Problem-Solving Job Trends in the West Midlands

Problem Solving
England > West Midlands

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in the West Midlands requiring Problem-Solving skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 9 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
9 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 11 2 6
Rank change year-on-year -9 +4 +2
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 534 623 1,202
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 7.05% 20.73% 14.43%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 10.25% 23.38% 17.95%
Number of salaries quoted 394 405 729
10th Percentile £27,694 £25,500 £25,000
25th Percentile £31,250 £31,250 £29,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £47,500 £42,500
Median % change year-on-year -10.53% +11.76% -11.55%
75th Percentile £57,500 £62,500 £58,750
90th Percentile £65,600 £73,750 £68,400
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,000 £49,838
% change year-on-year -5.00% +0.33% -9.39%

All Process & Methodology Skills
West Midlands

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 West Midlands.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 5,211 2,665 6,696
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 68.77% 88.66% 80.36%
Number of salaries quoted 3,798 1,613 4,750
10th Percentile £30,987 £28,822 £26,725
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,250 £36,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% +5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £65,000
90th Percentile £85,000 £79,750 £77,500
England median annual salary £60,000 £58,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year +3.45% +5.45% -12.00%

Problem-Solving
Job Vacancy Trend in the West Midlands

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

Problem-Solving job vacancy trend in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Salary Trend in the West Midlands

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Problem-Solving.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in the West Midlands citing Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving
Salary Histogram in the West Midlands

Salary distribution for jobs citing Problem-Solving in the West Midlands over the 6 months to 9 June 2026.

Salary histogram for Problem-Solving in the West Midlands

Problem-Solving
Job Locations in the West Midlands

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Problem-Solving within the West Midlands region over the 6 months to 9 June 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
Birmingham -15 177 £50,000 -4.76% 60
Staffordshire -3 91 £31,500 -39.03% 27
Warwickshire 0 70 £32,500 -27.78% 57
Worcestershire -8 41 £37,500 +22.95% 20
Coventry -10 33 £42,000 -26.96% 18
Shropshire -9 28 £50,000 +17.65% 27
Herefordshire -15 16 £52,500 -2.33% 2
Solihull -1 11 £30,500 -44.55% 3
Walsall +3 9 £37,500 -10.71%
Tipton - 8 £33,500 -
Halesowen -3 5 £47,500 +26.67%
Dudley - 5 £26,100 - 3
Wolverhampton -22 4 £80,000 +146.15% 4
Sutton Coldfield - 1 £28,000 -
Problem-Solving
England

Problem-Solving
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the West Midlands 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 49 (9.18%) SharePoint
2 33 (6.18%) Microsoft Exchange
3 5 (0.94%) Oracle SOA Suite
3 5 (0.94%) Skype for Business
4 4 (0.75%) Exchange Server 2007
4 4 (0.75%) Exchange Server 2010
4 4 (0.75%) Exchange Server 2013
4 4 (0.75%) IIS
5 3 (0.56%) WordPress
6 2 (0.37%) Confluence
7 1 (0.19%) Appian
7 1 (0.19%) SAS
Applications
1 46 (8.61%) Microsoft Office
2 29 (5.43%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (2.25%) Spreadsheet
4 9 (1.69%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.94%) Fusion 360
6 3 (0.56%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.19%) Abaqus
7 1 (0.19%) AutoCAD
7 1 (0.19%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.19%) Sketch
7 1 (0.19%) Windchill
Business Applications
1 6 (1.12%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (0.94%) Magento
2 5 (0.94%) SAP S/4HANA
2 5 (0.94%) Shopify
3 4 (0.75%) Line 50
3 4 (0.75%) Sage 50
3 4 (0.75%) Sage X3
4 3 (0.56%) SAP Business ByDesign
5 2 (0.37%) SAP Business One
6 1 (0.19%) Exchequer
6 1 (0.19%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.19%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.19%) Raiser’s Edge
Cloud Services
1 110 (20.60%) Microsoft 365
2 105 (19.66%) Azure
3 50 (9.36%) Power Platform
4 48 (8.99%) Entra ID
5 36 (6.74%) AWS
6 26 (4.87%) SaaS
7 13 (2.43%) Dynamics 365
8 12 (2.25%) Power Automate
8 12 (2.25%) PowerApps
9 10 (1.87%) OneDrive
10 9 (1.69%) Google Workspace
11 6 (1.12%) Azure Data Factory
11 6 (1.12%) Azure Sentinel
11 6 (1.12%) Microsoft Copilot
11 6 (1.12%) Microsoft Purview
12 5 (0.94%) PaaS
12 5 (0.94%) Serverless
13 4 (0.75%) Amazon S3
13 4 (0.75%) GCP
13 4 (0.75%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 27 (5.06%) VPN
2 26 (4.87%) Firewall
3 25 (4.68%) WAN
4 22 (4.12%) DNS
5 20 (3.75%) Wi-Fi
6 19 (3.56%) DHCP
7 18 (3.37%) LAN
8 16 (3.00%) Internet
9 15 (2.81%) Wireless
10 12 (2.25%) VLAN
11 11 (2.06%) Network Security
12 10 (1.87%) SD-WAN
12 10 (1.87%) TCP/IP
13 7 (1.31%) VoIP
14 5 (0.94%) Bluetooth
14 5 (0.94%) Skype
15 3 (0.56%) SAN
16 2 (0.37%) SNMP
17 1 (0.19%) Broadband
17 1 (0.19%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 46 (8.61%) Power BI
2 13 (2.43%) Tableau
3 12 (2.25%) Power Query
3 12 (2.25%) SQL Server
4 7 (1.31%) MySQL
4 7 (1.31%) Star Schema
5 6 (1.12%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 4 (0.75%) Amazon RDS
6 4 (0.75%) Data Mining
6 4 (0.75%) FileMaker
6 4 (0.75%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.56%) Data Warehouse
7 3 (0.56%) GIS
7 3 (0.56%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.56%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.56%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.37%) Amazon Redshift
8 2 (0.37%) MariaDB
8 2 (0.37%) Redis
8 2 (0.37%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 13 (2.43%) Git
2 9 (1.69%) JIRA
3 8 (1.50%) JUnit
4 7 (1.31%) Maven
4 7 (1.31%) Mockito
5 3 (0.56%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.37%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.19%) Appium
7 1 (0.19%) Balsamiq
7 1 (0.19%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.19%) Carbide.c++
7 1 (0.19%) Cucumber
7 1 (0.19%) GitLab
7 1 (0.19%) Oracle Forms
7 1 (0.19%) Postman
7 1 (0.19%) SoapUI
7 1 (0.19%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.19%) TestRail
7 1 (0.19%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.19%) Yeoman
General
1 224 (41.95%) Social Skills
2 144 (26.97%) Analytical Skills
3 94 (17.60%) Finance
4 73 (13.67%) Manufacturing
5 32 (5.99%) Organisational Skills
6 28 (5.24%) Public Sector
7 24 (4.49%) Retail
8 22 (4.12%) Legal
8 22 (4.12%) Marketing
9 16 (3.00%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 15 (2.81%) Electronics
10 15 (2.81%) Law
11 12 (2.25%) Automotive
11 12 (2.25%) Banking
12 11 (2.06%) Investment Banking
13 10 (1.87%) Telecoms
14 9 (1.69%) Documentation Skills
15 5 (0.94%) Influencing Skills
15 5 (0.94%) Presentation Skills
16 3 (0.56%) Agriculture
Job Titles
1 100 (18.73%) Support Engineer
2 82 (15.36%) Analyst
3 63 (11.80%) IT Support
4 56 (10.49%) IT Engineer
5 52 (9.74%) Technical Engineer
5 52 (9.74%) Technical Support
5 52 (9.74%) Technical Support Engineer
6 46 (8.61%) IT Support Engineer
7 45 (8.43%) Developer
8 44 (8.24%) Senior
9 29 (5.43%) Lead
10 28 (5.24%) Support Analyst
11 21 (3.93%) Consultant
12 17 (3.18%) 2nd Line Support
12 17 (3.18%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 17 (3.18%) IT Manager
13 16 (3.00%) Programmer
14 15 (2.81%) Instructor
15 14 (2.62%) IT Technician
15 14 (2.62%) Support Technician
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (4.12%) REST
2 20 (3.75%) React
3 13 (2.43%) Spring
4 11 (2.06%) .NET
4 11 (2.06%) AngularJS
5 10 (1.87%) CSS
5 10 (1.87%) HTML
5 10 (1.87%) Spring Boot
6 8 (1.50%) RESTful
7 5 (0.94%) EDI
8 4 (0.75%) .NET Framework
9 3 (0.56%) Node.js
9 3 (0.56%) Playwright
10 2 (0.37%) COM
10 2 (0.37%) DCOM
10 2 (0.37%) GraphQL
10 2 (0.37%) LDAP
10 2 (0.37%) Middleware
11 1 (0.19%) JDBC
11 1 (0.19%) OLE
Miscellaneous
1 47 (8.80%) Driving Licence
2 28 (5.24%) Self-Motivation
3 26 (4.87%) Onboarding
4 24 (4.49%) Management Information System
5 16 (3.00%) Social Media
6 10 (1.87%) Enterprise Software
6 10 (1.87%) Legacy Systems
6 10 (1.87%) Virtual Team
7 9 (1.69%) Analytical Mindset
7 9 (1.69%) Data Centre
7 9 (1.69%) FMCG
8 8 (1.50%) Hybrid Cloud
9 7 (1.31%) AS400
9 7 (1.31%) Cyber Defence
9 7 (1.31%) Data Structures
9 7 (1.31%) iSeries
10 6 (1.12%) NHS
10 6 (1.12%) Security Posture
11 5 (0.94%) Mobile App
12 4 (0.75%) CAN bus
Operating Systems
1 86 (16.10%) Windows
2 29 (5.43%) Windows 10
3 25 (4.68%) Linux
4 23 (4.31%) Windows Server
5 8 (1.50%) Android
5 8 (1.50%) Apple iOS
6 5 (0.94%) Windows 7
7 4 (0.75%) FreeRTOS
7 4 (0.75%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.75%) Unix
8 2 (0.37%) CentOS
8 2 (0.37%) Debian
8 2 (0.37%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2016
9 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 126 (23.60%) Continuous Improvement
2 77 (14.42%) Customer Service
3 71 (13.30%) Agile
4 59 (11.05%) Decision-Making
5 57 (10.67%) ITIL
6 54 (10.11%) Analytics
6 54 (10.11%) Mentoring
7 52 (9.74%) Collaborative Working
8 49 (9.18%) AI
8 49 (9.18%) ERP
9 45 (8.43%) Business Intelligence
9 45 (8.43%) Cybersecurity
10 41 (7.68%) Service Delivery
11 39 (7.30%) Customer Experience
12 38 (7.12%) Root Cause Analysis
13 33 (6.18%) CRM
14 31 (5.81%) Coaching
14 31 (5.81%) Process Improvement
14 31 (5.81%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 30 (5.62%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 74 (13.86%) SQL
2 30 (5.62%) Python
3 29 (5.43%) Java
4 22 (4.12%) PowerShell
5 14 (2.62%) Ladder Logic
6 13 (2.43%) C#
7 12 (2.25%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 11 (2.06%) Bash
8 11 (2.06%) C
8 11 (2.06%) JavaScript
8 11 (2.06%) PHP
9 9 (1.69%) TypeScript
10 8 (1.50%) PL/SQL
11 7 (1.31%) RPG
12 5 (0.94%) C++
12 5 (0.94%) R
13 4 (0.75%) Embedded C
13 4 (0.75%) RPG IV
13 4 (0.75%) RPG/400
14 3 (0.56%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 70 (13.11%) Degree
2 54 (10.11%) Security Cleared
3 42 (7.87%) SC Cleared
4 22 (4.12%) DBS Check
4 22 (4.12%) Microsoft Certification
5 10 (1.87%) A+ Certification
5 10 (1.87%) BPSS Clearance
5 10 (1.87%) CISSP
6 9 (1.69%) CompTIA Security+
7 8 (1.50%) ACCA
7 8 (1.50%) Azure Certification
7 8 (1.50%) CIMA
7 8 (1.50%) Computer Science Degree
8 7 (1.31%) CISA
8 7 (1.31%) SSCP
9 6 (1.12%) Cisco Certification
10 5 (0.94%) HND
10 5 (0.94%) MCITP
10 5 (0.94%) PMI Certification
11 4 (0.75%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (5.81%) QA
2 28 (5.24%) Data Quality
3 27 (5.06%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 20 (3.75%) GDPR
5 19 (3.56%) Cyber Essentials
5 19 (3.56%) NIST
6 13 (2.43%) SLA
7 12 (2.25%) Accessibility
8 10 (1.87%) ISO 9001
9 9 (1.69%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 9 (1.69%) ISO 14001
10 6 (1.12%) ISO/IEC 20000
11 5 (0.94%) HIPAA
12 4 (0.75%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 3 (0.56%) California Consumer Privacy Act
13 3 (0.56%) SOC 2
14 2 (0.37%) Actionable Recommendations
14 2 (0.37%) GRC
14 2 (0.37%) PCI DSS
15 1 (0.19%) PMO
System Software
1 69 (12.92%) Active Directory
2 18 (3.37%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (3.00%) Docker
4 14 (2.62%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.31%) Firmware
6 4 (0.75%) Embedded Firmware
7 2 (0.37%) Virtual Desktop
7 2 (0.37%) Virtual Machines
7 2 (0.37%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 33 (6.18%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (3.00%) Kubernetes
3 12 (2.25%) Terraform
4 7 (1.31%) Ansible
5 4 (0.75%) Functional Safety
6 3 (0.56%) Nagios
6 3 (0.56%) Prometheus
6 3 (0.56%) SCCM
6 3 (0.56%) Single Sign-On
7 2 (0.37%) Grafana
7 2 (0.37%) Progress Chef
7 2 (0.37%) Puppet
8 1 (0.19%) FortiGate
8 1 (0.19%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 134 (25.09%) Microsoft
2 23 (4.31%) VMware
3 21 (3.93%) Cisco
4 20 (3.75%) SAP
5 17 (3.18%) Oracle
6 16 (3.00%) Sage
7 12 (2.25%) Dell
8 10 (1.87%) Salesforce
9 9 (1.69%) Google
9 9 (1.69%) SolarWinds
10 7 (1.31%) HP
10 7 (1.31%) IBM
10 7 (1.31%) Meraki
11 6 (1.12%) Avaya
11 6 (1.12%) McAfee
11 6 (1.12%) Sophos
11 6 (1.12%) Zscaler
12 5 (0.94%) Apple
13 4 (0.75%) Adobe
13 4 (0.75%) Veeam