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

6 months to
16 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 3 5
Rank change year-on-year -3 +2 +6
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 1,570 1,681 2,010
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 9.16% 18.95% 14.62%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 12.80% 21.52% 18.08%
Number of salaries quoted 1,147 855 1,210
10th Percentile £27,000 £27,000 £27,500
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,375 £36,375
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £43,500 £42,500 £48,000
Median % change year-on-year +2.35% -11.46% -6.80%
75th Percentile £58,750 £61,250 £63,750
90th Percentile £72,500 £78,750 £79,492
England median annual salary £47,500 £46,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +3.26% -8.00% -9.09%

All Process & 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 12,261 7,810 11,115
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 71.53% 88.02% 80.84%
Number of salaries quoted 8,749 4,182 7,232
10th Percentile £30,000 £26,750 £30,000
25th Percentile £40,000 £33,750 £40,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £50,000 £52,500
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £67,500
90th Percentile £85,000 £80,000 £81,250
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 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 16 August 2026.

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 16 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
Thames Valley -5 570 £43,000 +1.18% 324
Hampshire -2 411 £42,500 - 207
Surrey 0 257 £42,500 +6.25% 111
Berkshire -3 254 £44,250 +4.12% 149
Buckinghamshire -7 179 £42,500 +13.33% 98
Kent -7 147 £37,500 +15.38% 78
Oxfordshire +1 137 £43,000 -4.44% 79
East Sussex -4 100 £50,000 - 39
West Sussex -7 72 £50,000 -0.99% 50
Middlesex +5 8 £50,000 +33.33% 18
Isle of Wight -8 2 £42,500 -16.67% 3
Sussex -13 1 - - 13
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 54 (3.44%) SharePoint
2 43 (2.74%) Microsoft Exchange
3 18 (1.15%) CMS
3 18 (1.15%) Confluence
4 12 (0.76%) IIS
5 7 (0.45%) Apache
5 7 (0.45%) OpenEdge
5 7 (0.45%) WordPress
6 5 (0.32%) nginx
7 3 (0.19%) Anypoint
7 3 (0.19%) OpenStack
7 3 (0.19%) SAS
8 2 (0.13%) Gentran
8 2 (0.13%) Oracle Workflow
8 2 (0.13%) Tomcat
Applications
1 105 (6.69%) Microsoft Excel
2 93 (5.92%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (0.89%) Microsoft Project
4 12 (0.76%) Spreadsheet
5 9 (0.57%) AutoCAD
6 8 (0.51%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 8 (0.51%) MS Visio
7 5 (0.32%) Lightworks
7 5 (0.32%) Revit
8 4 (0.25%) Photoshop
8 4 (0.25%) Simulink
9 3 (0.19%) Adobe Illustrator
9 3 (0.19%) EPLAN
10 2 (0.13%) Chatbot
11 1 (0.064%) Mathcad
11 1 (0.064%) OrCAD
11 1 (0.064%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 14 (0.89%) NetSuite
2 12 (0.76%) Dynamics CRM
3 11 (0.70%) Shopify
4 7 (0.45%) Magento
5 6 (0.38%) Primavera
5 6 (0.38%) Raiser’s Edge
6 3 (0.19%) Infor SunSystems
6 3 (0.19%) Payment Gateway
6 3 (0.19%) Sage X3
6 3 (0.19%) Salesforce CRM
7 2 (0.13%) Academy Housing
7 2 (0.13%) Oracle Applications
7 2 (0.13%) Siebel CRM
7 2 (0.13%) Workday HCM
8 1 (0.064%) Elite 3E
8 1 (0.064%) HFM
8 1 (0.064%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 373 (23.76%) Azure
2 182 (11.59%) Microsoft 365
3 168 (10.70%) AWS
4 89 (5.67%) Power Platform
5 65 (4.14%) SaaS
6 61 (3.89%) Entra ID
7 50 (3.18%) GCP
8 45 (2.87%) Azure DevOps
9 37 (2.36%) GitHub
10 31 (1.97%) Serverless
11 22 (1.40%) Google Workspace
12 21 (1.34%) IaaS
12 21 (1.34%) PaaS
13 20 (1.27%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 18 (1.15%) Datadog
14 18 (1.15%) Dynamics 365
15 17 (1.08%) GitHub Actions
16 16 (1.02%) Azure Data Factory
17 15 (0.96%) Anthropic Claude
18 14 (0.89%) Google Tag Manager
Communications & Networking
1 133 (8.47%) Firewall
2 70 (4.46%) DNS
3 56 (3.57%) TCP/IP
3 56 (3.57%) VPN
4 48 (3.06%) DHCP
4 48 (3.06%) WAN
5 46 (2.93%) LAN
6 43 (2.74%) Wi-Fi
7 41 (2.61%) Wireless
8 36 (2.29%) VLAN
9 32 (2.04%) VoIP
10 29 (1.85%) Network Security
11 16 (1.02%) SSL
12 14 (0.89%) Internet
13 12 (0.76%) Broadband
13 12 (0.76%) HTTP
14 10 (0.64%) MQTT
15 9 (0.57%) LTE
16 6 (0.38%) WLAN
17 5 (0.32%) VSAT
Database & Business Intelligence
1 122 (7.77%) SQL Server
2 75 (4.78%) Power BI
3 36 (2.29%) Relational Database
4 30 (1.91%) MySQL
4 30 (1.91%) PostgreSQL
5 25 (1.59%) NoSQL
6 20 (1.27%) Data Warehouse
7 15 (0.96%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 13 (0.83%) Tableau
9 12 (0.76%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 11 (0.70%) Amazon RDS
11 10 (0.64%) Data Lake
11 10 (0.64%) OLTP
12 8 (0.51%) DynamoDB
12 8 (0.51%) MongoDB
13 7 (0.45%) Azure SQL Database
13 7 (0.45%) GIS
13 7 (0.45%) Looker
14 5 (0.32%) Electronic Patient Records
15 4 (0.25%) Metadata
Development Applications
1 77 (4.90%) Git
2 60 (3.82%) JIRA
3 29 (1.85%) GitLab
4 20 (1.27%) Rational DOORS
5 10 (0.64%) Claude Code
6 7 (0.45%) Oracle Forms
6 7 (0.45%) Team Foundation Server
7 6 (0.38%) Jenkins
7 6 (0.38%) Selenium
8 5 (0.32%) Eclipse
8 5 (0.32%) Eclipse RCP
8 5 (0.32%) Postman
8 5 (0.32%) Visual Studio
9 4 (0.25%) PHPUnit
9 4 (0.25%) Terragrunt
10 3 (0.19%) PetaLinux
10 3 (0.19%) SpecFlow
11 2 (0.13%) Android Studio
11 2 (0.13%) JUnit
11 2 (0.13%) Mocha
General
1 773 (49.24%) Social Skills
2 454 (28.92%) Analytical Skills
3 225 (14.33%) Finance
4 126 (8.03%) Manufacturing
5 116 (7.39%) Organisational Skills
6 91 (5.80%) Aerospace
7 88 (5.61%) Electronics
8 69 (4.39%) Retail
9 60 (3.82%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 51 (3.25%) Telecoms
11 44 (2.80%) Marketing
12 41 (2.61%) Influencing Skills
13 39 (2.48%) Law
13 39 (2.48%) Legal
14 37 (2.36%) Military
14 37 (2.36%) Public Sector
15 29 (1.85%) Documentation Skills
16 22 (1.40%) Aviation
16 22 (1.40%) Local Government
17 16 (1.02%) Banking
Job Titles
1 210 (13.38%) Analyst
2 171 (10.89%) Senior
3 156 (9.94%) Developer
4 149 (9.49%) IT Support
5 117 (7.45%) Support Engineer
6 101 (6.43%) Support Analyst
7 88 (5.61%) IT Engineer
8 72 (4.59%) Systems Engineer
9 71 (4.52%) Lead
10 69 (4.39%) Software Engineer
11 67 (4.27%) Technical Support
12 66 (4.20%) Support Technician
13 55 (3.50%) IT Support Engineer
14 53 (3.38%) 2nd Line Support
15 52 (3.31%) Architect
16 47 (2.99%) IT Technician
16 47 (2.99%) Technical Engineer
16 47 (2.99%) Technical Support Engineer
17 43 (2.74%) Consultant
18 42 (2.68%) Senior Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 111 (7.07%) .NET
2 76 (4.84%) HTML
3 61 (3.89%) REST
4 55 (3.50%) CSS
5 53 (3.38%) React
6 51 (3.25%) SOAP
7 48 (3.06%) ASP.NET
8 37 (2.36%) OAuth
9 34 (2.17%) ASP.NET Core
10 30 (1.91%) AngularJS
10 30 (1.91%) JSON
11 28 (1.78%) RESTful
11 28 (1.78%) Vue
12 27 (1.72%) XML
13 22 (1.40%) ModSecurity
13 22 (1.40%) SAML
14 18 (1.15%) ASP.NET Web API
14 18 (1.15%) jQuery
15 17 (1.08%) Entity Framework
15 17 (1.08%) LESS
Miscellaneous
1 117 (7.45%) Driving Licence
2 94 (5.99%) Onboarding
3 80 (5.10%) Management Information System
4 76 (4.84%) Self-Motivation
5 67 (4.27%) Cloud Native
6 43 (2.74%) Product Ownership
7 34 (2.17%) Data Centre
7 34 (2.17%) Social Media
8 29 (1.85%) Analytical Mindset
8 29 (1.85%) Distributed Systems
9 28 (1.78%) Enterprise Software
10 27 (1.72%) Robotics
11 26 (1.66%) Legacy Systems
12 18 (1.15%) Analogue Electronics
12 18 (1.15%) EPoS
13 17 (1.08%) CCTV
13 17 (1.08%) NHS
14 16 (1.02%) Mobile App
15 15 (0.96%) Renewable Energy
15 15 (0.96%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 248 (15.80%) Windows
2 116 (7.39%) Linux
3 90 (5.73%) Windows Server
4 22 (1.40%) Android
5 17 (1.08%) Mac OS
5 17 (1.08%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (0.96%) CentOS
7 14 (0.89%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 13 (0.83%) Apple iOS
8 13 (0.83%) Ubuntu
9 12 (0.76%) Windows 10
10 9 (0.57%) Debian
10 9 (0.57%) Windows Server 2016
11 4 (0.25%) Unix
12 3 (0.19%) FreeRTOS
12 3 (0.19%) Gentoo
12 3 (0.19%) Rocky
12 3 (0.19%) VMS
12 3 (0.19%) Windows 7
12 3 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 341 (21.72%) Continuous Improvement
2 271 (17.26%) Customer Service
3 215 (13.69%) Agile
4 196 (12.48%) Decision-Making
5 172 (10.96%) CI/CD
6 170 (10.83%) AI
7 162 (10.32%) Project Management
8 161 (10.25%) Software Engineering
9 156 (9.94%) DevOps
10 155 (9.87%) Project Delivery
11 148 (9.43%) Stakeholder Management
12 146 (9.30%) ITIL
13 138 (8.79%) Mentoring
14 134 (8.54%) Validation
15 130 (8.28%) Cybersecurity
16 122 (7.77%) Computer Science
17 121 (7.71%) Analytics
17 121 (7.71%) Collaborative Working
18 105 (6.69%) Logistics
18 105 (6.69%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 227 (14.46%) SQL
2 218 (13.89%) Python
3 127 (8.09%) C#
4 106 (6.75%) JavaScript
5 94 (5.99%) PowerShell
6 60 (3.82%) C++
7 57 (3.63%) Java
7 57 (3.63%) TypeScript
8 37 (2.36%) Bash
9 31 (1.97%) C
10 22 (1.40%) PHP
11 17 (1.08%) T-SQL
12 15 (0.96%) Ruby
13 12 (0.76%) PL/SQL
13 12 (0.76%) Rust
13 12 (0.76%) VB.NET
14 11 (0.70%) Perl
15 8 (0.51%) MATLAB
16 7 (0.45%) Bicep
17 6 (0.38%) Data Analysis Expressions
Qualifications
1 308 (19.62%) Degree
2 164 (10.45%) Security Cleared
3 118 (7.52%) SC Cleared
4 101 (6.43%) DBS Check
5 65 (4.14%) Computer Science Degree
6 55 (3.50%) BPSS Clearance
7 53 (3.38%) DV Cleared
8 51 (3.25%) Microsoft Certification
9 45 (2.87%) HNC
10 44 (2.80%) Azure Certification
11 34 (2.17%) HND
12 32 (2.04%) PMI Certification
13 28 (1.78%) CISSP
14 27 (1.72%) Chartered Engineer
15 26 (1.66%) PMP
16 25 (1.59%) Master's Degree
17 23 (1.46%) CISM
18 20 (1.27%) ACCA
18 20 (1.27%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
19 19 (1.21%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 135 (8.60%) QA
2 58 (3.69%) Data Quality
3 56 (3.57%) GDPR
4 45 (2.87%) SLA
5 33 (2.10%) Accessibility
6 29 (1.85%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 18 (1.15%) Good Clinical Practice
7 18 (1.15%) NIST
7 18 (1.15%) PCI DSS
8 17 (1.08%) Cyber Essentials
9 14 (0.89%) PMO
10 10 (0.64%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 10 (0.64%) DO-254
11 9 (0.57%) GMP
11 9 (0.57%) SOC 2
12 8 (0.51%) 21 CFR Part 11
12 8 (0.51%) GLP
12 8 (0.51%) GxP
12 8 (0.51%) ISO 9001
13 4 (0.25%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 130 (8.28%) Active Directory
2 74 (4.71%) Docker
3 73 (4.65%) VMware Infrastructure
4 58 (3.69%) Hyper-V
5 11 (0.70%) Firmware
6 9 (0.57%) VMware ESXi
6 9 (0.57%) vSphere
7 8 (0.51%) KVM
8 5 (0.32%) ClearTrust
8 5 (0.32%) Squid
8 5 (0.32%) Virtual Machines
9 4 (0.25%) Virtual Desktop
9 4 (0.25%) XenApp
10 3 (0.19%) Embedded Firmware
10 3 (0.19%) Slurm Workload Manager
11 2 (0.13%) VMware NSX
12 1 (0.064%) Microsoft Virtual Server
12 1 (0.064%) Oracle RAC
12 1 (0.064%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 87 (5.54%) Terraform
2 83 (5.29%) Kubernetes
3 50 (3.18%) Microsoft Intune
4 39 (2.48%) Ansible
5 23 (1.46%) SCCM
6 15 (0.96%) Grafana
6 15 (0.96%) Single Sign-On
7 12 (0.76%) Prometheus
8 10 (0.64%) Jamf Pro
8 10 (0.64%) Nagios
9 8 (0.51%) Podman
10 7 (0.45%) Failover Clustering
10 7 (0.45%) Puppet
11 5 (0.32%) Graylog
11 5 (0.32%) ZABBIX
12 4 (0.25%) Docker Swarm
12 4 (0.25%) Functional Safety
12 4 (0.25%) vCenter Server
13 2 (0.13%) BMC PATROL
13 2 (0.13%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
Vendors
1 455 (28.98%) Microsoft
2 82 (5.22%) VMware
3 64 (4.08%) Google
4 53 (3.38%) Oracle
5 38 (2.42%) Cisco
6 34 (2.17%) Fortinet
6 34 (2.17%) SAP
7 33 (2.10%) SonicWALL
8 31 (1.97%) Veeam
9 30 (1.91%) ServiceNow
10 24 (1.53%) Salesforce
11 20 (1.27%) Databricks
11 20 (1.27%) Sage
12 16 (1.02%) Aruba
12 16 (1.02%) Palo Alto
13 14 (0.89%) Instagram
13 14 (0.89%) Splunk
14 13 (0.83%) Red Hat
15 12 (0.76%) ForgeRock
15 12 (0.76%) Okta