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

6 months to
19 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 878 1,017 1,129
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 7.30% 19.58% 13.45%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.15% 21.67% 17.35%
Number of salaries quoted 679 494 543
10th Percentile £27,000 £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 £60,875
90th Percentile £75,000 £75,000 £76,250
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 8,653 4,694 6,506
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 71.98% 90.36% 77.51%
Number of salaries quoted 6,589 2,270 4,326
10th Percentile £30,000 £27,000 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £35,000 £39,720
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 £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 19 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 19 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 -11 470 £50,000 - 395
Merseyside -7 150 £42,500 -7.61% 66
Cheshire -10 150 £41,750 +7.74% 91
Lancashire +1 70 £42,500 +26.06% 99
Cumbria -9 31 £32,500 -8.96% 21
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 (8.88%) SharePoint
2 57 (6.49%) Microsoft Exchange
3 11 (1.25%) IIS
4 5 (0.57%) Apache Spark
4 5 (0.57%) Confluence
5 2 (0.23%) Apache
5 2 (0.23%) Apache Airflow
5 2 (0.23%) ArcGIS
5 2 (0.23%) CMS
5 2 (0.23%) Exchange Server 2013
5 2 (0.23%) nginx
5 2 (0.23%) WordPress
6 1 (0.11%) Moodle
6 1 (0.11%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 1 (0.11%) Sitecore CMS
6 1 (0.11%) Totara
6 1 (0.11%) Umbraco
6 1 (0.11%) WebLogic
6 1 (0.11%) WebSphere
Applications
1 46 (5.24%) Microsoft Excel
2 43 (4.90%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (1.71%) MS Visio
4 6 (0.68%) Spreadsheet
5 4 (0.46%) 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 21 (2.39%) SAP S/4HANA
2 12 (1.37%) SAP ERP
3 10 (1.14%) Dynamics CRM
4 5 (0.57%) Magento
5 4 (0.46%) NEC Housing
5 4 (0.46%) SAP PP
6 3 (0.34%) Dynamics AX
6 3 (0.34%) Salesforce CRM
7 2 (0.23%) Oracle ERP
8 1 (0.11%) Dynamics NAV
8 1 (0.11%) Elite 3E
8 1 (0.11%) NetSuite
8 1 (0.11%) Odoo
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle Applications
8 1 (0.11%) Oracle EBS
8 1 (0.11%) Payment Gateway
8 1 (0.11%) SAP ECC
8 1 (0.11%) Shopify
Cloud Services
1 195 (22.21%) Azure
2 167 (19.02%) Microsoft 365
3 105 (11.96%) Power Platform
4 100 (11.39%) AWS
5 44 (5.01%) PowerApps
6 41 (4.67%) GCP
7 35 (3.99%) Entra ID
7 35 (3.99%) SaaS
8 34 (3.87%) Power Automate
9 30 (3.42%) GitHub
10 29 (3.30%) Azure DevOps
10 29 (3.30%) Microsoft Copilot
10 29 (3.30%) OneDrive
11 28 (3.19%) Dynamics 365
12 21 (2.39%) Microsoft Purview
13 16 (1.82%) Serverless
14 12 (1.37%) Boomi
14 12 (1.37%) Google Analytics
15 11 (1.25%) Snowflake
16 10 (1.14%) Copilot Studio
Communications & Networking
1 65 (7.40%) Firewall
2 56 (6.38%) DNS
3 52 (5.92%) DHCP
4 42 (4.78%) TCP/IP
5 38 (4.33%) VPN
6 31 (3.53%) VLAN
6 31 (3.53%) Wireless
7 28 (3.19%) VoIP
8 25 (2.85%) Wi-Fi
9 22 (2.51%) Network Security
10 20 (2.28%) LAN
11 18 (2.05%) WAN
12 14 (1.59%) Broadband
13 9 (1.03%) SD-WAN
13 9 (1.03%) Structured Cabling
13 9 (1.03%) Unified Communications
14 7 (0.80%) BGP
14 7 (0.80%) OSPF
15 6 (0.68%) IP Telephony
15 6 (0.68%) SAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 64 (7.29%) Power BI
2 53 (6.04%) SQL Server
3 28 (3.19%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 23 (2.62%) MySQL
5 20 (2.28%) 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 (1.03%) PostgreSQL
8 9 (1.03%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 7 (0.80%) Electronic Patient Records
9 7 (0.80%) MongoDB
9 7 (0.80%) Redis
10 6 (0.68%) Amazon Redshift
11 5 (0.57%) Azure SQL Database
11 5 (0.57%) MariaDB
11 5 (0.57%) Power Query
11 5 (0.57%) Tableau
12 4 (0.46%) Neo4j
Development Applications
1 37 (4.21%) Git
2 34 (3.87%) JIRA
3 10 (1.14%) Jenkins
4 7 (0.80%) Bitbucket
5 5 (0.57%) GitLab
6 4 (0.46%) Cucumber
6 4 (0.46%) Cypress.io
6 4 (0.46%) 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%) Gemini Tracker
9 1 (0.11%) gulp
9 1 (0.11%) LabVIEW
9 1 (0.11%) Oracle Forms
9 1 (0.11%) Rational DOORS
9 1 (0.11%) Rational Rhapsody
9 1 (0.11%) webpack
General
1 352 (40.09%) Social Skills
2 261 (29.73%) Analytical Skills
3 130 (14.81%) Finance
4 70 (7.97%) Manufacturing
5 65 (7.40%) Law
6 56 (6.38%) Organisational Skills
7 54 (6.15%) Legal
8 45 (5.13%) Retail
9 35 (3.99%) Marketing
10 30 (3.42%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 26 (2.96%) Telecoms
12 22 (2.51%) Public Sector
13 16 (1.82%) Banking
14 14 (1.59%) 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 (1.03%) Billing
18 9 (1.03%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 120 (13.67%) Developer
2 119 (13.55%) Analyst
3 118 (13.44%) Senior
4 69 (7.86%) IT Support
5 61 (6.95%) Support Engineer
6 50 (5.69%) Lead
7 44 (5.01%) Senior Developer
8 42 (4.78%) Consultant
8 42 (4.78%) Software Engineer
9 39 (4.44%) Support Technician
10 33 (3.76%) IT Engineer
10 33 (3.76%) Support Analyst
11 30 (3.42%) IT Support Engineer
12 28 (3.19%) Administrator
12 28 (3.19%) IT Technician
13 24 (2.73%) IT Support Technician
13 24 (2.73%) Junior
14 21 (2.39%) Technical Analyst
14 21 (2.39%) Technical Support
15 19 (2.16%) Applications Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 52 (5.92%) .NET
2 45 (5.13%) HTML
3 43 (4.90%) React
4 36 (4.10%) REST
5 24 (2.73%) AngularJS
5 24 (2.73%) CSS
5 24 (2.73%) Middleware
6 22 (2.51%) Vue
7 21 (2.39%) Spring
8 19 (2.16%) Spring Boot
9 18 (2.05%) XML
10 17 (1.94%) 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
16 9 (1.03%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 64 (7.29%) Driving Licence
2 52 (5.92%) Onboarding
3 36 (4.10%) Product Ownership
4 32 (3.64%) Cloud Native
4 32 (3.64%) Self-Motivation
5 20 (2.28%) Distributed Systems
6 18 (2.05%) Management Information System
7 15 (1.71%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
8 14 (1.59%) Replication
8 14 (1.59%) Security Posture
9 13 (1.48%) Mobile App
10 11 (1.25%) CCTV
10 11 (1.25%) IoT
10 11 (1.25%) NHS
11 9 (1.03%) Data Centre
11 9 (1.03%) Enterprise Cloud
11 9 (1.03%) Enterprise Software
12 8 (0.91%) AI Agents
12 8 (0.91%) Cyberattack
12 8 (0.91%) FMCG
Operating Systems
1 140 (15.95%) Windows
2 66 (7.52%) Windows Server
3 35 (3.99%) Linux
4 33 (3.76%) Windows 10
5 18 (2.05%) Apple iOS
6 11 (1.25%) Android
6 11 (1.25%) Mac OS
7 7 (0.80%) Windows Server 2016
8 5 (0.57%) Unix
9 3 (0.34%) Windows Server 2019
10 2 (0.23%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 2 (0.23%) Solaris
10 2 (0.23%) Windows 7
10 2 (0.23%) Windows 8
11 1 (0.11%) Embedded Linux
11 1 (0.11%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.11%) VME
11 1 (0.11%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 235 (26.77%) Continuous Improvement
2 189 (21.53%) Customer Service
3 115 (13.10%) Mentoring
4 112 (12.76%) Agile
5 109 (12.41%) Stakeholder Management
6 104 (11.85%) Decision-Making
7 103 (11.73%) AI
8 96 (10.93%) CI/CD
9 94 (10.71%) CRM
10 86 (9.79%) Roadmaps
11 83 (9.45%) DevOps
12 80 (9.11%) Analytics
12 80 (9.11%) Software Engineering
13 72 (8.20%) ERP
14 66 (7.52%) User Experience
15 63 (7.18%) Collaborative Working
16 58 (6.61%) Business Intelligence
17 55 (6.26%) Cybersecurity
18 53 (6.04%) Project Delivery
19 52 (5.92%) Test Automation
Programming Languages
1 168 (19.13%) SQL
2 109 (12.41%) Python
3 65 (7.40%) C#
4 61 (6.95%) JavaScript
5 45 (5.13%) Java
6 31 (3.53%) PowerShell
7 22 (2.51%) TypeScript
8 19 (2.16%) PHP
9 16 (1.82%) Bash
9 16 (1.82%) C++
10 13 (1.48%) Shell Script
11 10 (1.14%) T-SQL
12 8 (0.91%) C
12 8 (0.91%) Ruby
13 7 (0.80%) Go
14 6 (0.68%) R
15 5 (0.57%) Apex Code
15 5 (0.57%) Bicep
15 5 (0.57%) Data Analysis Expressions
16 4 (0.46%) Kotlin
Qualifications
1 111 (12.64%) Degree
2 47 (5.35%) Security Cleared
3 26 (2.96%) Microsoft Certification
4 25 (2.85%) HNC
5 24 (2.73%) DBS Check
5 24 (2.73%) SC Cleared
6 17 (1.94%) Cisco Certification
6 17 (1.94%) DV Cleared
7 16 (1.82%) BPSS Clearance
8 14 (1.59%) Computer Science Degree
9 13 (1.48%) CCNP
10 11 (1.25%) Azure Certification
11 9 (1.03%) Master's Degree
12 8 (0.91%) CCNA
12 8 (0.91%) HND
13 7 (0.80%) MCSA
13 7 (0.80%) Postgraduate
14 6 (0.68%) ACCA
14 6 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
14 6 (0.68%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 45 (5.13%) Data Quality
2 38 (4.33%) QA
3 32 (3.64%) GDPR
4 31 (3.53%) Accessibility
5 23 (2.62%) SLA
6 12 (1.37%) TickIT
7 10 (1.14%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 8 (0.91%) NIST
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 14443
9 4 (0.46%) ISO/IEC 7816
10 3 (0.34%) Cyber Essentials
11 2 (0.23%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.23%) PMO
11 2 (0.23%) WCAG
12 1 (0.11%) DICOM
12 1 (0.11%) GMP
12 1 (0.11%) GxP
12 1 (0.11%) IFRS
12 1 (0.11%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.11%) NEBOSH
System Software
1 99 (11.28%) Active Directory
2 42 (4.78%) Docker
3 35 (3.99%) VMware Infrastructure
4 23 (2.62%) Hyper-V
5 6 (0.68%) Virtual Machines
6 4 (0.46%) Virtual Desktop
6 4 (0.46%) VMware ESXi
7 2 (0.23%) Firmware
7 2 (0.23%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 33 (3.76%) Kubernetes
2 32 (3.64%) Microsoft Intune
3 23 (2.62%) Terraform
4 13 (1.48%) Grafana
5 12 (1.37%) FortiGate
6 10 (1.14%) Prometheus
7 9 (1.03%) Ansible
8 7 (0.80%) SCCM
9 6 (0.68%) Single Sign-On
10 4 (0.46%) Argo
10 4 (0.46%) Microsoft Clustering
11 3 (0.34%) Autotask
11 3 (0.34%) Jamf Pro
12 2 (0.23%) Nagios
12 2 (0.23%) Nessus
12 2 (0.23%) Podman
13 1 (0.11%) Istio
13 1 (0.11%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
13 1 (0.11%) vCenter Server
13 1 (0.11%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 305 (34.74%) Microsoft
2 44 (5.01%) VMware
3 34 (3.87%) SAP
4 28 (3.19%) Google
5 19 (2.16%) Cisco
6 15 (1.71%) Salesforce
6 15 (1.71%) ServiceNow
7 13 (1.48%) Aruba
8 12 (1.37%) iManage
9 11 (1.25%) Oracle
10 10 (1.14%) Adobe
11 9 (1.03%) HubSpot
11 9 (1.03%) SonicWALL
11 9 (1.03%) Sophos
12 8 (0.91%) Juniper
12 8 (0.91%) Meraki
12 8 (0.91%) OpenAI
12 8 (0.91%) Tanium
13 7 (0.80%) Aderant
14 5 (0.57%) Databricks