%) webpack
General
1 359 (40.89%) Social Skills
2 266 (30.30%) Analytical Skills
3 129 (14.69%) Finance
4 67 (7.63%) Law
5 65 (7.40%) Manufacturing
6 57 (6.49%) Organisational Skills
7 56 (6.38%) Legal
8 45 (5.13%) Retail
9 34 (3.87%) Marketing
10 30 (3.42%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 26 (2.96%) Telecoms
12 22 (2.51%) Public Sector
13 16 (1.82%) Banking
14 15 (1.71%) Aerospace
15 13 (1.48%) Games
16 11 (1.25%) Documentation Skills
17 10 (1.14%) Electronics
17 10 (1.14%) German Language
18 9 (1.03%) Billing
18 9 (1.03%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 121 (13.78%) Analyst
2 119 (13.55%) Developer
3 118 (13.44%) Senior
4 66 (7.52%) IT Support
5 56 (6.38%) Support Engineer
6 47 (5.35%) Lead
7 42 (4.78%) Senior Developer
7 42 (4.78%) Software Engineer
8 41 (4.67%) Consultant
9 38 (4.33%) Support Technician
10 35 (3.99%) Support Analyst
11 30 (3.42%) IT Engineer
12 28 (3.19%) Administrator
12 28 (3.19%) IT Technician
13 27 (3.08%) IT Support Engineer
14 24 (2.73%) IT Support Technician
14 24 (2.73%) Junior
15 21 (2.39%) Technical Analyst
15 21 (2.39%) Technical Support
16 20 (2.28%) Applications Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (6.04%) .NET
2 45 (5.13%) HTML
3 43 (4.90%) React
4 38 (4.33%) REST
5 24 (2.73%) AngularJS
5 24 (2.73%) CSS
5 24 (2.73%) Middleware
6 23 (2.62%) Terraform
7 22 (2.51%) Spring
7 22 (2.51%) Vue
8 20 (2.28%) Spring Boot
9 18 (2.05%) XML
10 17 (1.94%) SOAP
11 16 (1.82%) EDI
12 14 (1.59%) Node.js
13 13 (1.48%) JSON
14 11 (1.25%) Next.js
15 10 (1.14%) Laravel
15 10 (1.14%) React Native
15 10 (1.14%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 65 (7.40%) Driving Licence
2 54 (6.15%) Onboarding
3 36 (4.10%) Product Ownership
4 32 (3.64%) Cloud Native
5 31 (3.53%) Self-Motivation
6 21 (2.39%) Management Information System
7 19 (2.16%) Distributed Systems
8 17 (1.94%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 15 (1.71%) Security Posture
10 14 (1.59%) Replication
11 13 (1.48%) Mobile App
12 11 (1.25%) IoT
12 11 (1.25%) NHS
13 10 (1.14%) CCTV
13 10 (1.14%) Enterprise Software
14 9 (1.03%) Data Centre
14 9 (1.03%) Enterprise Cloud
14 9 (1.03%) FMCG
14 9 (1.03%) Low-Code
15 8 (0.91%) AI Agents
Operating Systems
1 134 (15.26%) Windows
2 64 (7.29%) Windows Server
3 35 (3.99%) Linux
4 30 (3.42%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.94%) Apple iOS
6 11 (1.25%) Mac OS
7 9 (1.03%) Android
8 7 (0.80%) Windows Server 2016
9 5 (0.57%) Unix
10 3 (0.34%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.23%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.23%) Solaris
12 1 (0.11%) Embedded Linux
12 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.11%) VME
12 1 (0.11%) VMS
12 1 (0.11%) Windows 7
12 1 (0.11%) Windows 8
Processes & Methodologies
1 241 (27.45%) Continuous Improvement
2 191 (21.75%) Customer Service
3 115 (13.10%) Mentoring
4 113 (12.87%) Agile
5 110 (12.53%) AI
6 109 (12.41%) Stakeholder Management
7 102 (11.62%) Decision-Making
8 95 (10.82%) CI/CD
8 95 (10.82%) CRM
9 85 (9.68%) Roadmaps
10 82 (9.34%) DevOps
10 82 (9.34%) Software Engineering
11 79 (9.00%) Analytics
12 72 (8.20%) ERP
13 64 (7.29%) User Experience
14 62 (7.06%) Collaborative Working
15 60 (6.83%) Business Intelligence
16 57 (6.49%) Cybersecurity
17 55 (6.26%) Test Automation
18 54 (6.15%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 172 (19.59%) SQL
2 111 (12.64%) Python
3 66 (7.52%) C#
4 63 (7.18%) JavaScript
5 48 (5.47%) Java
6 34 (3.87%) PowerShell
7 23 (2.62%) TypeScript
8 20 (2.28%) PHP
9 16 (1.82%) Bash
9 16 (1.82%) C++
10 13 (1.48%) Shell Script
11 10 (1.14%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.91%) C
12 8 (0.91%) Ruby
13 7 (0.80%) Go
14 6 (0.68%) R
15 5 (0.57%) Apex Code
15 5 (0.57%) Bicep
15 5 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
16 3 (0.34%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 112 (12.76%) Degree
2 47 (5.35%) Security Cleared
3 25 (2.85%) HNC
3 25 (2.85%) Microsoft Certification
4 24 (2.73%) SC Cleared
5 23 (2.62%) DBS Check
6 18 (2.05%) DV Cleared
7 17 (1.94%) Cisco Certification
8 16 (1.82%) BPSS Clearance
9 15 (1.71%) Computer Science Degree
10 13 (1.48%) CCNP
11 11 (1.25%) Azure Certification
12 9 (1.03%) HND
13 8 (0.91%) CCNA
13 8 (0.91%) Master's Degree
14 7 (0.80%) MCSA
14 7 (0.80%) Postgraduate
15 6 (0.68%) ACCA
15 6 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
15 6 (0.68%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 46 (5.24%) Data Quality
2 39 (4.44%) QA
3 33 (3.76%) GDPR
4 32 (3.64%) Accessibility
5 19 (2.16%) SLA
6 12 (1.37%) TickIT
7 10 (1.14%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 8 (0.91%) NIST
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 2 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
10 2 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.23%) PMO
10 2 (0.23%) WCAG
11 1 (0.11%) DICOM
11 1 (0.11%) GMP
11 1 (0.11%) GxP
11 1 (0.11%) IFRS
11 1 (0.11%) IFRS 9
11 1 (0.11%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 96 (10.93%) Active Directory
2 43 (4.90%) Docker
3 33 (3.76%) VMware Infrastructure
4 22 (2.51%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.68%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.46%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.23%) Firmware
8 1 (0.11%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 34 (3.87%) Kubernetes
2 32 (3.64%) Microsoft Intune
3 13 (1.48%) Grafana
4 11 (1.25%) FortiGate
5 10 (1.14%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.03%) Ansible
7 8 (0.91%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (0.46%) Argo
8 4 (0.46%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.34%) Jamf Pro
9 3 (0.34%) SCCM
10 2 (0.23%) Autotask
10 2 (0.23%) Nagios
10 2 (0.23%) Nessus
10 2 (0.23%) Podman
11 1 (0.11%) Istio
11 1 (0.11%) linkerd
11 1 (0.11%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
11 1 (0.11%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.11%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 302 (34.40%) Microsoft
2 42 (4.78%) VMware
3 36 (4.10%) SAP
4 27 (3.08%) Google
5 19 (2.16%) Cisco
6 15 (1.71%) Salesforce
6 15 (1.71%) ServiceNow
7 13 (1.48%) Aruba
8 12 (1.37%) iManage
8 12 (1.37%) Oracle
9 10 (1.14%) Adobe
10 9 (1.03%) HubSpot
11 8 (0.91%) Juniper
11 8 (0.91%) Meraki
11 8 (0.91%) OpenAI
11 8 (0.91%) SonicWALL
11 8 (0.91%) Sophos
11 8 (0.91%) Tanium
11 8 (0.91%) YouTube
12 7 (0.80%) Aderant