Windows Job Trends in the North West

Microsoft Windows
England > North West

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the North West requiring Windows skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 43 25 23
Rank change year-on-year -18 -2 -3
Permanent jobs citing Windows 360 594 742
As % of all permanent jobs in the North West 3.43% 12.80% 7.87%
As % of the Operating Systems category 76.76% 46.99% 64.63%
Number of salaries quoted 300 281 575
10th Percentile £27,000 £26,250 £24,500
25th Percentile £28,688 £31,750 £27,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £37,500 £40,000 £40,000
Median % change year-on-year -6.25% - -
75th Percentile £50,000 £50,000 £53,750
90th Percentile £61,250 £62,500 £67,968
England median annual salary £40,000 £40,000 £40,000
% change year-on-year - - -9.09%

All Operating Systems
North West

Windows falls under the Operating Systems category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring operating system skills in the North West.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for operating system skills 469 1,264 1,148
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the North West 4.47% 27.24% 12.18%
Number of salaries quoted 375 382 885
10th Percentile £27,000 £27,000 £25,350
25th Percentile £30,000 £33,250 £30,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £40,000 £44,500 £45,000
Median % change year-on-year -10.11% -1.11% -
75th Percentile £58,250 £60,000 £60,000
90th Percentile £70,000 £76,840 £70,750
England median annual salary £45,000 £45,000 £45,000
% change year-on-year - - -14.29%

Windows
Job Vacancy Trend in the North West

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Windows relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the North West.

Windows job vacancy trend in the North West

Windows
Salary Trend in the North West

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Windows.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the North West citing Windows

Windows
Salary Histogram in the North West

Salary distribution for jobs citing Windows in the North West over the 6 months to 16 May 2026.

Salary histogram for Windows in the North West

Windows
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 Windows within the North West region over the 6 months to 16 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 -30 188 £40,000 - 48
Lancashire -8 65 £27,500 -26.67% 26
Cumbria +7 37 £35,000 +9.38% 12
Cheshire -31 37 £39,000 -2.50% 21
Merseyside -26 33 £30,000 -13.04% 18
Windows
England

Windows
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 61 (16.94%) Microsoft Exchange
2 50 (13.89%) SharePoint
3 4 (1.11%) Skype for Business
4 1 (0.28%) Confluence
4 1 (0.28%) IIS
Applications
1 40 (11.11%) Microsoft Office
2 9 (2.50%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.56%) AutoCAD
4 1 (0.28%) Acrobat
4 1 (0.28%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.28%) Sketch
Business Applications
1 4 (1.11%) Dynamics AX
2 3 (0.83%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.28%) Magento
Cloud Services
1 211 (58.61%) Microsoft 365
2 132 (36.67%) Azure
3 63 (17.50%) Entra ID
4 33 (9.17%) AWS
5 15 (4.17%) OneDrive
6 10 (2.78%) SaaS
7 8 (2.22%) Azure Sentinel
8 7 (1.94%) Google Workspace
8 7 (1.94%) Power Platform
9 6 (1.67%) GCP
10 5 (1.39%) Intacct
10 5 (1.39%) Power Automate
11 4 (1.11%) Azure DevOps
11 4 (1.11%) Azure Logic Apps
11 4 (1.11%) Dynamics 365
11 4 (1.11%) GitHub
11 4 (1.11%) Microsoft Copilot
11 4 (1.11%) Nutanix
11 4 (1.11%) PowerApps
11 4 (1.11%) Viva Engage
Communications & Networking
1 74 (20.56%) Firewall
2 68 (18.89%) DNS
3 56 (15.56%) DHCP
4 51 (14.17%) VPN
5 36 (10.00%) VLAN
6 35 (9.72%) Wireless
7 27 (7.50%) TCP/IP
8 16 (4.44%) VoIP
9 15 (4.17%) WAN
10 14 (3.89%) Wi-Fi
11 13 (3.61%) LAN
12 11 (3.06%) SAN
13 8 (2.22%) HTTP
14 7 (1.94%) SD-WAN
15 6 (1.67%) Ethernet
15 6 (1.67%) IP Telephony
15 6 (1.67%) Network Security
16 5 (1.39%) Remote Desktop
16 5 (1.39%) SSL
17 4 (1.11%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (3.06%) SQL Server
2 6 (1.67%) PostgreSQL
3 4 (1.11%) SQL Server Reporting Services
4 3 (0.83%) MongoDB
4 3 (0.83%) MySQL
4 3 (0.83%) Oracle Database
4 3 (0.83%) Power BI
5 1 (0.28%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 4 (1.11%) GitLab
1 4 (1.11%) Visual Studio
2 2 (0.56%) JIRA
3 1 (0.28%) GDB
3 1 (0.28%) Git
3 1 (0.28%) Jenkins
3 1 (0.28%) Octopus Deploy
3 1 (0.28%) WinDbg
General
1 160 (44.44%) Social Skills
2 30 (8.33%) Analytical Skills
3 28 (7.78%) Finance
4 24 (6.67%) Organisational Skills
5 21 (5.83%) Law
6 18 (5.00%) Retail
7 15 (4.17%) Legal
8 13 (3.61%) Manufacturing
9 12 (3.33%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 9 (2.50%) Public Sector
11 5 (1.39%) Aerospace
11 5 (1.39%) Esports
12 3 (0.83%) Dutch Language
12 3 (0.83%) French Language
12 3 (0.83%) Marketing
13 2 (0.56%) Social Housing
14 1 (0.28%) Banking
14 1 (0.28%) Documentation Skills
14 1 (0.28%) Games
14 1 (0.28%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 126 (35.00%) IT Support
2 80 (22.22%) Support Engineer
3 62 (17.22%) IT Engineer
4 59 (16.39%) IT Technician
5 56 (15.56%) IT Support Engineer
6 54 (15.00%) Analyst
7 44 (12.22%) Support Technician
8 42 (11.67%) Senior
9 38 (10.56%) 2nd Line Support
9 38 (10.56%) IT Support Technician
10 30 (8.33%) Desktop Support
11 27 (7.50%) Support Analyst
12 26 (7.22%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 20 (5.56%) Senior IT Technician
13 20 (5.56%) Senior Technician
14 19 (5.28%) 2nd Line Engineer
14 19 (5.28%) IT Analyst
15 18 (5.00%) Desktop Engineer
15 18 (5.00%) Lead
16 16 (4.44%) 1st/2nd Line Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 6 (1.67%) Microsoft Graph
2 5 (1.39%) Web Services
3 4 (1.11%) EDI
4 3 (0.83%) Middleware
4 3 (0.83%) Node.js
4 3 (0.83%) Qt
4 3 (0.83%) STL
5 2 (0.56%) HTML
5 2 (0.56%) QML
6 1 (0.28%) .NET
6 1 (0.28%) OAuth
6 1 (0.28%) OpenID
6 1 (0.28%) Pyramid
Miscellaneous
1 47 (13.06%) Driving Licence
2 32 (8.89%) Data Centre
3 22 (6.11%) Onboarding
4 18 (5.00%) Self-Motivation
5 17 (4.72%) Social Media
6 11 (3.06%) Hybrid Cloud
7 9 (2.50%) CMDB
8 4 (1.11%) CCTV
8 4 (1.11%) Cyberattack
8 4 (1.11%) iPad
8 4 (1.11%) iPhone
8 4 (1.11%) Public Cloud
9 3 (0.83%) Client/Server
9 3 (0.83%) Clustering
9 3 (0.83%) Enterprise Software
9 3 (0.83%) Enterprise Storage
9 3 (0.83%) EPoS
9 3 (0.83%) Management Information System
9 3 (0.83%) Security Posture
10 2 (0.56%) Analytical Mindset
Operating Systems
1 141 (39.17%) Windows Server
2 71 (19.72%) Windows 10
3 37 (10.28%) Linux
4 15 (4.17%) Mac OS
5 14 (3.89%) Apple iOS
5 14 (3.89%) Windows 7
6 11 (3.06%) Windows Server 2016
7 7 (1.94%) Android
7 7 (1.94%) Windows 8
8 6 (1.67%) Windows Server 2019
9 5 (1.39%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 5 (1.39%) Unix
10 3 (0.83%) Windows Server 2008
10 3 (0.83%) Windows Server 2012
10 3 (0.83%) Windows XP
11 2 (0.56%) VMS
12 1 (0.28%) CentOS
12 1 (0.28%) CoreOS
12 1 (0.28%) Ubuntu
Processes & Methodologies
1 125 (34.72%) Customer Service
2 114 (31.67%) Problem-Solving
3 74 (20.56%) ITIL
4 47 (13.06%) Service Delivery
5 46 (12.78%) Continuous Improvement
6 43 (11.94%) Cybersecurity
7 37 (10.28%) Infrastructure Engineering
8 35 (9.72%) Remote Monitoring and Management
9 29 (8.06%) Mentoring
10 24 (6.67%) Disaster Recovery
11 23 (6.39%) ITSM
11 23 (6.39%) Mobile Device Management
12 21 (5.83%) Project Delivery
13 19 (5.28%) Asset Management
13 19 (5.28%) Process Improvement
14 17 (4.72%) Service Management
15 16 (4.44%) Data Protection
16 15 (4.17%) Agile
16 15 (4.17%) Configuration Management
17 13 (3.61%) Business Continuity
Programming Languages
1 30 (8.33%) PowerShell
2 14 (3.89%) SQL
3 12 (3.33%) Python
4 6 (1.67%) C#
4 6 (1.67%) C++
5 5 (1.39%) Bash
5 5 (1.39%) Bicep
6 4 (1.11%) Java
6 4 (1.11%) JavaScript
7 3 (0.83%) C
7 3 (0.83%) VBScript
8 2 (0.56%) VB
9 1 (0.28%) PHP
Qualifications
1 41 (11.39%) DBS Check
2 29 (8.06%) Microsoft Certification
3 22 (6.11%) Degree
4 21 (5.83%) Security Cleared
5 19 (5.28%) SC Cleared
6 11 (3.06%) Azure Certification
6 11 (3.06%) ITIL Certification
7 8 (2.22%) Network+ Certification
8 7 (1.94%) BPSS Clearance
9 6 (1.67%) MCSA
10 5 (1.39%) CompTIA Security+
11 3 (0.83%) CCNA
11 3 (0.83%) Cisco Certification
11 3 (0.83%) NVQ Level 3
11 3 (0.83%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 2 (0.56%) AWS Certification
12 2 (0.56%) DV Cleared
12 2 (0.56%) Microsoft Certified Professional
12 2 (0.56%) PMI Certification
12 2 (0.56%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 41 (11.39%) SLA
2 15 (4.17%) Cyber Essentials
3 10 (2.78%) GDPR
4 9 (2.50%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 8 (2.22%) QA
6 7 (1.94%) Accessibility
7 5 (1.39%) NIST
8 1 (0.28%) WCAG
System Software
1 161 (44.72%) Active Directory
2 59 (16.39%) VMware Infrastructure
3 29 (8.06%) Hyper-V
4 11 (3.06%) Virtual Desktop
5 7 (1.94%) VMware Workstation
6 5 (1.39%) BitLocker
7 4 (1.11%) Virtual Machines
8 3 (0.83%) Docker
8 3 (0.83%) VMware NSX
8 3 (0.83%) vSphere
9 1 (0.28%) VMware ESXi
Systems Management
1 81 (22.50%) Microsoft Intune
2 26 (7.22%) SCCM
3 17 (4.72%) Terraform
4 16 (4.44%) Autotask
5 10 (2.78%) Ansible
6 9 (2.50%) FortiGate
7 6 (1.67%) Jamf Pro
8 4 (1.11%) Grafana
8 4 (1.11%) Prometheus
9 3 (0.83%) Argo
9 3 (0.83%) Kubernetes
9 3 (0.83%) Microsoft Clustering
9 3 (0.83%) Progress Chef
9 3 (0.83%) Proxmox
9 3 (0.83%) Puppet
9 3 (0.83%) Single Sign-On
10 1 (0.28%) AirWatch
10 1 (0.28%) McAfee ePO
10 1 (0.28%) SmoothWall
10 1 (0.28%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 243 (67.50%) Microsoft
2 67 (18.61%) VMware
3 18 (5.00%) Cisco
4 14 (3.89%) Apple
5 13 (3.61%) Meraki
6 12 (3.33%) Google
7 11 (3.06%) ServiceNow
8 8 (2.22%) Ubiquiti
9 7 (1.94%) ESET
9 7 (1.94%) iManage
10 6 (1.67%) Sage
10 6 (1.67%) Splunk
11 5 (1.39%) HP
11 5 (1.39%) Palo Alto
11 5 (1.39%) Red Hat
12 4 (1.11%) Oracle
12 4 (1.11%) ProCurve
12 4 (1.11%) SolarWinds
12 4 (1.11%) SonicWALL
12 4 (1.11%) Sophos