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 19 October 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
19 Oct 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 3 4 8
Rank change year-on-year +1 +4 +1
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 621 940 567
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 19.44% 17.05% 15.75%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 22.37% 20.79% 16.86%
Number of salaries quoted 385 285 468
10th Percentile £25,100 £31,700 £28,500
25th Percentile £30,000 £41,250 £33,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £42,500 £52,500 £48,050
Median % change year-on-year -19.05% +9.26% +2.23%
75th Percentile £57,500 £65,000 £62,500
90th Percentile £68,750 £85,250 £71,250
England median annual salary £45,000 £55,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -18.18% - -

All Process and 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 2,776 4,522 3,362
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 86.91% 82.02% 93.39%
Number of salaries quoted 1,721 2,111 2,661
10th Percentile £29,000 £31,250 £26,500
25th Percentile £36,250 £40,000 £36,250
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £55,000 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -9.09% +10.00% -
75th Percentile £67,500 £68,750 £65,000
90th Percentile £80,000 £80,000 £77,500
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £60,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% -0.83% +0.83%

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 19 October 2025.

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 19 October 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
Staffordshire +2 172 £40,000 -20.00% 47
Birmingham +1 152 £45,000 -21.74% 97
Warwickshire +9 73 £55,000 +10.00% 63
Worcestershire -3 57 £30,500 -41.90% 20
Coventry +6 29 £31,500 -40.00% 18
Herefordshire +7 28 £35,000 +33.58% 12
Shropshire -4 24 £47,500 +11.76% 37
Solihull -10 19 £33,250 -48.85% 12
Walsall +2 14 £45,000 +30.80% 2
Halesowen +1 11 £32,500 -
Wednesbury -1 5 £42,500 +13.33% 1
West Bromwich -3 4 £26,000 - 5
Willenhall -2 2 £45,000 - 1
Wolverhampton -9 1 £65,000 +18.18% 4
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 18 (2.90%) SharePoint
2 15 (2.42%) IIS
3 10 (1.61%) Microsoft Exchange
4 6 (0.97%) Apache
5 4 (0.64%) CMS
6 2 (0.32%) Confluence
6 2 (0.32%) Exchange Server 2007
6 2 (0.32%) Exchange Server 2010
6 2 (0.32%) Exchange Server 2013
6 2 (0.32%) HCL Notes
6 2 (0.32%) OpenEdge
6 2 (0.32%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.16%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.16%) Apache Solr
7 1 (0.16%) Appian
7 1 (0.16%) nginx
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle Workflow
7 1 (0.16%) WebLogic
Applications
1 69 (11.11%) Microsoft Excel
2 31 (4.99%) Microsoft Office
3 12 (1.93%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 8 (1.29%) AutoCAD
4 8 (1.29%) SOLIDWORKS
5 3 (0.48%) Spreadsheet
6 2 (0.32%) Microsoft Project
6 2 (0.32%) Trello
7 1 (0.16%) MS Visio
7 1 (0.16%) Revit
Business Applications
1 13 (2.09%) Dynamics CRM
2 11 (1.77%) NetSuite
3 5 (0.81%) SAP FI
4 4 (0.64%) Infor CloudSuite Industrial (formerly SyteLine)
5 3 (0.48%) iTrent
6 2 (0.32%) Infor CloudSuite
7 1 (0.16%) Dynamics NAV
7 1 (0.16%) Elite 3E
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle EBS R12
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle SCM
7 1 (0.16%) SAP CO
7 1 (0.16%) SAP PS
7 1 (0.16%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 89 (14.33%) Azure
2 57 (9.18%) Microsoft 365
3 51 (8.21%) Power Platform
4 28 (4.51%) SaaS
5 22 (3.54%) AWS
6 16 (2.58%) Dynamics 365
7 14 (2.25%) Cloud Computing
8 11 (1.77%) GCP
8 11 (1.77%) Power Automate
8 11 (1.77%) PowerApps
9 9 (1.45%) Azure DevOps
10 7 (1.13%) Entra ID
11 6 (0.97%) Azure Data Factory
12 5 (0.81%) GitHub
12 5 (0.81%) Snowflake
13 4 (0.64%) Azure Key Vault
14 3 (0.48%) Amazon EC2
14 3 (0.48%) Azure Functions
14 3 (0.48%) Azure Logic Apps
14 3 (0.48%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 37 (5.96%) Firewall
2 35 (5.64%) WAN
3 34 (5.48%) LAN
4 24 (3.86%) Wi-Fi
5 21 (3.38%) TCP/IP
6 17 (2.74%) DNS
7 16 (2.58%) VPN
8 14 (2.25%) DHCP
9 10 (1.61%) Remote Desktop
10 9 (1.45%) Wireless
11 7 (1.13%) Internet
11 7 (1.13%) Network Security
12 6 (0.97%) ADSL
12 6 (0.97%) Broadband
12 6 (0.97%) Ethernet
12 6 (0.97%) VDSL
12 6 (0.97%) VoIP
13 5 (0.81%) PBX
13 5 (0.81%) SAN
14 4 (0.64%) Bluetooth
Database & Business Intelligence
1 45 (7.25%) Power BI
2 38 (6.12%) SQL Server
3 17 (2.74%) Relational Database
4 16 (2.58%) MySQL
5 14 (2.25%) GIS
6 10 (1.61%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 8 (1.29%) Tableau
8 7 (1.13%) PostgreSQL
9 5 (0.81%) BusinessObjects
9 5 (0.81%) Crystal Reports
9 5 (0.81%) Data Mining
9 5 (0.81%) Metadata
9 5 (0.81%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (0.64%) Amazon RDS
10 4 (0.64%) Data Warehouse
11 3 (0.48%) Data Lake
11 3 (0.48%) MS Access
11 3 (0.48%) Oracle Reports
12 2 (0.32%) MongoDB
12 2 (0.32%) SQL CLR
Development Applications
1 11 (1.77%) JIRA
2 10 (1.61%) Git
3 3 (0.48%) Jenkins
4 2 (0.32%) Maven
4 2 (0.32%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
4 2 (0.32%) Subversion
4 2 (0.32%) Vagrant
4 2 (0.32%) Visual Studio
5 1 (0.16%) Babel
5 1 (0.16%) Cypress.io
5 1 (0.16%) ERwin
5 1 (0.16%) JUnit
5 1 (0.16%) Mockito
5 1 (0.16%) Oracle Forms
5 1 (0.16%) Rational DOORS
5 1 (0.16%) Snyk
5 1 (0.16%) SoapUI
5 1 (0.16%) Sonatype Nexus
5 1 (0.16%) TestComplete
5 1 (0.16%) webpack
General
1 265 (42.67%) Social Skills
2 165 (26.57%) Manufacturing
3 160 (25.76%) Retail
4 149 (23.99%) Finance
5 119 (19.16%) Analytical Skills
6 31 (4.99%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 28 (4.51%) Dutch Language
7 28 (4.51%) Finnish Language
7 28 (4.51%) Norwegian Language
8 27 (4.35%) Digital Health
8 27 (4.35%) Marketing
9 26 (4.19%) Law
10 25 (4.03%) Organisational Skills
11 24 (3.86%) Legal
12 22 (3.54%) Public Sector
13 14 (2.25%) Fire and Rescue
14 12 (1.93%) Telecoms
15 9 (1.45%) Electronics
15 9 (1.45%) Presentation Skills
16 7 (1.13%) Games
Job Titles
1 108 (17.39%) Trainer
2 75 (12.08%) IT Support
3 69 (11.11%) Analyst
4 66 (10.63%) Support Engineer
5 60 (9.66%) Developer
6 48 (7.73%) Technical Engineer
7 47 (7.57%) Technical Support
8 46 (7.41%) Technical Support Engineer
9 36 (5.80%) Senior
10 30 (4.83%) 2nd Line Support
11 20 (3.22%) Lead
12 16 (2.58%) Applications Support
12 16 (2.58%) Network Engineer
13 15 (2.42%) Support Analyst
14 14 (2.25%) Support Technician
15 12 (1.93%) Administrator
15 12 (1.93%) Architect
15 12 (1.93%) Consultant
16 11 (1.77%) Systems Analyst
17 10 (1.61%) Software Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (5.15%) .NET
2 23 (3.70%) React
3 19 (3.06%) HTML
3 19 (3.06%) REST
4 15 (2.42%) CSS
4 15 (2.42%) JSON
5 14 (2.25%) AngularJS
6 13 (2.09%) Razor View Engine
7 7 (1.13%) .NET Framework
8 6 (0.97%) EDI
8 6 (0.97%) LAMP
8 6 (0.97%) Web Services
9 5 (0.81%) Entity Framework
10 4 (0.64%) Elastic Stack
10 4 (0.64%) jQuery
10 4 (0.64%) SOAP
10 4 (0.64%) XML
11 3 (0.48%) RESTful
11 3 (0.48%) Spring
11 3 (0.48%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 105 (16.91%) Robotics
2 35 (5.64%) Onboarding
3 34 (5.48%) Driving Licence
4 31 (4.99%) Self-Motivation
5 28 (4.51%) FMCG
6 16 (2.58%) SCADA
7 15 (2.42%) Analytical Mindset
7 15 (2.42%) Operational Technology
8 13 (2.09%) EPoS
8 13 (2.09%) Management Information System
9 12 (1.93%) Data Centre
10 9 (1.45%) Product Ownership
11 8 (1.29%) Cyber Threat
11 8 (1.29%) Legacy Systems
11 8 (1.29%) Linux Command Line
11 8 (1.29%) Security Posture
12 7 (1.13%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
12 7 (1.13%) iPad
13 6 (0.97%) PDA
14 5 (0.81%) Embedded Systems
Operating Systems
1 82 (13.20%) Windows
2 33 (5.31%) Windows 10
3 22 (3.54%) Linux
4 7 (1.13%) Windows Server
5 4 (0.64%) Unix
6 2 (0.32%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 2 (0.32%) VMS
6 2 (0.32%) Windows 7
6 2 (0.32%) Windows Server 2003
6 2 (0.32%) Windows Server 2019
7 1 (0.16%) Android
7 1 (0.16%) Apple iOS
7 1 (0.16%) Mac OS
7 1 (0.16%) Ubuntu
7 1 (0.16%) Windows Mobile
Processes & Methodologies
1 126 (20.29%) AI
2 123 (19.81%) Continuous Improvement
3 115 (18.52%) Machine Learning
4 105 (16.91%) Generative AI
4 105 (16.91%) LLM
4 105 (16.91%) Red Team
5 84 (13.53%) Data Privacy
6 80 (12.88%) Customer Service
7 64 (10.31%) Agile
8 60 (9.66%) Project Management
9 50 (8.05%) Business Intelligence
10 44 (7.09%) Decision-Making
11 41 (6.60%) Logistics
12 39 (6.28%) ITIL
13 38 (6.12%) CRM
14 36 (5.80%) Cybersecurity
15 35 (5.64%) Mentoring
16 34 (5.48%) Data Analysis
17 33 (5.31%) Analytics
18 30 (4.83%) ERP
Programming Languages
1 92 (14.81%) SQL
2 46 (7.41%) Python
3 44 (7.09%) C#
4 38 (6.12%) JavaScript
5 21 (3.38%) PowerShell
6 20 (3.22%) Java
7 18 (2.90%) PHP
8 11 (1.77%) T-SQL
9 6 (0.97%) Bash
9 6 (0.97%) C++
10 5 (0.81%) R
10 5 (0.81%) TypeScript
11 4 (0.64%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 4 (0.64%) Perl
12 2 (0.32%) Delphi
12 2 (0.32%) Go
12 2 (0.32%) Groovy
12 2 (0.32%) Ruby
12 2 (0.32%) VB.NET
12 2 (0.32%) XAML
Qualifications
1 190 (30.60%) Degree
2 48 (7.73%) Security Cleared
3 25 (4.03%) SC Cleared
4 22 (3.54%) Computer Science Degree
5 14 (2.25%) ACCA
5 14 (2.25%) CIMA
6 13 (2.09%) BPSS Clearance
6 13 (2.09%) DV Cleared
7 10 (1.61%) CISSP
8 9 (1.45%) Master's Degree
9 8 (1.29%) Cisco Certification
9 8 (1.29%) DBS Check
10 7 (1.13%) AAT
11 6 (0.97%) Microsoft Certification
12 5 (0.81%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 5 (0.81%) CCSP
12 5 (0.81%) CISM
12 5 (0.81%) ITIL Certification
13 4 (0.64%) Network+ Certification
13 4 (0.64%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 16 (2.58%) SLA
2 13 (2.09%) Data Quality
2 13 (2.09%) QA
3 7 (1.13%) GDPR
4 6 (0.97%) ISO/IEC 27001
5 5 (0.81%) PMO
6 4 (0.64%) Actionable Recommendations
6 4 (0.64%) NIST
7 3 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.32%) COBIT
8 2 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 2 (0.32%) ISO 9001
9 1 (0.16%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.16%) Government Security Classifications
9 1 (0.16%) ISO 19650
9 1 (0.16%) WCAG
System Software
1 37 (5.96%) Active Directory
2 15 (2.42%) VMware Infrastructure
3 9 (1.45%) Docker
4 2 (0.32%) Firmware
4 2 (0.32%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.16%) VMware ESXi
5 1 (0.16%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 9 (1.45%) Kubernetes
2 8 (1.29%) Terraform
3 6 (0.97%) Microsoft Intune
4 5 (0.81%) Ansible
5 4 (0.64%) SCOM
6 3 (0.48%) FortiGate
6 3 (0.48%) Nagios
6 3 (0.48%) SCCM
7 2 (0.32%) Progress Chef
7 2 (0.32%) Puppet
7 2 (0.32%) SCOrch
7 2 (0.32%) SCSM
8 1 (0.16%) AirWatch
8 1 (0.16%) Argo
8 1 (0.16%) AWS Copilot
8 1 (0.16%) EMC NetWorker
8 1 (0.16%) Grafana
8 1 (0.16%) HP Quality Center
8 1 (0.16%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 144 (23.19%) Microsoft
2 120 (19.32%) Databricks
3 113 (18.20%) Google
4 105 (16.91%) Adobe
5 30 (4.83%) SAP
6 23 (3.70%) Oracle
7 17 (2.74%) Cisco
7 17 (2.74%) Salesforce
8 16 (2.58%) VMware
9 11 (1.77%) Dell
10 10 (1.61%) Juniper
11 9 (1.45%) McAfee
12 8 (1.29%) Apple
13 7 (1.13%) Infor
13 7 (1.13%) ServiceNow
14 5 (0.81%) Panasonic
14 5 (0.81%) Samsung
14 5 (0.81%) Splunk
15 4 (0.64%) BT
15 4 (0.64%) Guidewire