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

6 months to
27 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 26 2 5
Rank change year-on-year -24 +3 +3
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 532 657 1,154
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 6.21% 22.25% 14.93%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 8.50% 24.99% 18.31%
Number of salaries quoted 399 384 747
10th Percentile £27,694 £25,500 £25,000
25th Percentile £31,250 £32,500 £29,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £48,000 £42,500
Median % change year-on-year -11.46% +12.94% -15.00%
75th Percentile £57,500 £62,688 £58,750
90th Percentile £67,750 £74,014 £71,725
England median annual salary £47,500 £50,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -5.94% +1.00% -9.09%

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 6,257 2,629 6,302
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 73.01% 89.03% 81.54%
Number of salaries quoted 3,784 1,502 4,638
10th Percentile £30,500 £28,822 £26,250
25th Percentile £40,000 £36,813 £35,700
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 £80,000 £77,500
England median annual salary £60,000 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year - +9.09% -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 27 May 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 27 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
Birmingham -15 182 £50,000 -4.76% 75
Staffordshire -14 94 £31,500 -38.77% 29
Warwickshire -17 64 £32,500 -23.53% 62
Worcestershire -20 42 £37,500 +22.95% 15
Coventry -14 30 £42,000 -26.96% 17
Shropshire -17 27 £51,250 +20.59% 21
Herefordshire -18 16 £52,500 -2.33% 5
Solihull -4 13 £30,500 -44.55% 4
Walsall +3 9 £37,500 -26.47%
Tipton -2 8 £33,500 - 2
Halesowen -5 6 £47,500 +26.67%
Dudley - 5 £26,100 - 2
Wolverhampton -26 4 £80,000 +146.15% 3
Sutton Coldfield -7 1 £28,000 - 1
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 44 (8.27%) SharePoint
2 29 (5.45%) Microsoft Exchange
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%) Oracle SOA Suite
5 3 (0.56%) IIS
5 3 (0.56%) WordPress
6 2 (0.38%) Confluence
7 1 (0.19%) Appian
7 1 (0.19%) SAS
Applications
1 42 (7.89%) Microsoft Office
2 29 (5.45%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (2.63%) Spreadsheet
4 8 (1.50%) 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 7 (1.32%) 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
4 3 (0.56%) Sage X3
4 3 (0.56%) SAP Business ByDesign
5 2 (0.38%) SAP Business One
5 2 (0.38%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.19%) Dynamics NAV
6 1 (0.19%) Exchequer
6 1 (0.19%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.19%) Raiser’s Edge
Cloud Services
1 108 (20.30%) Microsoft 365
2 105 (19.74%) Azure
3 52 (9.77%) Power Platform
4 45 (8.46%) Entra ID
5 39 (7.33%) AWS
6 25 (4.70%) SaaS
7 13 (2.44%) Dynamics 365
7 13 (2.44%) Power Automate
7 13 (2.44%) PowerApps
8 9 (1.69%) Google Workspace
8 9 (1.69%) OneDrive
9 7 (1.32%) Azure Sentinel
9 7 (1.32%) Microsoft Copilot
10 6 (1.13%) Azure Data Factory
10 6 (1.13%) GCP
10 6 (1.13%) Serverless
11 4 (0.75%) Amazon S3
11 4 (0.75%) IaaS
11 4 (0.75%) Microsoft Purview
11 4 (0.75%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 24 (4.51%) Firewall
1 24 (4.51%) VPN
1 24 (4.51%) WAN
2 20 (3.76%) DNS
2 20 (3.76%) Wi-Fi
3 18 (3.38%) Internet
4 17 (3.20%) LAN
5 16 (3.01%) DHCP
5 16 (3.01%) Wireless
6 12 (2.26%) VLAN
7 11 (2.07%) Network Security
8 10 (1.88%) SD-WAN
9 9 (1.69%) TCP/IP
10 7 (1.32%) VoIP
11 5 (0.94%) Bluetooth
11 5 (0.94%) Skype
12 4 (0.75%) SAN
13 2 (0.38%) NAS
13 2 (0.38%) SNMP
14 1 (0.19%) Intrusion Detection
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (9.02%) Power BI
2 15 (2.82%) Tableau
3 12 (2.26%) Power Query
3 12 (2.26%) SQL Server
4 7 (1.32%) MySQL
4 7 (1.32%) Star Schema
5 6 (1.13%) SQL Server Integration Services
6 5 (0.94%) Oracle Reports
7 4 (0.75%) Amazon RDS
7 4 (0.75%) Data Mining
7 4 (0.75%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (0.75%) FileMaker
7 4 (0.75%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.56%) GIS
8 3 (0.56%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.56%) Redis
8 3 (0.56%) Relational Database
8 3 (0.56%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 3 (0.56%) TimescaleDB
9 2 (0.38%) Amazon Redshift
Development Applications
1 15 (2.82%) Git
2 10 (1.88%) JIRA
3 8 (1.50%) JUnit
4 7 (1.32%) Maven
4 7 (1.32%) Mockito
5 3 (0.56%) GitLab
5 3 (0.56%) Jenkins
6 2 (0.38%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.19%) Appium
7 1 (0.19%) Balsamiq
7 1 (0.19%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.19%) Bugzilla
7 1 (0.19%) Cucumber
7 1 (0.19%) MLflow
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
1 214 (40.23%) Social Skills
2 151 (28.38%) Analytical Skills
3 99 (18.61%) Finance
4 69 (12.97%) Manufacturing
5 32 (6.02%) Organisational Skills
6 30 (5.64%) Public Sector
7 24 (4.51%) Legal
8 23 (4.32%) Retail
9 21 (3.95%) Marketing
10 19 (3.57%) Law
11 16 (3.01%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 13 (2.44%) Electronics
13 12 (2.26%) Automotive
13 12 (2.26%) Banking
14 11 (2.07%) Investment Banking
15 10 (1.88%) Telecoms
16 7 (1.32%) Documentation Skills
17 6 (1.13%) Presentation Skills
18 5 (0.94%) Influencing Skills
19 3 (0.56%) Agriculture
Job Titles
1 93 (17.48%) Support Engineer
2 85 (15.98%) Analyst
3 66 (12.41%) IT Support
4 56 (10.53%) IT Engineer
5 47 (8.83%) Developer
6 46 (8.65%) IT Support Engineer
6 46 (8.65%) Senior
7 45 (8.46%) Technical Engineer
7 45 (8.46%) Technical Support
7 45 (8.46%) Technical Support Engineer
8 34 (6.39%) Lead
9 28 (5.26%) Support Analyst
10 21 (3.95%) Consultant
11 19 (3.57%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 17 (3.20%) 2nd Line Support
12 17 (3.20%) Instructor
13 16 (3.01%) Programmer
14 15 (2.82%) IT Manager
15 14 (2.63%) Senior Analyst
16 13 (2.44%) Business Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (4.14%) REST
2 21 (3.95%) React
3 13 (2.44%) Spring
4 12 (2.26%) .NET
5 11 (2.07%) AngularJS
6 10 (1.88%) CSS
6 10 (1.88%) HTML
6 10 (1.88%) Spring Boot
7 9 (1.69%) RESTful
8 5 (0.94%) EDI
8 5 (0.94%) Node.js
9 4 (0.75%) .NET Framework
10 3 (0.56%) GraphQL
10 3 (0.56%) Playwright
11 1 (0.19%) Elastic Stack
11 1 (0.19%) PyTorch
11 1 (0.19%) SAP Fiori
11 1 (0.19%) SAPUI5
11 1 (0.19%) TensorFlow
11 1 (0.19%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 47 (8.83%) Driving Licence
2 27 (5.08%) Self-Motivation
3 23 (4.32%) Management Information System
4 22 (4.14%) Onboarding
5 18 (3.38%) Social Media
6 11 (2.07%) FMCG
7 10 (1.88%) Enterprise Software
7 10 (1.88%) Legacy Systems
7 10 (1.88%) Virtual Team
8 9 (1.69%) Data Centre
9 8 (1.50%) Analytical Mindset
9 8 (1.50%) Hybrid Cloud
10 7 (1.32%) AS400
10 7 (1.32%) Cyber Defence
10 7 (1.32%) iSeries
11 6 (1.13%) NHS
11 6 (1.13%) Security Posture
12 4 (0.75%) Data Structures
12 4 (0.75%) Mobile App
12 4 (0.75%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 85 (15.98%) Windows
2 25 (4.70%) Linux
2 25 (4.70%) Windows 10
3 20 (3.76%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.50%) Apple iOS
5 7 (1.32%) Android
6 5 (0.94%) Windows 7
7 4 (0.75%) FreeRTOS
7 4 (0.75%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.75%) Unix
8 2 (0.38%) CentOS
8 2 (0.38%) Debian
8 2 (0.38%) Ubuntu
9 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2016
9 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 115 (21.62%) Continuous Improvement
2 72 (13.53%) Agile
3 64 (12.03%) Customer Service
4 61 (11.47%) Decision-Making
5 55 (10.34%) ITIL
6 54 (10.15%) Analytics
6 54 (10.15%) Mentoring
7 52 (9.77%) Collaborative Working
8 48 (9.02%) AI
9 46 (8.65%) Business Intelligence
9 46 (8.65%) Cybersecurity
9 46 (8.65%) ERP
10 37 (6.95%) Service Delivery
11 36 (6.77%) Root Cause Analysis
12 35 (6.58%) Project Management
13 34 (6.39%) CRM
13 34 (6.39%) Customer Experience
14 33 (6.20%) Coaching
15 31 (5.83%) Project Delivery
16 30 (5.64%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 71 (13.35%) SQL
2 33 (6.20%) Python
3 32 (6.02%) Java
4 19 (3.57%) PowerShell
5 14 (2.63%) C#
6 12 (2.26%) C
6 12 (2.26%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 12 (2.26%) JavaScript
6 12 (2.26%) Ladder Logic
7 11 (2.07%) Bash
7 11 (2.07%) PHP
7 11 (2.07%) TypeScript
8 7 (1.32%) C++
8 7 (1.32%) PL/SQL
8 7 (1.32%) RPG
9 5 (0.94%) R
10 4 (0.75%) Embedded C
10 4 (0.75%) RPG IV
10 4 (0.75%) RPG/400
11 3 (0.56%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 74 (13.91%) Degree
2 54 (10.15%) Security Cleared
3 42 (7.89%) SC Cleared
4 24 (4.51%) DBS Check
5 22 (4.14%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (2.07%) BPSS Clearance
7 10 (1.88%) A+ Certification
7 10 (1.88%) CISSP
8 9 (1.69%) CompTIA Security+
8 9 (1.69%) Computer Science Degree
9 8 (1.50%) ACCA
9 8 (1.50%) CIMA
10 7 (1.32%) CISA
10 7 (1.32%) SSCP
11 6 (1.13%) Azure Certification
11 6 (1.13%) Cisco Certification
12 5 (0.94%) HND
12 5 (0.94%) MCITP
12 5 (0.94%) PMI Certification
13 4 (0.75%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 32 (6.02%) QA
2 28 (5.26%) Data Quality
3 24 (4.51%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 18 (3.38%) NIST
5 17 (3.20%) Cyber Essentials
5 17 (3.20%) GDPR
6 12 (2.26%) SLA
7 11 (2.07%) Accessibility
8 9 (1.69%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 9 (1.69%) ISO 14001
8 9 (1.69%) ISO 9001
9 6 (1.13%) ISO/IEC 20000
10 5 (0.94%) HIPAA
11 3 (0.56%) California Consumer Privacy Act
11 3 (0.56%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 3 (0.56%) SOC 2
12 2 (0.38%) Actionable Recommendations
12 2 (0.38%) PCI DSS
12 2 (0.38%) PMO
13 1 (0.19%) ISO/IEC 17025
System Software
1 66 (12.41%) Active Directory
2 18 (3.38%) Docker
3 16 (3.01%) VMware Infrastructure
4 12 (2.26%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.32%) Firmware
6 4 (0.75%) Embedded Firmware
7 2 (0.38%) vSphere
8 1 (0.19%) Virtual Desktop
8 1 (0.19%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 29 (5.45%) Microsoft Intune
2 17 (3.20%) Kubernetes
3 12 (2.26%) Terraform
4 6 (1.13%) Ansible
5 4 (0.75%) Functional Safety
5 4 (0.75%) Nagios
5 4 (0.75%) Prometheus
6 3 (0.56%) SCCM
7 2 (0.38%) Grafana
7 2 (0.38%) Progress Chef
7 2 (0.38%) Puppet
7 2 (0.38%) Single Sign-On
8 1 (0.19%) FortiGate
8 1 (0.19%) Jamf Pro
Vendors
1 132 (24.81%) Microsoft
2 21 (3.95%) Cisco
2 21 (3.95%) SAP
2 21 (3.95%) VMware
3 17 (3.20%) Oracle
4 15 (2.82%) Sage
5 12 (2.26%) Dell
6 9 (1.69%) Google
6 9 (1.69%) SolarWinds
7 8 (1.50%) Salesforce
8 7 (1.32%) HP
8 7 (1.32%) IBM
8 7 (1.32%) Meraki
8 7 (1.32%) Zscaler
9 6 (1.13%) Avaya
9 6 (1.13%) McAfee
9 6 (1.13%) Sophos
10 4 (0.75%) Adobe
10 4 (0.75%) Apple
10 4 (0.75%) Veeam