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 10 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
10 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 12 7 5
Rank change year-on-year -5 -2 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 938 993 1,076
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.49% 19.27% 13.77%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.33% 21.55% 17.78%
Number of salaries quoted 700 482 435
10th Percentile £26,555 £26,250 £27,000
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £47,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +5.56% -5.26%
75th Percentile £60,000 £57,500 £60,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £68,750 £79,400
England median annual salary £47,371 £45,000 £52,500
% change year-on-year +5.27% -14.29% -4.55%

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 9,080 4,608 6,053
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.54% 89.44% 77.44%
Number of salaries quoted 6,877 2,209 3,554
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,600 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £50,500
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -0.99% -8.18%
75th Percentile £75,000 £65,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -4.35% -8.00%

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 10 September 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 10 September 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 -7 521 £48,350 +7.44% 273
Cheshire -9 150 £42,500 -19.05% 97
Merseyside -6 148 £42,500 -19.81% 45
Lancashire -1 78 £42,500 +6.25% 92
Cumbria -5 33 £32,500 -9.35% 11
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 (8.42%) SharePoint
2 52 (5.54%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.17%) IIS
4 5 (0.53%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.32%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.21%) Apache
6 2 (0.21%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.21%) CMS
6 2 (0.21%) Exchange Server 2013
6 2 (0.21%) nginx
7 1 (0.11%) Confluence
7 1 (0.11%) Jupyter
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.11%) Oracle Workflow
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 52 (5.54%) Microsoft Office
2 51 (5.44%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (1.60%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.64%) Spreadsheet
5 5 (0.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.53%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.21%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.21%) Windchill
7 1 (0.11%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.11%) Revit
7 1 (0.11%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 16 (1.71%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.07%) Dynamics CRM
3 8 (0.85%) SAP ERP
4 5 (0.53%) Magento
5 4 (0.43%) NEC Housing
5 4 (0.43%) NetSuite
5 4 (0.43%) SAP PP
6 3 (0.32%) Dynamics AX
6 3 (0.32%) Payment Gateway
6 3 (0.32%) Salesforce CRM
7 2 (0.21%) Oracle EBS
7 2 (0.21%) Oracle ERP
7 2 (0.21%) Remedy ITSM
8 1 (0.11%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.11%) Odoo
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle Cash Management
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle Payables
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
8 1 (0.11%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 194 (20.68%) Azure
2 157 (16.74%) Microsoft 365
3 110 (11.73%) AWS
4 109 (11.62%) Power Platform
5 48 (5.12%) PowerApps
6 40 (4.26%) GCP
7 39 (4.16%) SaaS
8 35 (3.73%) Entra ID
9 33 (3.52%) Power Automate
10 32 (3.41%) GitHub
11 30 (3.20%) Azure DevOps
11 30 (3.20%) Microsoft Copilot
11 30 (3.20%) OneDrive
12 27 (2.88%) Dynamics 365
13 19 (2.03%) Microsoft Purview
14 17 (1.81%) Serverless
15 12 (1.28%) Boomi
15 12 (1.28%) Google Analytics
16 11 (1.17%) Copilot Studio
17 10 (1.07%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 61 (6.50%) DNS
2 56 (5.97%) Firewall
3 55 (5.86%) DHCP
4 42 (4.48%) VPN
5 40 (4.26%) TCP/IP
6 31 (3.30%) Wireless
7 27 (2.88%) VLAN
8 25 (2.67%) VoIP
9 23 (2.45%) Wi-Fi
10 20 (2.13%) Network Security
11 17 (1.81%) LAN
12 14 (1.49%) WAN
13 12 (1.28%) Broadband
14 10 (1.07%) Unified Communications
15 8 (0.85%) SD-WAN
16 7 (0.75%) BGP
16 7 (0.75%) OSPF
16 7 (0.75%) Structured Cabling
17 6 (0.64%) SAN
17 6 (0.64%) SNMP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 70 (7.46%) Power BI
2 54 (5.76%) SQL Server
3 28 (2.99%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 24 (2.56%) MySQL
5 20 (2.13%) Data Warehouse
6 11 (1.17%) BigQuery
6 11 (1.17%) NoSQL
7 10 (1.07%) Big Data
7 10 (1.07%) Looker
8 9 (0.96%) Power Query
8 9 (0.96%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 8 (0.85%) MongoDB
9 8 (0.85%) PostgreSQL
9 8 (0.85%) Redis
10 7 (0.75%) Amazon Redshift
10 7 (0.75%) Electronic Patient Records
11 5 (0.53%) Azure SQL Database
11 5 (0.53%) MariaDB
11 5 (0.53%) Relational Database
11 5 (0.53%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 39 (4.16%) Git
2 33 (3.52%) JIRA
3 11 (1.17%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.75%) Bitbucket
4 7 (0.75%) GitLab
5 6 (0.64%) Cypress.io
6 5 (0.53%) Cucumber
7 4 (0.43%) Robot Framework
8 3 (0.32%) Claude Code
8 3 (0.32%) Visual Studio Code
9 2 (0.21%) Selenium
9 2 (0.21%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
10 1 (0.11%) Artifactory
10 1 (0.11%) Gemini Tracker
10 1 (0.11%) gulp
10 1 (0.11%) Maven
10 1 (0.11%) Oracle Forms
10 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
10 1 (0.11%) Rational Rhapsody
10 1 (0.11%) webpack
General
1 396 (42.22%) Social Skills
2 290 (30.92%) Analytical Skills
3 145 (15.46%) Finance
4 83 (8.85%) Law
5 70 (7.46%) Manufacturing
6 68 (7.25%) Organisational Skills
7 64 (6.82%) Legal
8 45 (4.80%) Retail
9 40 (4.26%) Telecoms
10 36 (3.84%) Marketing
11 34 (3.62%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 25 (2.67%) Public Sector
13 20 (2.13%) Military
14 17 (1.81%) Aerospace
15 14 (1.49%) Banking
16 12 (1.28%) Billing
16 12 (1.28%) Electronics
17 11 (1.17%) Documentation Skills
18 10 (1.07%) Games
18 10 (1.07%) German Language
Job Titles
1 129 (13.75%) Analyst
2 128 (13.65%) Senior
3 120 (12.79%) Developer
4 62 (6.61%) IT Support
5 53 (5.65%) Support Engineer
6 48 (5.12%) Lead
7 44 (4.69%) Senior Developer
8 43 (4.58%) Software Engineer
9 42 (4.48%) Consultant
10 39 (4.16%) Support Analyst
11 37 (3.94%) Support Technician
12 35 (3.73%) Administrator
13 27 (2.88%) IT Engineer
13 27 (2.88%) IT Technician
14 26 (2.77%) Junior
15 24 (2.56%) IT Support Engineer
16 23 (2.45%) Applications Support
16 23 (2.45%) IT Support Technician
17 21 (2.24%) Architect
17 21 (2.24%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (5.54%) .NET
2 45 (4.80%) HTML
3 44 (4.69%) React
4 39 (4.16%) REST
5 24 (2.56%) Middleware
5 24 (2.56%) Terraform
6 23 (2.45%) AngularJS
6 23 (2.45%) CSS
7 22 (2.35%) Spring
8 21 (2.24%) Vue
9 20 (2.13%) Spring Boot
10 19 (2.03%) XML
11 17 (1.81%) SOAP
12 16 (1.71%) EDI
13 15 (1.60%) Node.js
14 14 (1.49%) JSON
15 11 (1.17%) Next.js
15 11 (1.17%) Web Services
16 10 (1.07%) Kafka
16 10 (1.07%) Laravel
Miscellaneous
1 66 (7.04%) Driving Licence
2 58 (6.18%) Onboarding
3 41 (4.37%) Self-Motivation
4 35 (3.73%) Product Ownership
5 34 (3.62%) Cloud Native
6 29 (3.09%) Management Information System
7 20 (2.13%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 19 (2.03%) Distributed Systems
9 15 (1.60%) NHS
9 15 (1.60%) Security Posture
10 14 (1.49%) IoT
10 14 (1.49%) Replication
11 13 (1.39%) Mobile App
12 11 (1.17%) Enterprise Software
12 11 (1.17%) Low-Code
13 9 (0.96%) CCTV
13 9 (0.96%) Data Centre
13 9 (0.96%) Enterprise Cloud
13 9 (0.96%) FMCG
14 8 (0.85%) Cyberattack
Operating Systems
1 134 (14.29%) Windows
2 63 (6.72%) Windows Server
3 38 (4.05%) Linux
4 24 (2.56%) Windows 10
5 20 (2.13%) Apple iOS
6 9 (0.96%) Android
6 9 (0.96%) Mac OS
7 8 (0.85%) Windows Server 2016
8 6 (0.64%) Unix
8 6 (0.64%) Windows Server 2019
9 2 (0.21%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.21%) Solaris
10 1 (0.11%) Embedded Linux
10 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.11%) VME
10 1 (0.11%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 264 (28.14%) Continuous Improvement
2 200 (21.32%) Customer Service
3 131 (13.97%) AI
4 130 (13.86%) Mentoring
5 122 (13.01%) Stakeholder Management
6 121 (12.90%) Agile
7 110 (11.73%) Decision-Making
8 101 (10.77%) CI/CD
9 97 (10.34%) CRM
10 87 (9.28%) Software Engineering
11 86 (9.17%) DevOps
12 84 (8.96%) ERP
13 83 (8.85%) Roadmaps
14 82 (8.74%) Analytics
15 78 (8.32%) Collaborative Working
16 73 (7.78%) Project Delivery
16 73 (7.78%) Stakeholder Engagement
17 63 (6.72%) Business Intelligence
17 63 (6.72%) User Experience
18 59 (6.29%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 177 (18.87%) SQL
2 116 (12.37%) Python
3 68 (7.25%) JavaScript
4 66 (7.04%) C#
5 51 (5.44%) Java
6 41 (4.37%) PowerShell
7 25 (2.67%) TypeScript
8 20 (2.13%) PHP
9 19 (2.03%) Bash
10 17 (1.81%) C++
11 13 (1.39%) Shell Script
12 11 (1.17%) T-SQL
13 9 (0.96%) C
14 8 (0.85%) Ruby
15 7 (0.75%) Go
16 6 (0.64%) R
17 5 (0.53%) Apex Code
17 5 (0.53%) Bicep
17 5 (0.53%) Data Analysis Expressions
18 3 (0.32%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 126 (13.43%) Degree
2 52 (5.54%) Security Cleared
3 30 (3.20%) SC Cleared
4 28 (2.99%) HNC
5 23 (2.45%) DBS Check
5 23 (2.45%) Microsoft Certification
6 21 (2.24%) DV Cleared
7 16 (1.71%) Computer Science Degree
8 14 (1.49%) BPSS Clearance
8 14 (1.49%) Cisco Certification
9 13 (1.39%) CCNP
10 12 (1.28%) Azure Certification
11 11 (1.17%) HND
12 8 (0.85%) ITIL Certification
12 8 (0.85%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
12 8 (0.85%) Master's Degree
13 7 (0.75%) Postgraduate
14 6 (0.64%) ACCA
14 6 (0.64%) PMI Certification
15 5 (0.53%) CCNA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 49 (5.22%) Data Quality
2 40 (4.26%) QA
3 38 (4.05%) Accessibility
4 35 (3.73%) GDPR
5 18 (1.92%) SLA
6 12 (1.28%) TickIT
7 10 (1.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 9 (0.96%) NIST
9 4 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.43%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 3 (0.32%) PMO
11 2 (0.21%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.21%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.21%) NEBOSH
11 2 (0.21%) WCAG
12 1 (0.11%) DICOM
12 1 (0.11%) GMP
12 1 (0.11%) GxP
12 1 (0.11%) HIPAA
12 1 (0.11%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 100 (10.66%) Active Directory
2 46 (4.90%) Docker
3 32 (3.41%) VMware Infrastructure
4 20 (2.13%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.75%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.43%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.43%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.32%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 36 (3.84%) Kubernetes
2 29 (3.09%) Microsoft Intune
3 13 (1.39%) Grafana
4 11 (1.17%) FortiGate
4 11 (1.17%) Single Sign-On
5 10 (1.07%) Prometheus
6 9 (0.96%) Ansible
7 4 (0.43%) Argo
7 4 (0.43%) Microsoft Clustering
8 2 (0.21%) Nagios
8 2 (0.21%) Nessus
8 2 (0.21%) Podman
9 1 (0.11%) Autotask
9 1 (0.11%) Istio
9 1 (0.11%) Jamf Pro
9 1 (0.11%) linkerd
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
9 1 (0.11%) SCCM
9 1 (0.11%) vCenter Server
9 1 (0.11%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 315 (33.58%) Microsoft
2 44 (4.69%) VMware
3 35 (3.73%) SAP
4 29 (3.09%) Google
5 18 (1.92%) Sage
5 18 (1.92%) YouTube
6 17 (1.81%) Cisco
6 17 (1.81%) ServiceNow
7 15 (1.60%) Salesforce
8 14 (1.49%) Oracle
9 13 (1.39%) iManage
10 12 (1.28%) Aruba
11 10 (1.07%) Adobe
11 10 (1.07%) Civica
12 9 (0.96%) HubSpot
13 8 (0.85%) Aderant
13 8 (0.85%) Juniper
13 8 (0.85%) OpenAI
13 8 (0.85%) Tanium
14 7 (0.75%) Sophos