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

6 months to
12 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 12 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -5 0 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 861 1,022 1,146
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.28% 19.79% 13.65%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.13% 21.87% 17.55%
Number of salaries quoted 672 499 562
10th Percentile £26,500 £25,000 £27,500
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £45,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year - - -5.26%
75th Percentile £60,000 £60,000 £61,000
90th Percentile £75,000 £75,250 £76,250
England median annual salary £47,500 £46,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year +2.15% -7.00% -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 8,498 4,674 6,529
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.81% 90.49% 77.78%
Number of salaries quoted 6,496 2,277 4,403
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £39,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £52,000
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -3.85% -5.45%
75th Percentile £75,000 £66,250 £65,603
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +9.09% - -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 12 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 12 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 -12 458 £50,000 - 470
Merseyside -5 151 £42,500 -7.61% 78
Cheshire -10 144 £42,500 +9.68% 144
Lancashire -1 70 £40,000 +18.64% 91
Cumbria -10 31 £32,500 -8.96% 17
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 74 (8.59%) SharePoint
2 56 (6.50%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.28%) IIS
4 5 (0.58%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.58%) Confluence
5 2 (0.23%) Apache
5 2 (0.23%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.23%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.23%) Moodle
5 2 (0.23%) nginx
5 2 (0.23%) Totara
5 2 (0.23%) WordPress
6 1 (0.12%) CMS
6 1 (0.12%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 1 (0.12%) Umbraco
6 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
6 1 (0.12%) WebSphere
Applications
1 46 (5.34%) Microsoft Excel
2 39 (4.53%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (1.74%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.70%) Spreadsheet
5 3 (0.35%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 3 (0.35%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.23%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.23%) Windchill
7 1 (0.12%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.12%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 22 (2.56%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.51%) SAP ERP
3 8 (0.93%) Dynamics CRM
4 6 (0.70%) Magento
5 4 (0.46%) Dynamics AX
5 4 (0.46%) NEC Housing
5 4 (0.46%) SAP PP
6 3 (0.35%) Salesforce CRM
7 2 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
7 2 (0.23%) Shopify
8 1 (0.12%) 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%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 192 (22.30%) Azure
2 165 (19.16%) Microsoft 365
3 102 (11.85%) Power Platform
4 98 (11.38%) AWS
5 44 (5.11%) PowerApps
6 39 (4.53%) GCP
7 35 (4.07%) Power Automate
8 33 (3.83%) SaaS
9 32 (3.72%) Entra ID
10 29 (3.37%) Azure DevOps
10 29 (3.37%) Microsoft Copilot
11 28 (3.25%) Dynamics 365
11 28 (3.25%) GitHub
11 28 (3.25%) OneDrive
12 22 (2.56%) Microsoft Purview
13 15 (1.74%) Serverless
14 12 (1.39%) Boomi
15 11 (1.28%) Snowflake
16 10 (1.16%) Copilot Studio
16 10 (1.16%) Google Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 65 (7.55%) Firewall
2 54 (6.27%) DNS
3 50 (5.81%) DHCP
4 40 (4.65%) TCP/IP
5 37 (4.30%) VPN
6 31 (3.60%) Wireless
7 30 (3.48%) VLAN
8 27 (3.14%) VoIP
9 25 (2.90%) Wi-Fi
10 22 (2.56%) Network Security
11 20 (2.32%) LAN
12 19 (2.21%) WAN
13 17 (1.97%) Broadband
14 10 (1.16%) SD-WAN
15 9 (1.05%) Structured Cabling
16 8 (0.93%) Unified Communications
17 7 (0.81%) BGP
17 7 (0.81%) OSPF
18 6 (0.70%) IP Telephony
18 6 (0.70%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 61 (7.08%) Power BI
2 49 (5.69%) SQL Server
3 30 (3.48%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 22 (2.56%) MySQL
5 20 (2.32%) Data Warehouse
6 11 (1.28%) NoSQL
7 10 (1.16%) Big Data
7 10 (1.16%) BigQuery
7 10 (1.16%) PostgreSQL
8 9 (1.05%) Looker
8 9 (1.05%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 7 (0.81%) Electronic Patient Records
9 7 (0.81%) MongoDB
9 7 (0.81%) Redis
10 6 (0.70%) Amazon Redshift
11 5 (0.58%) MariaDB
11 5 (0.58%) Power Query
11 5 (0.58%) Tableau
12 4 (0.46%) Azure SQL Database
12 4 (0.46%) Neo4j
Development Applications
1 35 (4.07%) Git
2 31 (3.60%) JIRA
3 10 (1.16%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.81%) Bitbucket
5 5 (0.58%) GitLab
6 4 (0.46%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.46%) Cypress.io
6 4 (0.46%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.35%) Claude Code
7 3 (0.35%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.23%) 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 DOORS
9 1 (0.12%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.12%) webpack
General
1 334 (38.79%) Social Skills
2 254 (29.50%) Analytical Skills
3 122 (14.17%) Finance
4 73 (8.48%) Manufacturing
5 65 (7.55%) Law
6 57 (6.62%) Organisational Skills
7 51 (5.92%) Legal
8 43 (4.99%) Retail
9 34 (3.95%) Marketing
10 27 (3.14%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 25 (2.90%) Telecoms
12 22 (2.56%) Public Sector
13 15 (1.74%) Banking
14 14 (1.63%) Aerospace
14 14 (1.63%) Games
15 11 (1.28%) Documentation Skills
16 10 (1.16%) Electronics
17 9 (1.05%) Billing
17 9 (1.05%) German Language
17 9 (1.05%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 118 (13.70%) Senior
2 117 (13.59%) Developer
3 116 (13.47%) Analyst
4 70 (8.13%) IT Support
5 63 (7.32%) Support Engineer
6 47 (5.46%) Lead
7 44 (5.11%) Senior Developer
8 43 (4.99%) Consultant
9 41 (4.76%) Software Engineer
10 39 (4.53%) Support Technician
11 35 (4.07%) IT Engineer
12 32 (3.72%) IT Support Engineer
12 32 (3.72%) Support Analyst
13 27 (3.14%) Administrator
13 27 (3.14%) IT Technician
14 24 (2.79%) Junior
15 23 (2.67%) IT Support Technician
16 20 (2.32%) Technical Analyst
17 19 (2.21%) Applications Support
17 19 (2.21%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (6.04%) .NET
2 44 (5.11%) HTML
3 43 (4.99%) React
4 35 (4.07%) REST
5 24 (2.79%) AngularJS
5 24 (2.79%) Middleware
6 23 (2.67%) CSS
6 23 (2.67%) Vue
7 22 (2.56%) Spring
8 20 (2.32%) Spring Boot
9 18 (2.09%) XML
10 17 (1.97%) EDI
10 17 (1.97%) SOAP
11 13 (1.51%) JSON
11 13 (1.51%) Node.js
12 11 (1.28%) Next.js
12 11 (1.28%) Web Services
13 10 (1.16%) Laravel
13 10 (1.16%) React Native
13 10 (1.16%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 64 (7.43%) Driving Licence
2 51 (5.92%) Onboarding
3 35 (4.07%) Product Ownership
4 32 (3.72%) Cloud Native
5 28 (3.25%) Self-Motivation
6 19 (2.21%) Distributed Systems
7 16 (1.86%) Management Information System
8 15 (1.74%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 14 (1.63%) Mobile App
9 14 (1.63%) Security Posture
10 13 (1.51%) Replication
11 11 (1.28%) CCTV
11 11 (1.28%) Data Centre
11 11 (1.28%) NHS
12 10 (1.16%) IoT
13 9 (1.05%) Enterprise Cloud
14 8 (0.93%) AI Agents
14 8 (0.93%) CMDB
14 8 (0.93%) Cyberattack
14 8 (0.93%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 139 (16.14%) Windows
2 65 (7.55%) Windows Server
3 34 (3.95%) Windows 10
4 33 (3.83%) Linux
5 17 (1.97%) Apple iOS
6 11 (1.28%) Android
7 10 (1.16%) Mac OS
8 5 (0.58%) Windows Server 2016
9 4 (0.46%) Unix
10 3 (0.35%) Windows 7
10 3 (0.35%) Windows 8
10 3 (0.35%) Windows Server 2019
11 2 (0.23%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 2 (0.23%) Solaris
12 1 (0.12%) Embedded Linux
12 1 (0.12%) Ubuntu
12 1 (0.12%) VME
12 1 (0.12%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 227 (26.36%) Continuous Improvement
2 188 (21.84%) Customer Service
3 114 (13.24%) Mentoring
4 108 (12.54%) Agile
4 108 (12.54%) Stakeholder Management
5 99 (11.50%) Decision-Making
6 95 (11.03%) AI
7 94 (10.92%) CI/CD
8 89 (10.34%) CRM
9 84 (9.76%) Roadmaps
10 82 (9.52%) DevOps
11 77 (8.94%) Software Engineering
12 76 (8.83%) Analytics
13 73 (8.48%) ERP
14 68 (7.90%) User Experience
15 62 (7.20%) Collaborative Working
16 57 (6.62%) Business Intelligence
17 52 (6.04%) Cybersecurity
17 52 (6.04%) Test Automation
18 49 (5.69%) Service Delivery
Programming Languages
1 161 (18.70%) SQL
2 106 (12.31%) Python
3 66 (7.67%) C#
4 59 (6.85%) JavaScript
5 43 (4.99%) Java
6 29 (3.37%) PowerShell
7 20 (2.32%) TypeScript
8 19 (2.21%) PHP
9 15 (1.74%) Bash
9 15 (1.74%) C++
10 12 (1.39%) Shell Script
11 10 (1.16%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.93%) C
12 8 (0.93%) Ruby
13 6 (0.70%) Go
13 6 (0.70%) R
14 5 (0.58%) Apex Code
14 5 (0.58%) Bicep
14 5 (0.58%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 5 (0.58%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 103 (11.96%) Degree
2 48 (5.57%) Security Cleared
3 24 (2.79%) Microsoft Certification
3 24 (2.79%) SC Cleared
4 23 (2.67%) HNC
5 21 (2.44%) DBS Check
6 17 (1.97%) BPSS Clearance
6 17 (1.97%) Cisco Certification
6 17 (1.97%) DV Cleared
7 15 (1.74%) Computer Science Degree
8 13 (1.51%) CCNP
9 11 (1.28%) Azure Certification
10 9 (1.05%) Master's Degree
11 8 (0.93%) CCNA
12 7 (0.81%) HND
12 7 (0.81%) MCSA
12 7 (0.81%) Postgraduate
13 6 (0.70%) ACCA
13 6 (0.70%) PMI Certification
14 5 (0.58%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 43 (4.99%) Data Quality
2 37 (4.30%) QA
3 33 (3.83%) GDPR
4 30 (3.48%) Accessibility
5 25 (2.90%) SLA
6 13 (1.51%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 12 (1.39%) TickIT
8 8 (0.93%) NIST
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 3 (0.35%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.23%) ISO 9001
11 2 (0.23%) PMO
11 2 (0.23%) WCAG
12 1 (0.12%) DICOM
12 1 (0.12%) GMP
12 1 (0.12%) IFRS
12 1 (0.12%) PCI DSS
12 1 (0.12%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 99 (11.50%) Active Directory
2 40 (4.65%) Docker
3 36 (4.18%) VMware Infrastructure
4 22 (2.56%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.70%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.46%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.35%) Virtual Desktop
7 3 (0.35%) VMware Workstation
8 2 (0.23%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 32 (3.72%) Kubernetes
2 30 (3.48%) Microsoft Intune
3 22 (2.56%) Terraform
4 13 (1.51%) Grafana
5 12 (1.39%) FortiGate
6 10 (1.16%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.05%) Ansible
7 9 (1.05%) SCCM
8 5 (0.58%) Single Sign-On
9 4 (0.46%) Argo
9 4 (0.46%) Autotask
9 4 (0.46%) Microsoft Clustering
10 3 (0.35%) Jamf Pro
11 2 (0.23%) Nagios
11 2 (0.23%) Nessus
11 2 (0.23%) Podman
12 1 (0.12%) Istio
12 1 (0.12%) linkerd
12 1 (0.12%) vCenter Server
12 1 (0.12%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 300 (34.84%) Microsoft
2 44 (5.11%) VMware
3 32 (3.72%) SAP
4 27 (3.14%) Google
5 18 (2.09%) Cisco
6 15 (1.74%) ServiceNow
7 14 (1.63%) Salesforce
8 13 (1.51%) Aruba
9 12 (1.39%) iManage
10 11 (1.28%) Oracle
11 10 (1.16%) Adobe
12 9 (1.05%) HubSpot
12 9 (1.05%) SonicWALL
12 9 (1.05%) Sophos
13 8 (0.93%) Juniper
13 8 (0.93%) Meraki
13 8 (0.93%) OpenAI
13 8 (0.93%) Tanium
14 7 (0.81%) Aderant
15 5 (0.58%) Databricks