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

6 months to
22 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 3 4
Rank change year-on-year -3 +1 +7
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 1,579 1,707 2,081
As % of all permanent jobs in the South East 9.12% 19.10% 15.05%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 12.76% 21.73% 18.65%
Number of salaries quoted 1,155 862 1,191
10th Percentile £27,000 £27,000 £27,750
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £43,000 £42,500 £48,000
Median % change year-on-year +1.18% -11.46% -7.69%
75th Percentile £58,750 £61,000 £63,750
90th Percentile £72,500 £78,750 £80,000
England median annual salary £47,500 £45,000 £50,000
% change year-on-year +5.56% -10.00% -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 12,373 7,854 11,158
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the South East 71.44% 87.90% 80.71%
Number of salaries quoted 8,860 4,204 7,128
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 £87,200 £81,250 £81,311
England median annual salary £60,000 £55,000 £55,500
% change year-on-year +9.09% -0.90% -11.20%

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 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 22 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 -6 575 £43,000 +1.18% 265
Hampshire -2 418 £45,000 - 166
Berkshire -3 258 £45,000 +5.88% 105
Surrey -1 250 £42,043 +5.11% 95
Buckinghamshire -7 176 £42,500 +13.33% 87
Kent -5 154 £37,500 +11.94% 79
Oxfordshire +3 141 £42,491 -2.32% 74
East Sussex -4 97 £50,000 - 38
West Sussex -8 70 £50,000 -0.99% 41
Middlesex +2 9 £35,000 -6.67% 16
Isle of Wight -8 2 £42,500 -9.57% 3
Sussex -12 1 - - 16
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 58 (3.67%) SharePoint
2 46 (2.91%) Microsoft Exchange
3 18 (1.14%) Confluence
4 16 (1.01%) CMS
5 13 (0.82%) IIS
6 7 (0.44%) OpenEdge
7 6 (0.38%) Apache
7 6 (0.38%) WordPress
8 5 (0.32%) nginx
9 3 (0.19%) Anypoint
9 3 (0.19%) OpenStack
9 3 (0.19%) SAS
10 2 (0.13%) Gentran
10 2 (0.13%) Oracle Workflow
10 2 (0.13%) Tomcat
Applications
1 104 (6.59%) Microsoft Excel
2 93 (5.89%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (0.89%) Microsoft Project
4 12 (0.76%) Spreadsheet
5 10 (0.63%) AutoCAD
6 7 (0.44%) MS Visio
7 6 (0.38%) Microsoft PowerPoint
7 6 (0.38%) Revit
8 5 (0.32%) Lightworks
9 4 (0.25%) Simulink
10 3 (0.19%) EPLAN
10 3 (0.19%) Photoshop
11 2 (0.13%) Adobe Illustrator
11 2 (0.13%) Chatbot
12 1 (0.063%) Mathcad
12 1 (0.063%) OrCAD
12 1 (0.063%) SOLIDWORKS
Business Applications
1 17 (1.08%) NetSuite
2 13 (0.82%) Shopify
3 12 (0.76%) Dynamics CRM
4 7 (0.44%) 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 (0.063%) Elite 3E
8 1 (0.063%) HFM
8 1 (0.063%) SAP GRC
Cloud Services
1 374 (23.69%) Azure
2 183 (11.59%) Microsoft 365
3 170 (10.77%) AWS
4 89 (5.64%) Power Platform
5 65 (4.12%) Entra ID
5 65 (4.12%) SaaS
6 49 (3.10%) GCP
7 45 (2.85%) Azure DevOps
8 38 (2.41%) GitHub
9 31 (1.96%) Serverless
10 22 (1.39%) Google Workspace
11 21 (1.33%) Azure Synapse Analytics
12 20 (1.27%) IaaS
12 20 (1.27%) PaaS
13 17 (1.08%) Azure Data Factory
13 17 (1.08%) Datadog
14 16 (1.01%) Anthropic Claude
14 16 (1.01%) Dynamics 365
14 16 (1.01%) GitHub Actions
14 16 (1.01%) Google Tag Manager
Communications & Networking
1 134 (8.49%) Firewall
2 71 (4.50%) DNS
3 58 (3.67%) VPN
4 57 (3.61%) TCP/IP
5 50 (3.17%) DHCP
6 49 (3.10%) WAN
7 47 (2.98%) LAN
8 45 (2.85%) Wi-Fi
9 43 (2.72%) Wireless
10 37 (2.34%) VLAN
11 32 (2.03%) Network Security
11 32 (2.03%) VoIP
12 17 (1.08%) SSL
13 14 (0.89%) Internet
14 10 (0.63%) Broadband
14 10 (0.63%) HTTP
14 10 (0.63%) MQTT
15 9 (0.57%) LTE
16 6 (0.38%) WLAN
17 5 (0.32%) VSAT
Database & Business Intelligence
1 123 (7.79%) SQL Server
2 75 (4.75%) Power BI
3 35 (2.22%) Relational Database
4 32 (2.03%) MySQL
5 29 (1.84%) PostgreSQL
6 24 (1.52%) NoSQL
7 20 (1.27%) Data Warehouse
8 14 (0.89%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 12 (0.76%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 11 (0.70%) Amazon RDS
10 11 (0.70%) Tableau
11 10 (0.63%) Data Lake
12 9 (0.57%) MongoDB
12 9 (0.57%) OLTP
13 7 (0.44%) Azure SQL Database
13 7 (0.44%) DynamoDB
13 7 (0.44%) GIS
13 7 (0.44%) Looker
14 6 (0.38%) Metadata
14 6 (0.38%) Power Query
Development Applications
1 76 (4.81%) Git
2 59 (3.74%) JIRA
3 26 (1.65%) GitLab
4 18 (1.14%) Rational DOORS
5 11 (0.70%) Claude Code
6 8 (0.51%) Oracle Forms
6 8 (0.51%) Team Foundation Server
7 6 (0.38%) Selenium
8 5 (0.32%) Eclipse
8 5 (0.32%) Eclipse RCP
8 5 (0.32%) Jenkins
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%) JUnit
11 2 (0.13%) Subversion
11 2 (0.13%) Visual Studio Code
General
1 781 (49.46%) Social Skills
2 461 (29.20%) Analytical Skills
3 237 (15.01%) Finance
4 127 (8.04%) Manufacturing
5 118 (7.47%) Organisational Skills
6 96 (6.08%) Aerospace
7 90 (5.70%) Electronics
8 72 (4.56%) Retail
9 61 (3.86%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 50 (3.17%) Telecoms
11 43 (2.72%) Marketing
12 42 (2.66%) Legal
13 41 (2.60%) Influencing Skills
14 39 (2.47%) Military
15 38 (2.41%) Law
16 36 (2.28%) Public Sector
17 27 (1.71%) Documentation Skills
18 22 (1.39%) Aviation
19 21 (1.33%) Local Government
20 16 (1.01%) Banking
Job Titles
1 218 (13.81%) Analyst
2 169 (10.70%) Senior
3 158 (10.01%) Developer
4 145 (9.18%) IT Support
5 116 (7.35%) Support Engineer
6 105 (6.65%) Support Analyst
7 85 (5.38%) IT Engineer
8 72 (4.56%) Lead
9 70 (4.43%) Systems Engineer
10 69 (4.37%) Software Engineer
11 68 (4.31%) Technical Support
12 65 (4.12%) Support Technician
13 53 (3.36%) Architect
13 53 (3.36%) IT Support Engineer
14 51 (3.23%) 2nd Line Support
15 48 (3.04%) Technical Engineer
15 48 (3.04%) Technical Support Engineer
16 46 (2.91%) IT Technician
17 45 (2.85%) Consultant
18 41 (2.60%) Senior Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 113 (7.16%) .NET
2 86 (5.45%) Terraform
3 76 (4.81%) HTML
4 62 (3.93%) REST
5 56 (3.55%) CSS
6 52 (3.29%) React
7 50 (3.17%) ASP.NET
7 50 (3.17%) SOAP
8 36 (2.28%) OAuth
9 35 (2.22%) ASP.NET Core
10 30 (1.90%) AngularJS
11 29 (1.84%) JSON
11 29 (1.84%) RESTful
12 28 (1.77%) Vue
13 27 (1.71%) XML
14 24 (1.52%) ModSecurity
15 21 (1.33%) SAML
16 19 (1.20%) ASP.NET Web API
16 19 (1.20%) jQuery
17 18 (1.14%) LESS
Miscellaneous
1 117 (7.41%) Driving Licence
2 101 (6.40%) Onboarding
3 78 (4.94%) Management Information System
4 75 (4.75%) Self-Motivation
5 65 (4.12%) Cloud Native
6 45 (2.85%) Product Ownership
7 35 (2.22%) Data Centre
8 31 (1.96%) Social Media
9 29 (1.84%) Distributed Systems
10 28 (1.77%) Analytical Mindset
10 28 (1.77%) Enterprise Software
11 27 (1.71%) Robotics
12 26 (1.65%) Legacy Systems
13 20 (1.27%) Analogue Electronics
14 18 (1.14%) EPoS
15 17 (1.08%) CCTV
15 17 (1.08%) Mobile App
16 16 (1.01%) NHS
17 15 (0.95%) Renewable Energy
18 14 (0.89%) Private Cloud
Operating Systems
1 247 (15.64%) Windows
2 111 (7.03%) Linux
3 90 (5.70%) Windows Server
4 24 (1.52%) Android
5 18 (1.14%) Windows Server 2019
6 15 (0.95%) Apple iOS
6 15 (0.95%) Mac OS
7 13 (0.82%) CentOS
8 12 (0.76%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 12 (0.76%) Ubuntu
8 12 (0.76%) Windows 10
9 10 (0.63%) Windows Server 2016
10 9 (0.57%) Debian
11 4 (0.25%) Windows Server 2012
12 3 (0.19%) FreeRTOS
12 3 (0.19%) Gentoo
12 3 (0.19%) Rocky
12 3 (0.19%) Unix
12 3 (0.19%) VMS
12 3 (0.19%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 346 (21.91%) Continuous Improvement
2 273 (17.29%) Customer Service
3 217 (13.74%) Agile
4 196 (12.41%) Decision-Making
5 169 (10.70%) CI/CD
6 167 (10.58%) AI
7 161 (10.20%) Project Management
7 161 (10.20%) Software Engineering
8 156 (9.88%) Stakeholder Management
9 155 (9.82%) DevOps
10 154 (9.75%) Project Delivery
11 150 (9.50%) ITIL
12 135 (8.55%) Mentoring
13 132 (8.36%) Cybersecurity
13 132 (8.36%) Validation
14 125 (7.92%) Collaborative Working
15 121 (7.66%) Computer Science
16 118 (7.47%) Analytics
17 107 (6.78%) Logistics
18 105 (6.65%) CRM
Programming Languages
1 224 (14.19%) SQL
2 211 (13.36%) Python
3 128 (8.11%) C#
4 109 (6.90%) JavaScript
5 95 (6.02%) PowerShell
6 60 (3.80%) TypeScript
7 59 (3.74%) C++
8 57 (3.61%) Java
9 34 (2.15%) Bash
10 30 (1.90%) C
11 21 (1.33%) PHP
12 19 (1.20%) T-SQL
13 15 (0.95%) Ruby
14 13 (0.82%) VB.NET
15 11 (0.70%) PL/SQL
15 11 (0.70%) Rust
16 10 (0.63%) Perl
17 8 (0.51%) Data Analysis Expressions
17 8 (0.51%) MATLAB
18 7 (0.44%) Bicep
Qualifications
1 313 (19.82%) Degree
2 169 (10.70%) Security Cleared
3 121 (7.66%) SC Cleared
4 101 (6.40%) DBS Check
5 64 (4.05%) Computer Science Degree
6 57 (3.61%) DV Cleared
7 56 (3.55%) BPSS Clearance
8 55 (3.48%) Microsoft Certification
9 47 (2.98%) Azure Certification
10 46 (2.91%) HNC
11 37 (2.34%) HND
12 32 (2.03%) PMI Certification
13 30 (1.90%) CISSP
14 26 (1.65%) Chartered Engineer
14 26 (1.65%) PMP
15 25 (1.58%) CISM
15 25 (1.58%) Master's Degree
16 21 (1.33%) CompTIA Security+
17 20 (1.27%) A+ Certification
17 20 (1.27%) PRINCE2 Practitioner
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 135 (8.55%) QA
2 57 (3.61%) GDPR
3 56 (3.55%) Data Quality
4 45 (2.85%) SLA
5 34 (2.15%) Accessibility
6 32 (2.03%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 20 (1.27%) NIST
8 18 (1.14%) Cyber Essentials
8 18 (1.14%) Good Clinical Practice
8 18 (1.14%) PCI DSS
9 14 (0.89%) PMO
10 12 (0.76%) DO-254
11 11 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 9 (0.57%) GMP
12 9 (0.57%) SOC 2
13 8 (0.51%) 21 CFR Part 11
13 8 (0.51%) GLP
13 8 (0.51%) GxP
14 7 (0.44%) ISO 9001
15 4 (0.25%) Sarbanes-Oxley
System Software
1 130 (8.23%) Active Directory
2 73 (4.62%) VMware Infrastructure
3 72 (4.56%) Docker
4 57 (3.61%) Hyper-V
5 11 (0.70%) Firmware
6 9 (0.57%) VMware ESXi
6 9 (0.57%) vSphere
7 6 (0.38%) 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 1 (0.063%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.063%) Oracle RAC
11 1 (0.063%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.063%) VMware NSX
Systems Management
1 81 (5.13%) Kubernetes
2 50 (3.17%) Microsoft Intune
3 37 (2.34%) Ansible
4 23 (1.46%) SCCM
5 16 (1.01%) Single Sign-On
6 14 (0.89%) Grafana
7 12 (0.76%) Jamf Pro
8 11 (0.70%) Prometheus
9 9 (0.57%) Nagios
10 8 (0.51%) Podman
11 7 (0.44%) Failover Clustering
11 7 (0.44%) Puppet
12 6 (0.38%) Graylog
13 4 (0.25%) Docker Swarm
13 4 (0.25%) Functional Safety
13 4 (0.25%) vCenter Server
13 4 (0.25%) ZABBIX
14 2 (0.13%) BMC PATROL
14 2 (0.13%) Nessus
14 2 (0.13%) Symantec Endpoint Protection
Vendors
1 463 (29.32%) Microsoft
2 83 (5.26%) VMware
3 66 (4.18%) Google
4 53 (3.36%) Oracle
5 38 (2.41%) Cisco
6 36 (2.28%) SAP
7 34 (2.15%) Fortinet
7 34 (2.15%) SonicWALL
8 31 (1.96%) ServiceNow
8 31 (1.96%) Veeam
9 24 (1.52%) Salesforce
10 21 (1.33%) Sage
11 18 (1.14%) Databricks
12 16 (1.01%) Aruba
12 16 (1.01%) Palo Alto
13 13 (0.82%) Splunk
14 12 (0.76%) Apple
14 12 (0.76%) ForgeRock
14 12 (0.76%) Mentor Graphics
14 12 (0.76%) Okta