Problem-Solving Job Trends in the South East

Problem Solving
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the South East requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 22 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
22 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 6 3 6
Rank change year-on-year -3 +3 0
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 1,374 1,653 1,290
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 13.24% 17.63% 18.00%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 16.26% 20.15% 19.40%
Number of salaries quoted 912 757 710
10th Percentile £26,500 £28,500 £28,000
25th Percentile £31,063 £38,750 £36,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £41,000 £52,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -21.15% +4.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £60,000 £71,250 £65,000
90th Percentile £73,750 £85,000 £80,000
England median annual salary £45,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -18.18% - -

All Process and Methodology Skills
South East

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 South East.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 8,452 8,203 6,648
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 81.46% 87.50% 92.77%
Number of salaries quoted 5,027 4,110 4,659
10th Percentile £27,750 £32,750 £30,500
25th Percentile £34,250 £43,911 £39,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £57,500 £54,500
Median % change year-on-year -13.04% +5.50% -0.91%
75th Percentile £65,000 £73,833 £67,500
90th Percentile £80,000 £85,000 £82,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% - -4.00%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Problem-Solving relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the South East

Problem-Solving
Salary Trend in the South East

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Problem-Solving.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the South East citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Salary Histogram in the South East

Salary distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the South East over the 6 months to 22 December 2025.

Salary histogram for Problem-Solving in the South East

Problem-Solving
Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Problem-Solving within the South East region over the 6 months to 22 December 2025. 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
Thames Valley -1 566 £42,500 -26.09% 752
Berkshire +3 377 £42,500 -37.04% 446
Hampshire +2 325 £40,000 -20.00% 403
Surrey -13 179 £40,000 -30.43% 198
Kent -11 133 £31,500 -17.11% 205
Buckinghamshire -11 118 £48,500 -15.65% 178
West Sussex -1 75 £60,000 +26.32% 70
Oxfordshire -4 71 £40,250 -13.06% 130
East Sussex +2 53 £48,750 -2.50% 79
Middlesex -13 22 £41,250 +23.13% 41
Isle of Wight +1 15 £42,500 - 52
Sussex -3 3 £35,000 - 15
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East 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 47 (3.42%) SharePoint
2 41 (2.98%) Microsoft Exchange
3 26 (1.89%) IIS
4 14 (1.02%) CMS
5 13 (0.95%) Confluence
6 10 (0.73%) WordPress
7 4 (0.29%) Apache Airflow
7 4 (0.29%) SAS
8 3 (0.22%) HCL Domino
8 3 (0.22%) HCL Notes
8 3 (0.22%) OpenStack
9 2 (0.15%) Anypoint
9 2 (0.15%) ArcGIS
9 2 (0.15%) Skype for Business
10 1 (0.073%) Apache
10 1 (0.073%) Apache Spark
10 1 (0.073%) nginx
Applications
1 162 (11.79%) Microsoft Excel
2 142 (10.33%) Microsoft Office
3 19 (1.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 15 (1.09%) Spreadsheet
5 12 (0.87%) Photoshop
6 11 (0.80%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 9 (0.66%) Adobe Illustrator
7 9 (0.66%) Adobe Premiere
8 7 (0.51%) MS Visio
9 5 (0.36%) Adobe After Effects
10 3 (0.22%) Adobe XD
10 3 (0.22%) InDesign
10 3 (0.22%) Microsoft Project
10 3 (0.22%) Notion
11 2 (0.15%) Adobe Captivate
11 2 (0.15%) AutoCAD
11 2 (0.15%) Elementor
12 1 (0.073%) MicroStation
12 1 (0.073%) ProjectWise
12 1 (0.073%) Revit
Business Applications
1 75 (5.46%) SAP S/4HANA
2 21 (1.53%) NetSuite
3 12 (0.87%) Dynamics CRM
4 10 (0.73%) SAP CO
5 8 (0.58%) JDE EnterpriseOne
6 7 (0.51%) SAP FI
6 7 (0.51%) SAP FI/CO
7 6 (0.44%) Oracle Assets
7 6 (0.44%) Oracle Payables
7 6 (0.44%) Oracle Receivables
8 5 (0.36%) SAP Hybris
9 3 (0.22%) Sage X3
9 3 (0.22%) Salesforce CRM
9 3 (0.22%) Shopify
10 2 (0.15%) Dynamics AX
10 2 (0.15%) IBM Planning Analytics
10 2 (0.15%) Q-Pulse
10 2 (0.15%) Sage 200
11 1 (0.073%) Raiser’s Edge
11 1 (0.073%) SAP IBP
Cloud Services
1 289 (21.03%) Azure
2 175 (12.74%) Microsoft 365
3 136 (9.90%) Power Platform
4 95 (6.91%) AWS
5 84 (6.11%) SaaS
6 53 (3.86%) Azure DevOps
7 48 (3.49%) Entra ID
8 45 (3.28%) GCP
9 15 (1.09%) Collibra
10 13 (0.95%) GitHub
11 12 (0.87%) Azure Synapse Analytics
11 12 (0.87%) Google Workspace
11 12 (0.87%) PaaS
11 12 (0.87%) Power Automate
12 11 (0.80%) Azure Data Factory
12 11 (0.80%) Dynamics 365
12 11 (0.80%) Figma
12 11 (0.80%) IaaS
13 10 (0.73%) Azure Logic Apps
14 9 (0.66%) Nutanix
Communications & Networking
1 87 (6.33%) DNS
2 76 (5.53%) Firewall
3 67 (4.88%) DHCP
4 58 (4.22%) TCP/IP
5 54 (3.93%) VPN
6 43 (3.13%) VLAN
7 24 (1.75%) Wi-Fi
8 21 (1.53%) Wireless
9 17 (1.24%) WAN
10 16 (1.16%) SAN
11 13 (0.95%) LAN
12 12 (0.87%) VoIP
13 9 (0.66%) Intranet
14 8 (0.58%) Wireshark
15 7 (0.51%) PuTTY
15 7 (0.51%) SSH
16 6 (0.44%) LTE
16 6 (0.44%) MPLS
16 6 (0.44%) Network Security
16 6 (0.44%) Remote Desktop
Database & Business Intelligence
1 123 (8.95%) Power BI
2 66 (4.80%) Data Lake
3 63 (4.59%) SAP BW
4 60 (4.37%) Relational Database
5 41 (2.98%) SQL Server
6 18 (1.31%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 17 (1.24%) NoSQL
8 14 (1.02%) Oracle Reports
9 13 (0.95%) Data Warehouse
10 12 (0.87%) Tableau
11 11 (0.80%) MySQL
12 10 (0.73%) PostgreSQL
13 9 (0.66%) Power Query
14 8 (0.58%) SQL Server Integration Services
15 7 (0.51%) Big Data
15 7 (0.51%) Data Mining
15 7 (0.51%) OLTP
15 7 (0.51%) PowerPivot
16 6 (0.44%) Hadoop
17 5 (0.36%) Azure SQL Database
Development Applications
1 64 (4.66%) Git
2 46 (3.35%) JIRA
3 22 (1.60%) Selenium
4 15 (1.09%) Robot Framework
5 13 (0.95%) Snyk
6 10 (0.73%) Jenkins
7 8 (0.58%) Visual Studio
8 6 (0.44%) GitLab
9 5 (0.36%) Rational DOORS
9 5 (0.36%) WebDriver
10 4 (0.29%) Cypress.io
11 2 (0.15%) LabVIEW
11 2 (0.15%) MSBuild
11 2 (0.15%) Octopus Deploy
11 2 (0.15%) Team Foundation Server
11 2 (0.15%) TestRail
12 1 (0.073%) Browser DevTools
12 1 (0.073%) Katalon Studio
12 1 (0.073%) Postman
12 1 (0.073%) REST Assured
General
1 834 (60.70%) Social Skills
2 344 (25.04%) Analytical Skills
3 301 (21.91%) Finance
4 136 (9.90%) Manufacturing
5 128 (9.32%) Marketing
6 90 (6.55%) Retail
7 70 (5.09%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 58 (4.22%) Organisational Skills
9 43 (3.13%) Electronics
10 41 (2.98%) Telecoms
11 40 (2.91%) Law
12 32 (2.33%) Legal
13 28 (2.04%) Public Sector
14 23 (1.67%) Influencing Skills
15 22 (1.60%) Documentation Skills
16 16 (1.16%) Pharmaceutical
17 13 (0.95%) Automotive
18 12 (0.87%) Advertising
19 11 (0.80%) Presentation Skills
20 10 (0.73%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 302 (21.98%) Analyst
2 252 (18.34%) Senior
3 196 (14.26%) IT Support
4 143 (10.41%) Lead
5 142 (10.33%) Support Engineer
6 115 (8.37%) Support Analyst
7 95 (6.91%) Technical Support
8 93 (6.77%) Developer
9 74 (5.39%) IT Analyst
10 70 (5.09%) IT Support Analyst
11 67 (4.88%) Senior Analyst
12 57 (4.15%) SAP Analyst
13 51 (3.71%) 2nd Line Support
13 51 (3.71%) Senior Manager
14 47 (3.42%) Applications Support
14 47 (3.42%) IT Engineer
15 45 (3.28%) Report Analyst
16 42 (3.06%) Project Engineer
16 42 (3.06%) Technical Engineer
17 41 (2.98%) IT Support Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 53 (3.86%) HTML
2 48 (3.49%) .NET
3 42 (3.06%) REST
4 40 (2.91%) CSS
4 40 (2.91%) React
5 34 (2.47%) SOAP
6 26 (1.89%) Node.js
7 24 (1.75%) RESTful
8 23 (1.67%) XML
9 19 (1.38%) .NET Framework
10 18 (1.31%) JSON
11 17 (1.24%) ASP.NET
12 13 (0.95%) Entity Framework
12 13 (0.95%) WinForms
13 11 (0.80%) EDI
14 10 (0.73%) DCOM
14 10 (0.73%) Web Services
15 8 (0.58%) AngularJS
15 8 (0.58%) Laravel
15 8 (0.58%) Middleware
Miscellaneous
1 132 (9.61%) Onboarding
2 76 (5.53%) Driving Licence
3 61 (4.44%) Self-Motivation
4 47 (3.42%) Analytical Mindset
5 43 (3.13%) Data Centre
6 42 (3.06%) Management Information System
7 26 (1.89%) Product Ownership
8 15 (1.09%) Social Media
9 12 (0.87%) Algorithms
9 12 (0.87%) Cloud Native
10 11 (0.80%) Distributed Systems
11 10 (0.73%) Security Operations Centre
12 9 (0.66%) Enterprise Software
12 9 (0.66%) Security Posture
12 9 (0.66%) Team-Oriented Environment
12 9 (0.66%) Video Conferencing
13 8 (0.58%) Low-Code
13 8 (0.58%) Robotics
14 7 (0.51%) Life Science
14 7 (0.51%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 267 (19.43%) Windows
2 80 (5.82%) Windows Server
3 57 (4.15%) Linux
4 49 (3.57%) Windows 10
5 13 (0.95%) Android
5 13 (0.95%) Mac OS
5 13 (0.95%) Windows Server 2012
6 11 (0.80%) Windows Server 2019
7 10 (0.73%) Windows 7
8 8 (0.58%) Apple iOS
9 7 (0.51%) VMS
10 4 (0.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
11 3 (0.22%) CentOS
11 3 (0.22%) Unix
11 3 (0.22%) Windows Server 2016
12 1 (0.073%) Windows Server 2008
Processes & Methodologies
1 240 (17.47%) Continuous Improvement
2 194 (14.12%) Customer Service
3 193 (14.05%) Analytics
4 176 (12.81%) Agile
5 149 (10.84%) ERP
6 145 (10.55%) Business Intelligence
7 134 (9.75%) Data Modelling
8 110 (8.01%) DevOps
9 109 (7.93%) Data Analysis
10 104 (7.57%) Project Management
11 100 (7.28%) SAP Implementation
11 100 (7.28%) Technical Leadership
12 97 (7.06%) Cybersecurity
12 97 (7.06%) Stakeholder Management
13 96 (6.99%) Decision-Making
14 95 (6.91%) Mentoring
15 92 (6.70%) Logistics
15 92 (6.70%) Quality Management
16 84 (6.11%) CI/CD
17 76 (5.53%) Data Management
Programming Languages
1 237 (17.25%) SQL
2 114 (8.30%) Python
3 74 (5.39%) PowerShell
4 69 (5.02%) C#
5 62 (4.51%) JavaScript
6 28 (2.04%) Java
7 19 (1.38%) PHP
7 19 (1.38%) T-SQL
8 18 (1.31%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 17 (1.24%) VBA
10 14 (1.02%) Kusto Query Language
11 11 (0.80%) R
12 10 (0.73%) TypeScript
13 9 (0.66%) Bash
14 8 (0.58%) Bicep
15 7 (0.51%) C++
15 7 (0.51%) DCL
15 7 (0.51%) PL/SQL
15 7 (0.51%) Tcl
16 6 (0.44%) Apex Code
Qualifications
1 354 (25.76%) Degree
2 99 (7.21%) Security Cleared
3 46 (3.35%) SC Cleared
4 42 (3.06%) Computer Science Degree
5 32 (2.33%) ACCA
6 31 (2.26%) Microsoft Certification
7 27 (1.97%) DV Cleared
8 24 (1.75%) CIMA
9 20 (1.46%) BPSS Clearance
9 20 (1.46%) DBS Check
10 17 (1.24%) Cisco Certification
11 15 (1.09%) A+ Certification
11 15 (1.09%) Master's Degree
12 13 (0.95%) HNC
13 12 (0.87%) ISTQB
13 12 (0.87%) MCP
14 11 (0.80%) CCNA
14 11 (0.80%) CEH
15 10 (0.73%) CISM
15 10 (0.73%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 131 (9.53%) Data Quality
2 82 (5.97%) QA
3 52 (3.78%) GDPR
4 33 (2.40%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 25 (1.82%) Accessibility
6 23 (1.67%) SLA
7 17 (1.24%) Cyber Essentials
8 11 (0.80%) NIST
9 10 (0.73%) ISO 9001
10 7 (0.51%) Software Quality Assurance
11 5 (0.36%) Actionable Recommendations
11 5 (0.36%) ISO 13485
12 4 (0.29%) PCI DSS
13 3 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
13 3 (0.22%) HIPAA
13 3 (0.22%) ISO 31000
14 2 (0.15%) WCAG
15 1 (0.073%) GAAP
15 1 (0.073%) ISO 14001
15 1 (0.073%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 152 (11.06%) Active Directory
2 43 (3.13%) Hyper-V
3 39 (2.84%) Docker
4 32 (2.33%) VMware Infrastructure
5 11 (0.80%) VMware ESXi
6 9 (0.66%) Firmware
7 4 (0.29%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.15%) KVM
8 2 (0.15%) RHEV
8 2 (0.15%) Virtual Desktop
8 2 (0.15%) Xen
9 1 (0.073%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.073%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 67 (4.88%) Microsoft Intune
2 45 (3.28%) Terraform
3 34 (2.47%) Kubernetes
4 26 (1.89%) Ansible
5 17 (1.24%) SCCM
6 15 (1.09%) vCenter Server
7 10 (0.73%) ZABBIX
8 7 (0.51%) Grafana
8 7 (0.51%) Prometheus
9 6 (0.44%) Nagios
10 5 (0.36%) Single Sign-On
11 3 (0.22%) FortiGate
11 3 (0.22%) QRadar
12 2 (0.15%) Nessus
12 2 (0.15%) Proxmox
13 1 (0.073%) CASB
13 1 (0.073%) Control-M
13 1 (0.073%) Dell DRAC
13 1 (0.073%) Netcool
13 1 (0.073%) Netcool/OMNIbus
Vendors
1 364 (26.49%) Microsoft
2 209 (15.21%) SAP
3 50 (3.64%) VMware
4 41 (2.98%) Oracle
5 40 (2.91%) Google
6 37 (2.69%) Cisco
7 36 (2.62%) NEC
8 30 (2.18%) Sage
9 28 (2.04%) Adobe
10 27 (1.97%) Databricks
10 27 (1.97%) Veeam
11 22 (1.60%) Salesforce
12 20 (1.46%) Meraki
13 19 (1.38%) HubSpot
14 17 (1.24%) ServiceNow
15 16 (1.16%) Workday
16 14 (1.02%) SolarWinds
17 13 (0.95%) Coverity
17 13 (0.95%) Fortinet
17 13 (0.95%) Xamarin