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

6 months to
18 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -6 0 +8
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 797 1,026 1,363
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.05% 20.06% 13.74%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.92% 21.89% 17.39%
Number of salaries quoted 632 510 790
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,500 £46,000 £47,500
Median % change year-on-year -1.09% -3.16% -
75th Percentile £61,250 £61,250 £62,500
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £76,250
England median annual salary £47,500 £48,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -1.04% -4.00% -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 8,033 4,687 7,838
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.09% 91.63% 78.99%
Number of salaries quoted 6,169 2,275 5,725
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,600 £28,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,563 £38,250
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 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £81,150 £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 18 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 18 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 -10 427 £50,000 - 141
Cheshire -10 131 £41,000 +9.33% 70
Merseyside -8 124 £42,500 +1.80% 35
Lancashire +1 74 £40,000 +14.29% 68
Cumbria -9 35 £32,500 -0.31% 6
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 (8.78%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.90%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.38%) IIS
4 6 (0.75%) Confluence
5 5 (0.63%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.50%) Moodle
6 4 (0.50%) Totara
7 2 (0.25%) Apache
7 2 (0.25%) ArcGIS
7 2 (0.25%) nginx
7 2 (0.25%) WordPress
8 1 (0.13%) CMS
8 1 (0.13%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.13%) Umbraco
8 1 (0.13%) WebSphere
Applications
1 50 (6.27%) Microsoft Excel
2 32 (4.02%) Microsoft Office
3 12 (1.51%) 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 (1.63%) SAP ERP
3 6 (0.75%) Dynamics CRM
3 6 (0.75%) Magento
3 6 (0.75%) Workday HCM
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
Cloud Services
1 187 (23.46%) Azure
2 161 (20.20%) Microsoft 365
3 95 (11.92%) AWS
4 91 (11.42%) Power Platform
5 41 (5.14%) PowerApps
6 32 (4.02%) Power Automate
7 30 (3.76%) SaaS
8 28 (3.51%) Dynamics 365
8 28 (3.51%) GCP
9 26 (3.26%) Azure DevOps
9 26 (3.26%) GitHub
9 26 (3.26%) Microsoft Copilot
10 24 (3.01%) Entra ID
11 22 (2.76%) OneDrive
12 19 (2.38%) Microsoft Purview
13 16 (2.01%) Serverless
14 12 (1.51%) Boomi
15 10 (1.25%) Copilot Studio
16 9 (1.13%) Azure Data Factory
17 8 (1.00%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 72 (9.03%) Firewall
2 52 (6.52%) DNS
3 48 (6.02%) DHCP
4 38 (4.77%) TCP/IP
4 38 (4.77%) VPN
5 34 (4.27%) VLAN
6 32 (4.02%) Wi-Fi
7 25 (3.14%) VoIP
7 25 (3.14%) Wireless
8 21 (2.63%) Network Security
9 18 (2.26%) WAN
10 17 (2.13%) LAN
11 14 (1.76%) Broadband
12 13 (1.63%) Structured Cabling
13 11 (1.38%) SD-WAN
14 6 (0.75%) IP Telephony
14 6 (0.75%) SAN
15 5 (0.63%) Unified Communications
16 4 (0.50%) BGP
16 4 (0.50%) Wireshark
Database & Business Intelligence
1 56 (7.03%) Power BI
2 42 (5.27%) SQL Server
3 32 (4.02%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 16 (2.01%) Data Warehouse
5 15 (1.88%) MySQL
6 12 (1.51%) PostgreSQL
7 10 (1.25%) Big Data
8 9 (1.13%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.63%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.63%) Power Query
9 5 (0.63%) Tableau
10 4 (0.50%) Elasticsearch
10 4 (0.50%) Looker
10 4 (0.50%) Neo4j
10 4 (0.50%) Redis
11 3 (0.38%) Amazon Redshift
11 3 (0.38%) PowerPivot
11 3 (0.38%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.38%) SAP HANA
Development Applications
1 28 (3.51%) Git
2 27 (3.39%) JIRA
3 7 (0.88%) Jenkins
4 5 (0.63%) GitLab
5 4 (0.50%) Bitbucket
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)
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
1 318 (39.90%) Social Skills
2 221 (27.73%) Analytical Skills
3 116 (14.55%) Finance
4 67 (8.41%) Manufacturing
5 64 (8.03%) Organisational Skills
6 59 (7.40%) Law
7 43 (5.40%) Legal
8 39 (4.89%) Retail
9 32 (4.02%) Marketing
10 29 (3.64%) Public Sector
11 17 (2.13%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 16 (2.01%) Telecoms
13 15 (1.88%) Banking
13 15 (1.88%) Documentation Skills
14 12 (1.51%) Games
15 10 (1.25%) Aerospace
15 10 (1.25%) Influencing Skills
16 9 (1.13%) Investment Banking
17 7 (0.88%) Portuguese Language
17 7 (0.88%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 112 (14.05%) Senior
2 107 (13.43%) Developer
3 95 (11.92%) Analyst
4 81 (10.16%) IT Support
5 73 (9.16%) Support Engineer
6 48 (6.02%) IT Engineer
7 46 (5.77%) IT Support Engineer
8 45 (5.65%) Lead
9 41 (5.14%) Senior Developer
10 38 (4.77%) Consultant
10 38 (4.77%) Software Engineer
11 35 (4.39%) Support Technician
12 19 (2.38%) Administrator
12 19 (2.38%) Support Analyst
13 18 (2.26%) Architect
13 18 (2.26%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 18 (2.26%) Senior Analyst
14 17 (2.13%) Business Analyst
14 17 (2.13%) IT Support Technician
14 17 (2.13%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 50 (6.27%) .NET
2 44 (5.52%) HTML
2 44 (5.52%) React
3 33 (4.14%) REST
4 25 (3.14%) CSS
5 24 (3.01%) AngularJS
5 24 (3.01%) Spring
6 23 (2.89%) Middleware
7 22 (2.76%) Spring Boot
7 22 (2.76%) Vue
8 19 (2.38%) EDI
9 16 (2.01%) SOAP
9 16 (2.01%) XML
10 13 (1.63%) JSON
10 13 (1.63%) Node.js
11 11 (1.38%) Next.js
11 11 (1.38%) Web Services
12 10 (1.25%) React Native
12 10 (1.25%) RESTful
13 8 (1.00%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 67 (8.41%) Driving Licence
2 51 (6.40%) Onboarding
3 36 (4.52%) Cloud Native
4 34 (4.27%) Product Ownership
5 22 (2.76%) Data Centre
6 21 (2.63%) Distributed Systems
6 21 (2.63%) Self-Motivation
7 15 (1.88%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
7 15 (1.88%) Mobile App
8 13 (1.63%) Security Posture
9 12 (1.51%) CCTV
9 12 (1.51%) Management Information System
10 9 (1.13%) Analytical Mindset
10 9 (1.13%) Enterprise Cloud
10 9 (1.13%) Social Media
11 8 (1.00%) AI Agents
12 7 (0.88%) Legacy Systems
12 7 (0.88%) Low-Code
12 7 (0.88%) Replication
13 6 (0.75%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 138 (17.31%) Windows
2 67 (8.41%) Windows Server
3 43 (5.40%) Windows 10
4 25 (3.14%) Linux
5 22 (2.76%) Apple iOS
6 17 (2.13%) Android
7 7 (0.88%) Windows Server 2016
8 6 (0.75%) Mac OS
8 6 (0.75%) Windows 7
8 6 (0.75%) Windows 8
9 5 (0.63%) Windows Server 2019
10 4 (0.50%) Unix
11 3 (0.38%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
12 2 (0.25%) Solaris
13 1 (0.13%) CentOS
13 1 (0.13%) CoreOS
13 1 (0.13%) Ubuntu
13 1 (0.13%) VME
13 1 (0.13%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 199 (24.97%) Continuous Improvement
2 179 (22.46%) Customer Service
3 116 (14.55%) Mentoring
4 100 (12.55%) Agile
5 94 (11.79%) Stakeholder Management
6 93 (11.67%) Decision-Making
7 91 (11.42%) AI
7 91 (11.42%) CI/CD
8 82 (10.29%) Roadmaps
9 77 (9.66%) CRM
10 75 (9.41%) DevOps
11 74 (9.28%) Analytics
12 73 (9.16%) Software Engineering
13 64 (8.03%) ERP
13 64 (8.03%) User Experience
14 61 (7.65%) Collaborative Working
15 51 (6.40%) Test Automation
16 49 (6.15%) Business Intelligence
16 49 (6.15%) Cybersecurity
17 48 (6.02%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 138 (17.31%) SQL
2 100 (12.55%) Python
3 60 (7.53%) C#
4 56 (7.03%) JavaScript
5 42 (5.27%) Java
6 28 (3.51%) PowerShell
7 18 (2.26%) TypeScript
8 16 (2.01%) Bash
9 15 (1.88%) PHP
10 12 (1.51%) C++
11 10 (1.25%) T-SQL
12 8 (1.00%) Ruby
13 6 (0.75%) Kotlin
13 6 (0.75%) R
13 6 (0.75%) Shell Script
14 5 (0.63%) Bicep
14 5 (0.63%) C
14 5 (0.63%) Data Analysis Expressions
15 4 (0.50%) Apex Code
16 3 (0.38%) Go
Qualifications
1 95 (11.92%) Degree
2 44 (5.52%) Security Cleared
3 26 (3.26%) DBS Check
4 23 (2.89%) SC Cleared
5 20 (2.51%) Microsoft Certification
6 16 (2.01%) Cisco Certification
6 16 (2.01%) Computer Science Degree
7 15 (1.88%) BPSS Clearance
7 15 (1.88%) DV Cleared
8 12 (1.51%) CCNP
8 12 (1.51%) HNC
9 9 (1.13%) Azure Certification
9 9 (1.13%) Master's Degree
10 8 (1.00%) CCNA
11 7 (0.88%) MCSA
11 7 (0.88%) Postgraduate
12 6 (0.75%) PMI Certification
13 5 (0.63%) ACCA
14 4 (0.50%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.50%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (5.40%) Data Quality
2 33 (4.14%) QA
3 32 (4.02%) GDPR
4 28 (3.51%) Accessibility
5 27 (3.39%) SLA
6 18 (2.26%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.51%) TickIT
8 8 (1.00%) ISO 9001
9 7 (0.88%) NIST
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%) WCAG
13 1 (0.13%) DICOM
13 1 (0.13%) GMP
13 1 (0.13%) IFRS
13 1 (0.13%) IFRS 9
13 1 (0.13%) PCI DSS
13 1 (0.13%) PMO
System Software
1 95 (11.92%) Active Directory
2 36 (4.52%) VMware Infrastructure
3 35 (4.39%) Docker
4 24 (3.01%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.75%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.50%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.50%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.38%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.25%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 34 (4.27%) Kubernetes
2 30 (3.76%) Microsoft Intune
3 24 (3.01%) Terraform
4 15 (1.88%) SCCM
5 13 (1.63%) Grafana
6 11 (1.38%) Ansible
6 11 (1.38%) Prometheus
7 10 (1.25%) FortiGate
8 7 (0.88%) Autotask
9 4 (0.50%) Argo
9 4 (0.50%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.38%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.25%) Nagios
11 2 (0.25%) Podman
11 2 (0.25%) Single Sign-On
12 1 (0.13%) Istio
12 1 (0.13%) linkerd
12 1 (0.13%) McAfee ePO
12 1 (0.13%) SCVMM
12 1 (0.13%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 284 (35.63%) Microsoft
2 40 (5.02%) VMware
3 29 (3.64%) SAP
4 17 (2.13%) Google
5 14 (1.76%) Cisco
6 13 (1.63%) ServiceNow
7 11 (1.38%) Adobe
7 11 (1.38%) Aruba
7 11 (1.38%) iManage
8 10 (1.25%) HubSpot
8 10 (1.25%) Salesforce
9 9 (1.13%) SonicWALL
9 9 (1.13%) Sophos
10 8 (1.00%) Meraki
10 8 (1.00%) Oracle
11 7 (0.88%) Juniper
11 7 (0.88%) OpenAI
11 7 (0.88%) Tanium
11 7 (0.88%) Workday
12 6 (0.75%) Intapp