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 30 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
30 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 22 7 7
Rank change year-on-year -15 0 +14
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 704 993 1,258
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 6.34% 21.68% 12.72%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 8.84% 22.68% 15.84%
Number of salaries quoted 547 495 896
10th Percentile £26,500 £26,250 £26,188
25th Percentile £31,250 £33,500 £31,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £45,000 £47,000 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.26% +4.44% -5.26%
75th Percentile £61,250 £63,500 £61,250
90th Percentile £75,000 £77,500 £77,500
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year -5.00% - -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 7,961 4,378 7,942
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.69% 95.59% 80.30%
Number of salaries quoted 5,335 1,981 6,240
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,500 £27,500
25th Percentile £40,000 £37,500 £37,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% +5.00% -9.09%
75th Percentile £72,500 £70,000 £65,000
90th Percentile £90,000 £85,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £60,000 £59,400 £55,000
% change year-on-year +1.01% +8.00% -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 30 May 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 30 May 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 -18 361 £50,000 - 206
Merseyside -5 115 £42,500 +6.25% 31
Cheshire -20 112 £42,500 +14.86% 49
Lancashire -8 75 £36,500 -8.75% 65
Cumbria -5 36 £35,000 -0.94% 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 59 (8.38%) SharePoint
2 45 (6.39%) Microsoft Exchange
3 7 (0.99%) Confluence
4 4 (0.57%) Apache Spark
4 4 (0.57%) Moodle
4 4 (0.57%) Totara
5 2 (0.28%) Apache
5 2 (0.28%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.28%) CMS
5 2 (0.28%) IIS
5 2 (0.28%) WordPress
6 1 (0.14%) nginx
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 1 (0.14%) Umbraco
Applications
1 43 (6.11%) Microsoft Excel
2 26 (3.69%) Microsoft Office
3 9 (1.28%) MS Visio
4 4 (0.57%) Simulink
5 3 (0.43%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.28%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.14%) Acrobat
7 1 (0.14%) Trello
7 1 (0.14%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 25 (3.55%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.85%) SAP ERP
3 7 (0.99%) Magento
4 6 (0.85%) Workday HCM
5 5 (0.71%) Dynamics CRM
6 4 (0.57%) Dynamics AX
6 4 (0.57%) SAP PP
6 4 (0.57%) Shopify
7 2 (0.28%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.14%) NetSuite
8 1 (0.14%) Odoo
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 160 (22.73%) Azure
2 140 (19.89%) Microsoft 365
3 78 (11.08%) Power Platform
4 71 (10.09%) AWS
5 31 (4.40%) Entra ID
6 28 (3.98%) Dynamics 365
6 28 (3.98%) SaaS
7 26 (3.69%) PowerApps
8 25 (3.55%) Azure DevOps
8 25 (3.55%) GCP
9 24 (3.41%) GitHub
10 21 (2.98%) Microsoft Purview
10 21 (2.98%) Power Automate
11 15 (2.13%) Serverless
12 13 (1.85%) OneDrive
13 12 (1.70%) Boomi
14 11 (1.56%) Microsoft Copilot
15 8 (1.14%) Azure Logic Apps
15 8 (1.14%) Azure Sentinel
16 7 (0.99%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 58 (8.24%) Firewall
2 35 (4.97%) DNS
3 34 (4.83%) VLAN
4 32 (4.55%) DHCP
5 28 (3.98%) VPN
6 25 (3.55%) Wi-Fi
7 23 (3.27%) VoIP
8 22 (3.13%) Wireless
9 20 (2.84%) TCP/IP
10 15 (2.13%) WAN
11 14 (1.99%) Network Security
12 12 (1.70%) LAN
12 12 (1.70%) Unified Communications
13 11 (1.56%) Structured Cabling
14 10 (1.42%) Broadband
15 9 (1.28%) SD-WAN
16 6 (0.85%) IP Telephony
16 6 (0.85%) SAN
16 6 (0.85%) Telepresence
16 6 (0.85%) WebEx
Database & Business Intelligence
1 53 (7.53%) Power BI
2 31 (4.40%) SQL Server Reporting Services
3 27 (3.84%) SQL Server
4 11 (1.56%) Data Warehouse
4 11 (1.56%) MySQL
5 10 (1.42%) NoSQL
6 9 (1.28%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.28%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 7 (0.99%) Big Data
8 5 (0.71%) MongoDB
8 5 (0.71%) Power Query
9 4 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
9 4 (0.57%) Looker
9 4 (0.57%) Tableau
10 3 (0.43%) OLAP
10 3 (0.43%) PowerPivot
10 3 (0.43%) Relational Database
10 3 (0.43%) SAP HANA
10 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Analysis Services
11 2 (0.28%) Amazon Redshift
Development Applications
1 29 (4.12%) JIRA
2 28 (3.98%) Git
3 7 (0.99%) GitLab
4 6 (0.85%) Bitbucket
4 6 (0.85%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.28%) Claude Code
5 2 (0.28%) Rational DOORS
5 2 (0.28%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 1 (0.14%) Gemini Tracker
6 1 (0.14%) gulp
6 1 (0.14%) LabVIEW
6 1 (0.14%) Oracle Forms
6 1 (0.14%) Rational Rhapsody
6 1 (0.14%) webpack
General
1 293 (41.62%) Social Skills
2 209 (29.69%) Analytical Skills
3 125 (17.76%) Finance
4 57 (8.10%) Manufacturing
5 55 (7.81%) Organisational Skills
6 45 (6.39%) Law
7 38 (5.40%) Retail
8 34 (4.83%) Legal
9 33 (4.69%) Public Sector
10 32 (4.55%) Marketing
11 21 (2.98%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 19 (2.70%) Telecoms
13 15 (2.13%) Banking
14 11 (1.56%) French Language
15 10 (1.42%) Advertising
15 10 (1.42%) Documentation Skills
15 10 (1.42%) Games
15 10 (1.42%) Investment Banking
16 8 (1.14%) Electronics
17 7 (0.99%) Italian Language
Job Titles
1 89 (12.64%) Senior
2 82 (11.65%) Analyst
2 82 (11.65%) IT Support
3 79 (11.22%) Support Engineer
4 78 (11.08%) Developer
5 54 (7.67%) IT Engineer
6 52 (7.39%) IT Support Engineer
7 42 (5.97%) Consultant
8 35 (4.97%) Lead
9 34 (4.83%) Support Technician
10 33 (4.69%) Software Engineer
11 29 (4.12%) Senior Developer
12 26 (3.69%) Business Analyst
13 19 (2.70%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 17 (2.41%) Administrator
14 17 (2.41%) Technical Analyst
15 16 (2.27%) IT Support Technician
15 16 (2.27%) IT Technician
16 14 (1.99%) 1st Line Support
16 14 (1.99%) IT Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 33 (4.69%) .NET
2 31 (4.40%) REST
3 29 (4.12%) React
4 27 (3.84%) HTML
5 22 (3.13%) EDI
5 22 (3.13%) Spring
5 22 (3.13%) Spring Boot
6 19 (2.70%) CSS
7 16 (2.27%) AngularJS
7 16 (2.27%) SOAP
8 15 (2.13%) Middleware
9 14 (1.99%) XML
10 13 (1.85%) JSON
10 13 (1.85%) Vue
11 11 (1.56%) Node.js
11 11 (1.56%) RESTful
11 11 (1.56%) SAP Fiori
12 8 (1.14%) Next.js
12 8 (1.14%) Ruby on Rails
12 8 (1.14%) Web Services
Miscellaneous
1 63 (8.95%) Driving Licence
2 51 (7.24%) Onboarding
3 31 (4.40%) Product Ownership
4 23 (3.27%) Cloud Native
5 21 (2.98%) Data Centre
6 18 (2.56%) Analytical Mindset
7 17 (2.41%) Self-Motivation
8 16 (2.27%) Distributed Systems
9 14 (1.99%) CCTV
9 14 (1.99%) Mobile App
10 10 (1.42%) Management Information System
11 9 (1.28%) Enterprise Cloud
11 9 (1.28%) FMCG
11 9 (1.28%) Social Media
12 8 (1.14%) Enterprise Software
13 7 (0.99%) AI Agents
13 7 (0.99%) CMDB
13 7 (0.99%) Low-Code
14 6 (0.85%) IoT
14 6 (0.85%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 114 (16.19%) Windows
2 53 (7.53%) Windows Server
3 38 (5.40%) Windows 10
4 22 (3.13%) Apple iOS
5 18 (2.56%) Linux
6 13 (1.85%) Android
7 7 (0.99%) Mac OS
7 7 (0.99%) Windows 7
7 7 (0.99%) Windows 8
7 7 (0.99%) Windows Server 2016
8 5 (0.71%) Windows Server 2019
9 3 (0.43%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 3 (0.43%) Unix
10 2 (0.28%) Solaris
11 1 (0.14%) CentOS
11 1 (0.14%) CoreOS
11 1 (0.14%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.14%) VME
11 1 (0.14%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 148 (21.02%) Customer Service
2 145 (20.60%) Continuous Improvement
3 111 (15.77%) Mentoring
4 91 (12.93%) Stakeholder Management
5 81 (11.51%) Decision-Making
6 78 (11.08%) Agile
7 75 (10.65%) AI
8 66 (9.38%) CI/CD
8 66 (9.38%) Roadmaps
9 65 (9.23%) CRM
10 62 (8.81%) DevOps
11 58 (8.24%) User Experience
12 57 (8.10%) Analytics
13 56 (7.95%) Software Engineering
14 54 (7.67%) ERP
15 50 (7.10%) Collaborative Working
16 48 (6.82%) Project Management
17 46 (6.53%) Test Automation
18 44 (6.25%) Business Intelligence
19 43 (6.11%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 109 (15.48%) SQL
2 76 (10.80%) Python
3 42 (5.97%) C#
4 36 (5.11%) JavaScript
5 35 (4.97%) Java
6 17 (2.41%) PowerShell
7 12 (1.70%) C++
8 10 (1.42%) Bash
9 9 (1.28%) T-SQL
9 9 (1.28%) TypeScript
10 8 (1.14%) Kotlin
10 8 (1.14%) PHP
10 8 (1.14%) Ruby
11 5 (0.71%) C
12 4 (0.57%) Apex Code
12 4 (0.57%) Bicep
12 4 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 4 (0.57%) MATLAB
12 4 (0.57%) Scala
12 4 (0.57%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 76 (10.80%) Degree
2 30 (4.26%) Security Cleared
3 22 (3.13%) SC Cleared
4 20 (2.84%) DBS Check
5 17 (2.41%) BPSS Clearance
6 16 (2.27%) Microsoft Certification
7 11 (1.56%) HNC
8 10 (1.42%) Cisco Certification
9 9 (1.28%) Computer Science Degree
9 9 (1.28%) DV Cleared
10 8 (1.14%) Azure Certification
10 8 (1.14%) Network+ Certification
11 7 (0.99%) MCSA
12 6 (0.85%) CCNP
13 5 (0.71%) CCNA
13 5 (0.71%) CompTIA Security+
14 4 (0.57%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.57%) PMI Certification
14 4 (0.57%) PMP
14 4 (0.57%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 35 (4.97%) Data Quality
2 31 (4.40%) QA
3 27 (3.84%) SLA
4 25 (3.55%) GDPR
5 12 (1.70%) TickIT
6 11 (1.56%) Accessibility
6 11 (1.56%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 10 (1.42%) Cyber Essentials
8 8 (1.14%) ISO 9001
9 4 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 1 (0.14%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.14%) DICOM
10 1 (0.14%) GMP
10 1 (0.14%) NEBOSH
10 1 (0.14%) PCI DSS
10 1 (0.14%) PMO
10 1 (0.14%) Software Quality Assurance
10 1 (0.14%) WCAG
System Software
1 91 (12.93%) Active Directory
2 24 (3.41%) VMware Infrastructure
3 23 (3.27%) Docker
4 18 (2.56%) Hyper-V
5 7 (0.99%) VMware Workstation
6 4 (0.57%) Firmware
6 4 (0.57%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.57%) Virtual Machines
7 3 (0.43%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 35 (4.97%) Microsoft Intune
2 28 (3.98%) Terraform
3 23 (3.27%) Kubernetes
4 18 (2.56%) SCCM
5 9 (1.28%) Ansible
6 8 (1.14%) Autotask
6 8 (1.14%) Grafana
6 8 (1.14%) Prometheus
7 6 (0.85%) Cisco CUCM
7 6 (0.85%) FortiGate
7 6 (0.85%) Single Sign-On
8 4 (0.57%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.43%) Jamf Pro
10 2 (0.28%) Argo
10 2 (0.28%) Nagios
10 2 (0.28%) Podman
10 2 (0.28%) Rancher
11 1 (0.14%) SCVMM
11 1 (0.14%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.14%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 230 (32.67%) Microsoft
2 32 (4.55%) SAP
3 27 (3.84%) VMware
4 16 (2.27%) Cisco
4 16 (2.27%) Google
5 15 (2.13%) Oracle
6 12 (1.70%) ServiceNow
7 10 (1.42%) Apple
7 10 (1.42%) Aruba
7 10 (1.42%) iManage
7 10 (1.42%) Workday
8 9 (1.28%) HubSpot
9 8 (1.14%) Meraki
10 7 (0.99%) ESET
10 7 (0.99%) Salesforce
11 6 (0.85%) Adobe
11 6 (0.85%) Intapp
11 6 (0.85%) Juniper
12 5 (0.71%) Aderant
12 5 (0.71%) OpenAI