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

6 months to
2 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 12 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -5 0 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 888 987 1,106
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.26% 19.03% 13.52%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.03% 21.22% 17.45%
Number of salaries quoted 668 476 484
10th Percentile £26,850 £25,087 £27,000
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £32,375
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,625 £45,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year +0.27% +1.11% -5.26%
75th Percentile £60,000 £60,000 £61,110
90th Percentile £75,000 £75,000 £77,500
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 8,852 4,651 6,337
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.35% 89.68% 77.45%
Number of salaries quoted 6,725 2,263 3,976
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,500 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £39,750
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 £65,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £80,000 £79,413
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 2 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 2 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 -10 484 £50,000 - 534
Cheshire -9 150 £42,500 -2.86% 121
Merseyside -6 143 £43,250 -17.62% 64
Lancashire -4 72 £42,500 +23.70% 126
Cumbria -7 32 £32,500 -9.35% 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 77 (8.67%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.19%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.24%) IIS
4 5 (0.56%) Apache Spark
5 3 (0.34%) Apache Airflow
6 2 (0.23%) Apache
6 2 (0.23%) ArcGIS
6 2 (0.23%) CMS
6 2 (0.23%) Confluence
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%) 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 46 (5.18%) Microsoft Office
2 44 (4.95%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (1.69%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
5 4 (0.45%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 4 (0.45%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.23%) Chatbot
6 2 (0.23%) Windchill
7 1 (0.11%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.11%) Simulink
Business Applications
1 18 (2.03%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.13%) Dynamics CRM
3 9 (1.01%) SAP ERP
4 5 (0.56%) Magento
5 4 (0.45%) NEC Housing
5 4 (0.45%) SAP PP
6 3 (0.34%) Dynamics AX
6 3 (0.34%) NetSuite
6 3 (0.34%) Payment Gateway
6 3 (0.34%) Salesforce CRM
7 2 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
7 2 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
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%) Remedy ITSM
8 1 (0.11%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 194 (21.85%) Azure
2 156 (17.57%) Microsoft 365
3 107 (12.05%) AWS
4 105 (11.82%) Power Platform
5 46 (5.18%) PowerApps
6 40 (4.50%) GCP
7 38 (4.28%) SaaS
8 34 (3.83%) Entra ID
9 32 (3.60%) Power Automate
10 31 (3.49%) GitHub
11 30 (3.38%) Azure DevOps
12 29 (3.27%) Microsoft Copilot
12 29 (3.27%) OneDrive
13 26 (2.93%) Dynamics 365
14 20 (2.25%) Microsoft Purview
15 16 (1.80%) Serverless
16 12 (1.35%) Boomi
16 12 (1.35%) Google Analytics
17 10 (1.13%) GitHub Actions
17 10 (1.13%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 60 (6.76%) DNS
1 60 (6.76%) Firewall
2 54 (6.08%) DHCP
3 42 (4.73%) TCP/IP
4 41 (4.62%) VPN
5 32 (3.60%) Wireless
6 30 (3.38%) VLAN
7 27 (3.04%) VoIP
8 24 (2.70%) Wi-Fi
9 21 (2.36%) Network Security
10 19 (2.14%) LAN
11 17 (1.91%) WAN
12 15 (1.69%) Broadband
13 10 (1.13%) Unified Communications
14 9 (1.01%) SD-WAN
15 8 (0.90%) Structured Cabling
16 7 (0.79%) BGP
16 7 (0.79%) OSPF
17 6 (0.68%) SAN
17 6 (0.68%) SNMP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 66 (7.43%) Power BI
2 53 (5.97%) SQL Server
3 28 (3.15%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 24 (2.70%) MySQL
5 20 (2.25%) Data Warehouse
6 11 (1.24%) BigQuery
7 10 (1.13%) Big Data
7 10 (1.13%) Looker
7 10 (1.13%) NoSQL
8 9 (1.01%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 8 (0.90%) MongoDB
9 8 (0.90%) PostgreSQL
9 8 (0.90%) Power Query
9 8 (0.90%) Redis
10 7 (0.79%) Electronic Patient Records
11 6 (0.68%) Amazon Redshift
12 5 (0.56%) Azure SQL Database
12 5 (0.56%) MariaDB
12 5 (0.56%) Relational Database
12 5 (0.56%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 38 (4.28%) Git
2 33 (3.72%) JIRA
3 11 (1.24%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.79%) Bitbucket
4 7 (0.79%) GitLab
5 5 (0.56%) Cypress.io
6 4 (0.45%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.45%) Robot Framework
7 3 (0.34%) Claude Code
7 3 (0.34%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.23%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
9 1 (0.11%) Artifactory
9 1 (0.11%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.11%) gulp
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Forms
9 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.11%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.11%) REST Assured
9 1 (0.11%) Selenium
9 1 (0.11%) webpack
General
1 369 (41.55%) Social Skills
2 274 (30.86%) Analytical Skills
3 129 (14.53%) Finance
4 69 (7.77%) Law
5 66 (7.43%) Manufacturing
6 60 (6.76%) Legal
7 57 (6.42%) Organisational Skills
8 45 (5.07%) Retail
9 35 (3.94%) Marketing
10 30 (3.38%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 26 (2.93%) Telecoms
12 24 (2.70%) Public Sector
13 16 (1.80%) Banking
14 15 (1.69%) Aerospace
15 13 (1.46%) Games
16 11 (1.24%) Billing
16 11 (1.24%) Documentation Skills
17 10 (1.13%) Electronics
17 10 (1.13%) German Language
18 9 (1.01%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 123 (13.85%) Analyst
2 121 (13.63%) Senior
3 118 (13.29%) Developer
4 65 (7.32%) IT Support
5 55 (6.19%) Support Engineer
6 48 (5.41%) Lead
7 43 (4.84%) Senior Developer
8 42 (4.73%) Software Engineer
9 41 (4.62%) Consultant
10 38 (4.28%) Support Technician
11 35 (3.94%) Support Analyst
12 29 (3.27%) IT Engineer
13 28 (3.15%) Administrator
13 28 (3.15%) IT Technician
14 26 (2.93%) IT Support Engineer
15 24 (2.70%) IT Support Technician
15 24 (2.70%) Junior
16 21 (2.36%) Applications Support
16 21 (2.36%) Technical Analyst
16 21 (2.36%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 51 (5.74%) .NET
2 44 (4.95%) HTML
3 43 (4.84%) React
4 39 (4.39%) REST
5 24 (2.70%) Middleware
5 24 (2.70%) Terraform
6 23 (2.59%) AngularJS
6 23 (2.59%) CSS
7 22 (2.48%) Spring
8 21 (2.36%) Vue
9 20 (2.25%) Spring Boot
10 19 (2.14%) XML
11 17 (1.91%) SOAP
12 16 (1.80%) EDI
13 14 (1.58%) Node.js
14 13 (1.46%) JSON
15 11 (1.24%) Next.js
15 11 (1.24%) Web Services
16 10 (1.13%) Kafka
16 10 (1.13%) React Native
Miscellaneous
1 65 (7.32%) Driving Licence
2 56 (6.31%) Onboarding
3 36 (4.05%) Product Ownership
4 34 (3.83%) Self-Motivation
5 33 (3.72%) Cloud Native
6 23 (2.59%) Management Information System
7 18 (2.03%) Distributed Systems
7 18 (2.03%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 17 (1.91%) Security Posture
9 14 (1.58%) Replication
10 13 (1.46%) Mobile App
11 12 (1.35%) NHS
12 11 (1.24%) Enterprise Software
12 11 (1.24%) IoT
13 10 (1.13%) CCTV
13 10 (1.13%) Low-Code
14 9 (1.01%) Data Centre
14 9 (1.01%) Enterprise Cloud
14 9 (1.01%) FMCG
15 8 (0.90%) Cyberattack
Operating Systems
1 134 (15.09%) Windows
2 64 (7.21%) Windows Server
3 38 (4.28%) Linux
4 27 (3.04%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.91%) Apple iOS
6 10 (1.13%) Mac OS
7 9 (1.01%) Android
8 7 (0.79%) Windows Server 2016
9 6 (0.68%) Unix
10 4 (0.45%) 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
1 250 (28.15%) Continuous Improvement
2 192 (21.62%) Customer Service
3 121 (13.63%) Mentoring
4 119 (13.40%) AI
5 116 (13.06%) Agile
6 115 (12.95%) Stakeholder Management
7 104 (11.71%) Decision-Making
8 97 (10.92%) CI/CD
9 96 (10.81%) CRM
10 85 (9.57%) DevOps
11 84 (9.46%) Roadmaps
12 83 (9.35%) Software Engineering
13 79 (8.90%) Analytics
14 73 (8.22%) ERP
15 64 (7.21%) User Experience
16 63 (7.09%) Collaborative Working
17 60 (6.76%) Business Intelligence
18 59 (6.64%) Cybersecurity
19 56 (6.31%) Project Delivery
19 56 (6.31%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 173 (19.48%) SQL
2 114 (12.84%) Python
3 64 (7.21%) C#
3 64 (7.21%) JavaScript
4 48 (5.41%) Java
5 39 (4.39%) PowerShell
6 24 (2.70%) TypeScript
7 20 (2.25%) PHP
8 19 (2.14%) Bash
9 16 (1.80%) C++
10 13 (1.46%) Shell Script
11 10 (1.13%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.90%) C
12 8 (0.90%) Ruby
13 7 (0.79%) Go
14 6 (0.68%) R
15 5 (0.56%) Apex Code
15 5 (0.56%) Bicep
15 5 (0.56%) Data Analysis Expressions
16 3 (0.34%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 114 (12.84%) Degree
2 48 (5.41%) Security Cleared
3 25 (2.82%) Microsoft Certification
3 25 (2.82%) SC Cleared
4 24 (2.70%) HNC
5 22 (2.48%) DBS Check
6 19 (2.14%) DV Cleared
7 16 (1.80%) Cisco Certification
7 16 (1.80%) Computer Science Degree
8 15 (1.69%) BPSS Clearance
9 13 (1.46%) CCNP
10 12 (1.35%) Azure Certification
11 9 (1.01%) HND
12 8 (0.90%) Master's Degree
13 7 (0.79%) CCNA
13 7 (0.79%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
13 7 (0.79%) Postgraduate
14 6 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
14 6 (0.68%) MCSA
14 6 (0.68%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 45 (5.07%) Data Quality
2 39 (4.39%) QA
3 33 (3.72%) Accessibility
3 33 (3.72%) GDPR
4 18 (2.03%) SLA
5 12 (1.35%) TickIT
6 9 (1.01%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 8 (0.90%) NIST
8 4 (0.45%) ISO/IEC 14443
8 4 (0.45%) ISO/IEC 7816
9 2 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
9 2 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.23%) PMO
9 2 (0.23%) WCAG
10 1 (0.11%) DICOM
10 1 (0.11%) IFRS
10 1 (0.11%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.11%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.11%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.11%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 98 (11.04%) Active Directory
2 45 (5.07%) Docker
3 34 (3.83%) VMware Infrastructure
4 22 (2.48%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.79%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.45%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.45%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.23%) Firmware
8 1 (0.11%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 36 (4.05%) Kubernetes
2 31 (3.49%) Microsoft Intune
3 13 (1.46%) Grafana
4 12 (1.35%) FortiGate
5 11 (1.24%) Single Sign-On
6 10 (1.13%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.01%) Ansible
8 4 (0.45%) Argo
8 4 (0.45%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.34%) SCCM
10 2 (0.23%) Autotask
10 2 (0.23%) Jamf Pro
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 (34.01%) Microsoft
2 44 (4.95%) VMware
3 36 (4.05%) SAP
4 29 (3.27%) Google
5 18 (2.03%) Cisco
6 16 (1.80%) ServiceNow
7 15 (1.69%) Salesforce
8 14 (1.58%) Oracle
9 13 (1.46%) Aruba
9 13 (1.46%) iManage
9 13 (1.46%) YouTube
10 10 (1.13%) Adobe
11 9 (1.01%) HubSpot
12 8 (0.90%) Aderant
12 8 (0.90%) Juniper
12 8 (0.90%) OpenAI
12 8 (0.90%) SonicWALL
12 8 (0.90%) Sophos
12 8 (0.90%) Tanium
13 7 (0.79%) Sage