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

6 months to
31 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 13 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -6 0 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 881 1,006 1,102
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.20% 19.28% 13.49%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 9.97% 21.46% 17.44%
Number of salaries quoted 669 491 486
10th Percentile £26,900 £25,087 £27,000
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 £61,083
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 8,834 4,688 6,320
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 72.24% 89.83% 77.36%
Number of salaries quoted 6,711 2,286 3,979
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 £79,300
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 31 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 31 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 -9 480 £50,000 - 277
Cheshire -10 148 £42,500 -2.86% 99
Merseyside -6 144 £42,500 -19.05% 47
Lancashire -4 70 £42,500 +21.43% 116
Cumbria -8 32 £32,500 -9.16% 12
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 78 (8.85%) SharePoint
2 55 (6.24%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.25%) IIS
4 5 (0.57%) 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%) 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 (5.22%) Microsoft Office
2 44 (4.99%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (1.70%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
5 4 (0.45%) Microsoft Project
6 3 (0.34%) Microsoft PowerPoint
7 2 (0.23%) Chatbot
7 2 (0.23%) Windchill
8 1 (0.11%) Acrobat
8 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 (0.45%) NEC Housing
4 4 (0.45%) SAP PP
5 3 (0.34%) Dynamics AX
5 3 (0.34%) NetSuite
5 3 (0.34%) Salesforce CRM
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%) Remedy ITSM
7 1 (0.11%) SAP ECC
Cloud Services
1 195 (22.13%) Azure
2 159 (18.05%) Microsoft 365
3 105 (11.92%) Power Platform
4 103 (11.69%) AWS
5 47 (5.33%) PowerApps
6 40 (4.54%) GCP
7 37 (4.20%) SaaS
8 34 (3.86%) Entra ID
8 34 (3.86%) Power Automate
9 30 (3.41%) Azure DevOps
9 30 (3.41%) GitHub
10 29 (3.29%) Microsoft Copilot
10 29 (3.29%) OneDrive
11 28 (3.18%) Dynamics 365
12 21 (2.38%) Microsoft Purview
13 15 (1.70%) Serverless
14 12 (1.36%) Boomi
14 12 (1.36%) Google Analytics
15 10 (1.14%) Copilot Studio
15 10 (1.14%) Snowflake
Communications & Networking
1 61 (6.92%) Firewall
2 57 (6.47%) DNS
3 52 (5.90%) DHCP
4 42 (4.77%) TCP/IP
5 40 (4.54%) VPN
6 32 (3.63%) Wireless
7 31 (3.52%) VLAN
8 28 (3.18%) VoIP
9 24 (2.72%) Wi-Fi
10 21 (2.38%) Network Security
11 20 (2.27%) LAN
12 17 (1.93%) WAN
13 15 (1.70%) Broadband
14 10 (1.14%) Unified Communications
15 8 (0.91%) SD-WAN
15 8 (0.91%) Structured Cabling
16 7 (0.79%) BGP
16 7 (0.79%) OSPF
17 6 (0.68%) IP Telephony
17 6 (0.68%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 66 (7.49%) Power BI
2 53 (6.02%) SQL Server
3 28 (3.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 24 (2.72%) MySQL
5 20 (2.27%) 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 (1.02%) PostgreSQL
8 9 (1.02%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 7 (0.79%) Electronic Patient Records
9 7 (0.79%) MongoDB
9 7 (0.79%) Power Query
9 7 (0.79%) 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 (0.45%) Neo4j
Development Applications
1 38 (4.31%) Git
2 34 (3.86%) JIRA
3 10 (1.14%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.79%) Bitbucket
5 6 (0.68%) GitLab
6 5 (0.57%) Cypress.io
7 4 (0.45%) Cucumber
7 4 (0.45%) 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
1 362 (41.09%) Social Skills
2 267 (30.31%) Analytical Skills
3 129 (14.64%) Finance
4 67 (7.60%) Law
5 65 (7.38%) Manufacturing
6 57 (6.47%) Organisational Skills
7 56 (6.36%) Legal
8 44 (4.99%) Retail
9 35 (3.97%) Marketing
10 30 (3.41%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 26 (2.95%) Telecoms
12 22 (2.50%) Public Sector
13 16 (1.82%) Banking
14 15 (1.70%) 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 (1.02%) Billing
18 9 (1.02%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 121 (13.73%) Analyst
2 120 (13.62%) Developer
3 118 (13.39%) Senior
4 65 (7.38%) IT Support
5 55 (6.24%) Support Engineer
6 48 (5.45%) Lead
7 42 (4.77%) Senior Developer
7 42 (4.77%) Software Engineer
8 41 (4.65%) Consultant
9 38 (4.31%) Support Technician
10 35 (3.97%) Support Analyst
11 29 (3.29%) IT Engineer
12 28 (3.18%) Administrator
12 28 (3.18%) IT Technician
13 26 (2.95%) IT Support Engineer
14 24 (2.72%) IT Support Technician
14 24 (2.72%) Junior
15 21 (2.38%) Applications Support
15 21 (2.38%) Technical Analyst
15 21 (2.38%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (6.02%) .NET
2 45 (5.11%) HTML
3 43 (4.88%) React
4 38 (4.31%) REST
5 24 (2.72%) AngularJS
5 24 (2.72%) CSS
5 24 (2.72%) Middleware
6 23 (2.61%) Terraform
7 22 (2.50%) Spring
7 22 (2.50%) Vue
8 20 (2.27%) Spring Boot
9 18 (2.04%) XML
10 17 (1.93%) 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 (7.38%) Driving Licence
2 54 (6.13%) Onboarding
3 36 (4.09%) Product Ownership
4 32 (3.63%) Cloud Native
5 31 (3.52%) Self-Motivation
6 21 (2.38%) Management Information System
7 19 (2.16%) Distributed Systems
8 17 (1.93%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
9 16 (1.82%) 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 (1.02%) Data Centre
14 9 (1.02%) Enterprise Cloud
14 9 (1.02%) FMCG
14 9 (1.02%) Low-Code
15 8 (0.91%) AI Agents
Operating Systems
1 133 (15.10%) Windows
2 64 (7.26%) Windows Server
3 36 (4.09%) Linux
4 29 (3.29%) Windows 10
5 17 (1.93%) Apple iOS
6 10 (1.14%) Mac OS
7 9 (1.02%) Android
8 7 (0.79%) 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
1 242 (27.47%) Continuous Improvement
2 189 (21.45%) Customer Service
3 116 (13.17%) Mentoring
4 114 (12.94%) Agile
5 113 (12.83%) AI
6 111 (12.60%) Stakeholder Management
7 103 (11.69%) Decision-Making
8 96 (10.90%) CI/CD
9 95 (10.78%) CRM
10 84 (9.53%) DevOps
10 84 (9.53%) Roadmaps
11 82 (9.31%) Software Engineering
12 79 (8.97%) Analytics
13 73 (8.29%) ERP
14 64 (7.26%) User Experience
15 62 (7.04%) Collaborative Working
16 60 (6.81%) Business Intelligence
17 59 (6.70%) Cybersecurity
18 55 (6.24%) Project Delivery
18 55 (6.24%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 173 (19.64%) SQL
2 112 (12.71%) Python
3 66 (7.49%) C#
4 64 (7.26%) JavaScript
5 48 (5.45%) Java
6 38 (4.31%) PowerShell
7 23 (2.61%) TypeScript
8 20 (2.27%) PHP
9 17 (1.93%) Bash
10 16 (1.82%) C++
11 13 (1.48%) Shell Script
12 10 (1.14%) T-SQL
13 8 (0.91%) C
13 8 (0.91%) Ruby
14 7 (0.79%) Go
15 6 (0.68%) R
16 5 (0.57%) Apex Code
16 5 (0.57%) Bicep
16 5 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
17 3 (0.34%) SOQL
Qualifications
1 114 (12.94%) Degree
2 47 (5.33%) Security Cleared
3 26 (2.95%) Microsoft Certification
4 25 (2.84%) HNC
5 24 (2.72%) SC Cleared
6 23 (2.61%) DBS Check
7 18 (2.04%) DV Cleared
8 17 (1.93%) Cisco Certification
9 16 (1.82%) Computer Science Degree
10 15 (1.70%) BPSS Clearance
11 13 (1.48%) CCNP
12 11 (1.25%) Azure Certification
13 9 (1.02%) HND
14 8 (0.91%) CCNA
14 8 (0.91%) Master's Degree
15 7 (0.79%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
15 7 (0.79%) MCSA
15 7 (0.79%) Postgraduate
16 6 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
16 6 (0.68%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 45 (5.11%) Data Quality
2 39 (4.43%) QA
3 32 (3.63%) Accessibility
3 32 (3.63%) GDPR
4 18 (2.04%) SLA
5 12 (1.36%) TickIT
6 10 (1.14%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 8 (0.91%) 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%) GMP
10 1 (0.11%) IFRS
10 1 (0.11%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.11%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.11%) Software Quality Assurance
System Software
1 96 (10.90%) Active Directory
2 43 (4.88%) Docker
3 33 (3.75%) VMware Infrastructure
4 22 (2.50%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.68%) 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 34 (3.86%) Kubernetes
2 31 (3.52%) Microsoft Intune
3 13 (1.48%) Grafana
4 11 (1.25%) FortiGate
5 10 (1.14%) Prometheus
6 9 (1.02%) Ansible
7 8 (0.91%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (0.45%) Argo
8 4 (0.45%) 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
1 301 (34.17%) Microsoft
2 42 (4.77%) VMware
3 37 (4.20%) SAP
4 27 (3.06%) Google
5 19 (2.16%) Cisco
6 16 (1.82%) ServiceNow
7 15 (1.70%) Salesforce
8 13 (1.48%) Aruba
9 12 (1.36%) iManage
9 12 (1.36%) Oracle
10 10 (1.14%) Adobe
11 9 (1.02%) HubSpot
12 8 (0.91%) Juniper
12 8 (0.91%) Meraki
12 8 (0.91%) OpenAI
12 8 (0.91%) SonicWALL
12 8 (0.91%) Sophos
12 8 (0.91%) Tanium
12 8 (0.91%) YouTube
13 7 (0.79%) Aderant