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

6 months to
14 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 26 2 3
Rank change year-on-year -24 +1 +6
Permanent jobs citing Problem-Solving 510 676 1,154
As % of all permanent jobs in the West Midlands 6.06% 21.61% 15.66%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 8.31% 24.28% 18.90%
Number of salaries quoted 384 411 757
10th Percentile £26,683 £25,500 £25,000
25th Percentile £30,500 £35,000 £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 £62,500 £58,750
90th Percentile £65,640 £74,014 £71,725
England median annual salary £47,500 £52,500 £50,000
% change year-on-year -9.52% +5.00% -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 6,136 2,784 6,107
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the West Midlands 72.91% 89.00% 82.87%
Number of salaries quoted 3,681 1,636 4,548
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,000 £26,250
25th Percentile £40,000 £37,500 £35,700
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year +4.76% +5.00% -4.85%
75th Percentile £70,000 £67,500 £64,108
90th Percentile £83,750 £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 14 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 14 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 -15 168 £50,000 -9.09% 77
Staffordshire -14 98 £31,125 -37.75% 33
Warwickshire -19 61 £32,500 -7.14% 56
Worcestershire -15 42 £37,500 +22.95% 23
Shropshire -18 27 £50,000 +17.65% 17
Coventry -17 25 £42,250 -26.52% 18
Herefordshire -17 15 £52,500 +4.48% 3
Solihull -3 12 £75,000 +36.36% 7
Walsall +4 9 £37,500 -26.47% 3
Tipton -3 8 £33,500 -
Halesowen -4 7 £47,500 +26.67%
Dudley +1 4 - - 4
Wolverhampton -30 3 £80,000 +146.15% 5
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 48 (9.41%) SharePoint
2 31 (6.08%) Microsoft Exchange
3 5 (0.98%) Skype for Business
4 4 (0.78%) Exchange Server 2007
4 4 (0.78%) Exchange Server 2010
4 4 (0.78%) Exchange Server 2013
4 4 (0.78%) Oracle SOA Suite
5 3 (0.59%) WordPress
6 2 (0.39%) Confluence
7 1 (0.20%) Appian
7 1 (0.20%) SAS
Applications
1 40 (7.84%) Microsoft Office
2 30 (5.88%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (2.75%) Spreadsheet
4 8 (1.57%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 5 (0.98%) Fusion 360
6 4 (0.78%) Microsoft Project
7 2 (0.39%) MS Visio
8 1 (0.20%) Abaqus
8 1 (0.20%) AutoCAD
8 1 (0.20%) Sketch
8 1 (0.20%) Trello
Business Applications
1 9 (1.76%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (0.98%) Magento
2 5 (0.98%) Shopify
3 4 (0.78%) Line 50
3 4 (0.78%) SAP S/4HANA
4 3 (0.59%) SAP Business ByDesign
5 2 (0.39%) Sage 50
5 2 (0.39%) Sage X3
5 2 (0.39%) SAP Business One
5 2 (0.39%) SAP MM
6 1 (0.20%) Dynamics NAV
6 1 (0.20%) Exchequer
6 1 (0.20%) NetSuite
6 1 (0.20%) Raiser’s Edge
Cloud Services
1 114 (22.35%) Microsoft 365
2 106 (20.78%) Azure
3 52 (10.20%) Power Platform
4 43 (8.43%) Entra ID
5 37 (7.25%) AWS
6 23 (4.51%) SaaS
7 15 (2.94%) Dynamics 365
8 14 (2.75%) Power Automate
9 13 (2.55%) PowerApps
10 10 (1.96%) OneDrive
11 9 (1.76%) Google Workspace
12 7 (1.37%) Azure Data Factory
12 7 (1.37%) Azure Sentinel
12 7 (1.37%) Microsoft Copilot
13 6 (1.18%) GCP
13 6 (1.18%) Serverless
14 4 (0.78%) IaaS
14 4 (0.78%) Microsoft Purview
14 4 (0.78%) PaaS
15 3 (0.59%) Azure Logic Apps
Communications & Networking
1 25 (4.90%) WAN
2 24 (4.71%) Firewall
2 24 (4.71%) VPN
3 20 (3.92%) Wi-Fi
4 19 (3.73%) DNS
5 18 (3.53%) Internet
6 17 (3.33%) LAN
7 15 (2.94%) DHCP
8 13 (2.55%) Wireless
9 10 (1.96%) Network Security
9 10 (1.96%) SD-WAN
9 10 (1.96%) VLAN
10 7 (1.37%) VoIP
11 6 (1.18%) TCP/IP
12 5 (0.98%) Bluetooth
12 5 (0.98%) Skype
13 3 (0.59%) SAN
14 2 (0.39%) NAS
15 1 (0.20%) Cisco ISE
15 1 (0.20%) Modbus
Database & Business Intelligence
1 48 (9.41%) Power BI
2 14 (2.75%) Tableau
3 13 (2.55%) SQL Server
4 12 (2.35%) Power Query
5 7 (1.37%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 7 (1.37%) Star Schema
6 5 (0.98%) MySQL
6 5 (0.98%) Oracle Reports
7 4 (0.78%) Data Mining
7 4 (0.78%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (0.78%) FileMaker
7 4 (0.78%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 3 (0.59%) Amazon RDS
8 3 (0.59%) GIS
8 3 (0.59%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.59%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.59%) Redis
8 3 (0.59%) TimescaleDB
9 2 (0.39%) MariaDB
9 2 (0.39%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 15 (2.94%) Git
2 14 (2.75%) JIRA
3 6 (1.18%) JUnit
3 6 (1.18%) Maven
3 6 (1.18%) Mockito
4 4 (0.78%) Jenkins
5 3 (0.59%) GitLab
6 2 (0.39%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 1 (0.20%) Balsamiq
7 1 (0.20%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.20%) Bugzilla
7 1 (0.20%) MLflow
7 1 (0.20%) Postman
7 1 (0.20%) SoapUI
7 1 (0.20%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.20%) Visual Studio
7 1 (0.20%) Yeoman
General
1 208 (40.78%) Social Skills
2 144 (28.24%) Analytical Skills
3 98 (19.22%) Finance
4 62 (12.16%) Manufacturing
5 34 (6.67%) Organisational Skills
6 29 (5.69%) Public Sector
7 25 (4.90%) Legal
8 22 (4.31%) Law
9 21 (4.12%) Marketing
10 20 (3.92%) Retail
11 15 (2.94%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 12 (2.35%) Automotive
13 11 (2.16%) Banking
13 11 (2.16%) Telecoms
14 10 (1.96%) Electronics
14 10 (1.96%) Investment Banking
15 7 (1.37%) Presentation Skills
16 5 (0.98%) Documentation Skills
16 5 (0.98%) Influencing Skills
17 4 (0.78%) Advertising
Job Titles
1 89 (17.45%) Support Engineer
2 88 (17.25%) Analyst
3 71 (13.92%) IT Support
4 59 (11.57%) IT Engineer
5 49 (9.61%) IT Support Engineer
6 39 (7.65%) Senior
7 38 (7.45%) Technical Engineer
7 38 (7.45%) Technical Support
7 38 (7.45%) Technical Support Engineer
8 37 (7.25%) Developer
9 36 (7.06%) Lead
10 28 (5.49%) Support Analyst
11 19 (3.73%) 2nd Line Support
12 18 (3.53%) Consultant
13 17 (3.33%) Infrastructure Engineer
13 17 (3.33%) Instructor
14 15 (2.94%) Architect
14 15 (2.94%) Business Analyst
14 15 (2.94%) Programmer
15 14 (2.75%) IT Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 17 (3.33%) REST
2 16 (3.14%) React
3 11 (2.16%) Spring
4 10 (1.96%) CSS
4 10 (1.96%) HTML
5 9 (1.76%) .NET
5 9 (1.76%) Spring Boot
6 8 (1.57%) AngularJS
7 6 (1.18%) RESTful
8 4 (0.78%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.78%) Node.js
9 3 (0.59%) EDI
9 3 (0.59%) GraphQL
10 2 (0.39%) JSON
10 2 (0.39%) Playwright
10 2 (0.39%) WinForms
11 1 (0.20%) Kafka
11 1 (0.20%) OLE
11 1 (0.20%) WPF
11 1 (0.20%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 46 (9.02%) Driving Licence
2 26 (5.10%) Self-Motivation
3 22 (4.31%) Onboarding
4 21 (4.12%) Management Information System
5 18 (3.53%) Social Media
6 12 (2.35%) FMCG
7 10 (1.96%) Enterprise Software
8 9 (1.76%) Data Centre
8 9 (1.76%) Legacy Systems
9 8 (1.57%) Virtual Team
10 7 (1.37%) Analytical Mindset
10 7 (1.37%) Cyber Defence
10 7 (1.37%) Product Ownership
11 6 (1.18%) Hybrid Cloud
12 5 (0.98%) iSeries
13 4 (0.78%) CAN bus
13 4 (0.78%) CCTV
13 4 (0.78%) Data Structures
13 4 (0.78%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 4 (0.78%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 86 (16.86%) Windows
2 25 (4.90%) Windows 10
3 24 (4.71%) Linux
4 17 (3.33%) Windows Server
5 9 (1.76%) Apple iOS
6 6 (1.18%) Android
7 5 (0.98%) Windows 7
8 4 (0.78%) FreeRTOS
8 4 (0.78%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.78%) Unix
9 2 (0.39%) CentOS
9 2 (0.39%) Debian
9 2 (0.39%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.20%) Windows Server 2016
10 1 (0.20%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 103 (20.20%) Continuous Improvement
2 71 (13.92%) Agile
3 61 (11.96%) Customer Service
4 58 (11.37%) Decision-Making
5 56 (10.98%) ITIL
6 54 (10.59%) Analytics
7 48 (9.41%) Business Intelligence
8 45 (8.82%) Collaborative Working
8 45 (8.82%) Mentoring
9 43 (8.43%) AI
9 43 (8.43%) ERP
10 41 (8.04%) Project Management
11 37 (7.25%) Cybersecurity
12 36 (7.06%) CRM
13 35 (6.86%) Service Delivery
14 31 (6.08%) Coaching
14 31 (6.08%) Roadmaps
15 30 (5.88%) Customer Experience
16 28 (5.49%) Root Cause Analysis
16 28 (5.49%) Stakeholder Engagement
Programming Languages
1 64 (12.55%) SQL
2 33 (6.47%) Python
3 25 (4.90%) Java
4 20 (3.92%) PowerShell
5 12 (2.35%) C
5 12 (2.35%) Data Analysis Expressions
6 11 (2.16%) Ladder Logic
7 10 (1.96%) Bash
7 10 (1.96%) C#
7 10 (1.96%) JavaScript
7 10 (1.96%) PHP
8 8 (1.57%) TypeScript
9 7 (1.37%) C++
10 6 (1.18%) PL/SQL
11 5 (0.98%) R
12 4 (0.78%) Embedded C
13 3 (0.59%) RPG
13 3 (0.59%) Rust
13 3 (0.59%) T-SQL
14 2 (0.39%) Google Apps Script
Qualifications
1 67 (13.14%) Degree
2 47 (9.22%) Security Cleared
3 40 (7.84%) SC Cleared
4 22 (4.31%) DBS Check
5 21 (4.12%) Microsoft Certification
6 11 (2.16%) A+ Certification
7 10 (1.96%) CISSP
8 9 (1.76%) BPSS Clearance
8 9 (1.76%) CompTIA Security+
8 9 (1.76%) Computer Science Degree
9 8 (1.57%) ACCA
9 8 (1.57%) CIMA
10 7 (1.37%) CISA
10 7 (1.37%) SSCP
11 6 (1.18%) Cisco Certification
11 6 (1.18%) MCITP
12 5 (0.98%) PMI Certification
13 4 (0.78%) CCNA
13 4 (0.78%) Oracle Certification
13 4 (0.78%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 31 (6.08%) QA
2 27 (5.29%) Data Quality
3 22 (4.31%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 17 (3.33%) NIST
5 16 (3.14%) Cyber Essentials
5 16 (3.14%) GDPR
6 13 (2.55%) SLA
7 9 (1.76%) Accessibility
7 9 (1.76%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 6 (1.18%) ISO 14001
8 6 (1.18%) ISO 9001
8 6 (1.18%) ISO/IEC 20000
9 5 (0.98%) HIPAA
10 3 (0.59%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 3 (0.59%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 3 (0.59%) SOC 2
11 2 (0.39%) PCI DSS
11 2 (0.39%) PMO
12 1 (0.20%) Actionable Recommendations
System Software
1 64 (12.55%) Active Directory
2 17 (3.33%) Docker
3 15 (2.94%) VMware Infrastructure
4 10 (1.96%) Hyper-V
5 7 (1.37%) Firmware
6 4 (0.78%) Embedded Firmware
7 2 (0.39%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 27 (5.29%) Microsoft Intune
2 17 (3.33%) Kubernetes
3 13 (2.55%) Terraform
4 6 (1.18%) Ansible
5 4 (0.78%) Nagios
5 4 (0.78%) Prometheus
6 2 (0.39%) Functional Safety
6 2 (0.39%) Grafana
6 2 (0.39%) Progress Chef
6 2 (0.39%) Puppet
6 2 (0.39%) SCCM
6 2 (0.39%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 134 (26.27%) Microsoft
2 20 (3.92%) Cisco
2 20 (3.92%) VMware
3 18 (3.53%) SAP
4 17 (3.33%) Oracle
5 11 (2.16%) Dell
5 11 (2.16%) Sage
6 9 (1.76%) Google
6 9 (1.76%) SolarWinds
7 7 (1.37%) HP
7 7 (1.37%) Meraki
7 7 (1.37%) Salesforce
7 7 (1.37%) Zscaler
8 6 (1.18%) Avaya
8 6 (1.18%) McAfee
8 6 (1.18%) Sophos
9 4 (0.78%) Adobe
9 4 (0.78%) Apple
10 3 (0.59%) IBM
10 3 (0.59%) Palo Alto